Who said global warming was a bad thing?!

THE Monday morning drive from Hampshire to Eastbourne is only 76 miles, but because of the tortuous and grinding A27 which stretches across the south coast, the journey tends to take nigh on two hours.

This last Monday, with the rain hammering down on the car, the drive took four and a half hours!

The reason, the main A27 road, which is the transport lifeline for the south coast, had been shut between Havant and Chichester because of flooding. It would be closed for most of the day.

Overnight, one month's worth of rain had fallen in just 12 hours. The sewerage system couldn't cope and the A27 was shut.

We were diverted in this slow moving convoy of vehicles through the tiny villages of Southbourne and Fishbourne which were themselves knee deep in water. We were following this articulated lorry with Polish plates which seemed to have any disregard for the conditions sweeping through the flooded road leaving a wake of water in its trail.

My colleague Keith who was driving admitted that conditions were pretty hairy at times. We saw vehicles stranded on the side of the road, people wading through the water in their wellies almost knee deep - you expected to vehicle to seize up and stop. Driving was really hazardous and the scenes were quite unreal.

It was incredible. Just 24 hours earlier, I'd been watching pictures of the flooding in mid-Wales. It was almost if you expect those sort of conditions in a rural part of the country, but the south coast? There were 12 miles of tailbacks at one stage, and another of my colleagues trying to get to Chichester had to turn back to work remotely from home.

It was amazing how one piece of adverse weather grinds the country to a standstill; snow, rain, wind - leaves on the line, wrong type of snow! Our infrastructure cannot cope with the extremes of climate. Maybe we are all being deluded and should welcome global warming - no more snow and no more rain!

At least that way the journey along the agonising A27 would be quicker.

Portsmouth to Chichester gets you off to a flier, but then the grind begins through picturesque Arundel and less than pretty Worthing, before a brief skip on the dual carriageway skirting Brighton with the glorious sweep of South Downs flanking one side and the ribbon of blue that is English Channel stretching out on the other.

It's then crawl time again along the roundabout-littered single carriageway road past Lewes before finally arriving into Eastbourne.

The train is not much better - although it might have been quicker on Monday. Two hours, two trains and 20 plus stops on the Southern Railway route between Eastbourne and Southampton, with that interminable squeaky-voiced woman making announcements every minute or two over the Tannoy that the next station is.... If only there was a direct train service or a dual carriageway stretching right the way along the south coast, travel time would be halved.

It's crazy when you compare other parts of the country which are so well served by the motorway and road network.The A27 is a main arterial link serving the south coast, yet the road and rail network is second class. There's no investment whatsoever. North to south is fine, but east to west? Forget it!

Anyone who has travelled towards the west country along the A31 or the A303 via Honiton will know that east or west the roads between Devon and East Sussex are pitiful. Get stuck behind a lorry or a caravan on one of those single carriageway roads where there's no way of overtaking and you're beaten. You might as well crank up the radio and enjoy the crawl to your destination.

Today, I'm looking out over Eastbourne pier on a beautiful, sun-kissed day. There are a few lorries unloading lighting stacks and cameras outside the pier - sweet manufacturers Haribo are in town to make an advert.

Flags are flying proud with a stiff breeze - Union Jacks alongside banners promoting the international tennis tournament which takes place in Eastbourne this week, ahead of Wimbledon.

There are a few runners and dog walkers on the promenade basking in the early morning sunshine by the sea which is gently rolling waves onto the stoney beach, all set against a brilliant blue sky with not a cloud in sight.
Monday's rains, you know, seem a lifetime away!