So…
As you may have heard, a volcano erupted last week, or at least we only just began to get to grips with it. And a few days on, I felt we owed this wonder of nature / act of god / natural disaster a little post.
It’s actually insane the effect of this hell-ish mountain on our little island (I work in the London office).
Whilst thankfully casualties have been avoided, a great many people have been affected, and each day we hear of more people who’s holiday’s/jobs/relationships/working practices and day to day lives have been impacted.
Today many schools have returned from easter break minus teachers and students, over 150,000 people are trapped (well sort of trapped) outside our borders unable to get a plane, a ticket on eurostar, and the ferries of my youth, which previously shipped an ever decreasing percentage of tourists from Dover to Calais, are taking two calls a SECOND from the world and his son, all trying to get home.
I’ve watched on face book, as friends, colleagues and clients cross border after border, and take SEVEN trains to get home from work trips that usually take 3 hours, much to my amusement. Even Amie was up at 7 AM on Saturday booking eurostar tickets for a group of editors coming home from Milan. She wasn’t even out of her house.
We’re now seeing collections undelivered, shoots cancelled, meetings postponed and a faint sense of unease at losing control of something we were never really in control of, nature.
I personally (not needing to come back, and not needing to leave anytime soon) have reveled in the beauty of a clear blue sky, not scarred by countless jet streams, an audible silence with no booming planes over head, and breathe a little relief, that for once, for just a few days, we seemed to have taken a step backwards rather than needlessly plunging forward.
A suitably halcyon English warm (actually hot) spring weekend ensured that the thoughts all of my friends this weekend turned to what life would be like with a little less fast pace, and a little more calm. I know it wasn’t and isn’t like that for many people experiencing this most unusual of events. But it has been a great reminder of the need to raise your head every now and again and look at the sky.
And then come back to work, switch on your computer and write a blog post about it!
PS – Sorry, no pics of the clear blue sky. I’m sure you can imagine it though.
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