Boscastle (pt 2)

DoktorAtomik · Aug 19, 2004

Looks like the witchraft museum got comrehensively trashed....

One of the many buildings ravaged by Monday's flash flood at Boscastle was the world-famous Museum of Witchcraft. The museum, housing a unique collection of witchcraft artefacts, has been owned by Graham King, aged 50, for the past eight years.

Mr King is also part of the village's coastguard team - and any desire he had to save his personal treasures was overtaken by the need to safeguard life.

"We were in the museum when we heard this noise outside, this roaring noise," he said on Tuesday. "I realised that the river was running really high.

"I looked out and saw some children playing near the slipway, so I put on my coastguard jacket and ran across to move them out of the way."

Recognising that the Valency River was about to burst its banks he alerted the emergency services and moved the coastguard vehicle to the bridge before its hut was deluged.

"There were a lot of people around, people were trying to wade across the bridge in waist-deep, fast running water," he added.

"We recruited what help we could and tried to keep the crowds back. But there was very little to do other than that.

"Within half-an-hour it had burst its banks and the water was filling underneath the bridge. Then cars from the car park and camper vans were being tossed around in the water like cardboard boxes. It was terrifying.

"The biggest problem was that the bridge was being jammed by trees and cars. Clovelly Clothing shop was just demolished in front of us."

Mr King said he didn't have time to think about seeing friends appearing on the roofs of flooded buildings but had switched into "coastguard mode".

"I was just trying to be as effective as possible as a coastguard," he said, "and not think about personal things."

"It has just started to hit me now," he said on Tuesday morning. "When I went down towards the museum I started shaking and didn't want to look in the window. I know it has been trashed.

"I've spoken to some of the lads who did the search through the museum and luckily my book collection is safe but the rest of it has just gone.

"It's awful because it is a famous museum which was started in the 1960s and attracts an enormous number of visitors.

"I really can't take it all in."
Click to expand...

ArtLoveMusic · Aug 19, 2004

man... that sent shivers down my spine.....
.... what do u think all the whitches whos possestions just vanished would be doing now? ...on a really serious mode, taking into the idea that the wiccan religion is real. I mean i know if i was a witch in a past life and i saw that happen... soemthing would certainly happen inside me.
Same as the people who get home from a holiday and find their house full of mud ...... man...it makes me want to cry.

stardust · Aug 19, 2004

that is so sad. i really feel for the guy coz it was obviously so important to him.

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Boscastle (pt 2)

DoktorAtomik Closed For Business

ArtLoveMusic Senior Member

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Boscastle (pt 2)

DoktorAtomik Closed For Business

ArtLoveMusic Senior Member

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