Dampening the Mood

There are days when one feels oneself being pushed to the edge of despair.  Today was one such day.  After spending a large part of this year putting right various bits of damage caused by the damage to my roof incurred during last Christmas's storms, upon going into the spare room this lunchtime for the first time in a few weeks, (it's a spare room so, obviously, I don't go in there regularly) I discovered a huge patch of penetrating damp on the outside wall, with the paint blistering off like an extreme skin disease.  The cause of this damp was easily identified: the ivy which plagues the side of my house had crept back around the front corner, blocked the guttering and sent torrents of water down the brickwork at the front during the last month or so of heavy rain we've had to endure.  The ivy emanates from the council's park land which adjoins my house.  Over the years I've had to get them to cut it back several times due o the damage it does to my brick work.  The roofer who repaired my roof was also of the opinion that it had contributed to the damage there - by lifting some of the slates at the edge of the roof it had made it easier for the high winds to dislodge them. Perhaps I should try to claim compensation from the council.

Anyway, having spoken to them on the phone, the council have undertaken to cut down the offending ivy.  It would be even better if they killed the evil stuff off at the roots (which are on their land) but they never seem willing to do this.  Clearly, until they do this, there is little point in me trying to repair any of the internal damage as, until the external cause is resolved, the damp will just reoccur.  In the meantime, all I can do is run my dehumidifier in the spare room to keep the moisture down and prevent further mould.  I wouldn't mind, but it was only a couple of years ago that I repaired the plaster and repainted that wall.  I've also only just resolved the damp problems in my hall way downstairs, (also the result of the ivy blocking the guttering, it transpires).  If I'm lucky, once it is all dried out, the damage in the spare room will be confined to the paintwork and the plaster will be intact (this was the case the last time I had a similar problem, that time caused by a leaking overflow pipe).  To cap it all, today was also freezing cold.  Surely tomorrow must be better?