Stormy Weather!

Don't Know Why, There's No Sun Up In The Sky…

Stormy Weather!

By some reports, the weather yesterday would be categorized by the Saffir-Simpson scale as a category three hurricane. We had it all yesterday, sustained winds (at times) approaching 100 MPH, gusting to speeds in excess of 110 MPH. Rain varying from a light rain to a driving downpour.

Of course, these were linear winds, not cyclonic and the rain was incidental. Around lunchtime the rain ended but the winds persisted. The damage was similar to a hurricane as well.

There are trees and limbs down all over the village. The news is showing pictures of tiles and whole roofs that have been ripped off by the winds. Thousands of homes throughout the country are without power. Walls were blown over, train and road travel were interrupted. The M1 was closed because a lorry (a semi to those of us from The States) was tipped over while driving down the road.

I went for a bike ride at lunch (not realizing that the winds were as bad as they were). Having been through a hurricane (or a dozen) in my time, I soon realized that this had been a bad idea! But I had to run a couple errands and so, off I went. Even just heading to and from the house at lunchtime was a chore! Pictures on the news show people blown around as they walked down the streets in London; the weather turning the steel, stone and glass canyons of The City into wind tunnels.

The EuroStar between Paris and London was cancelled and a container ship in the channel was capsized by the winds. And it wasn't just London! All over Western Europe the picture was the same. Trains delayed or cancelled, airports closed, buildings and plants damaged or destroyed.

Today, they are calling for calmer winds, but I don't know! I awoke to the sound of wind howling down my chiminey. As I sit here at 05:00, I can still hear the winds screaming through the arbor in the back garden. I guess I should go get a shower and face the day!

I hope wherever you are, your day is filled with calm, blue skies!

Don Bergquist - 19 January 2007 - Thames Ditton, Surrey, UK

Strange Weather!

The winter has been unusually warm (or so I am being told by the locals) and luckily, we have been getting rain regularly. All the watering bans that were in place at the close of the last year have been lifted. Even Thames Water is saying that we have enough water in the reservoirs that we may not need to have hosepipe bans (that is bans on using a hose to water the lawn or wash a car) unless we have unusually high demand on the water supply once the bans are lifted or we have an unusually dry spring.

I am wondering if the recent drop in water usage here will have the same affect it had in Denver. Denver has been in the midst of a drought for the past few years and in the summer of 2005 the water authority in Denver (who, incidentally had left a fireplug open in the area out by the airport for the past three years so as to prevent the water in the system that far out on the periphery from growing stagnant) imposed mandatory restrictions on water usage. The bans worked. The water utilization in Denver and the metro area including the surrounding counties dropped sufficiently to keep the reservoirs from drying out completely and the city was saved! The problem is that then, they (the water board) petitioned the city councils for the areas affected by the drought for a rate increase claiming that the drop in water usage was driving them into bankruptcy. You can’t win for losing some times!

But back to the weather here! Last night I was riding my bike into Surbiton to catch a train into Central London. The evening was mild and in the dying sun of the later afternoon (16:30), I noticed something in the park as I rode by that I had to stop and check-out… Yes! I was right! There are daffodils sprouting in the park. Some are up to a foot tall and are in bud! With the crocuses blooming this past summer and the daffodils coming up in the middle of the winter, what next? Swallows in Capistrano all year round?

Who says that there is nothing to this Global Warming thing? Oh, yeah! The wanker in charge of my country says so! Oh! At least he has finally (grudgingly) admitted that the polar bear may be an endangered species because its habitat is being diminished.

Oh, and speaking of the polar bear, there was a piece on BBC recently telling how Polar Bears were close to the body mass limit for viable carnivorous species. The piece talked of how the physical size of the animal had doomed it from the start as its habit cannot support a large enough food supply to support anything more than a limited number of the species at a time. I gathered that the point of the story was that it was lucky they had survived as long as they have.

I hope that wherever you are today you are surviving well by mastering your environment!

Don Bergquist - 18 January 2007 - Thames Ditton, Surrey, UK

Happy Birthday to my cousin, Leona

Happy Birthday to my cousin, Stan

Busy Day!

Sorry for the short entry today. It is the day I leave early and so I have to get in extra early.

Things are going well, Saga is sleeping all curled-up in the vestibule as I sit here writing this. The rain has abated for now and so I had best hop on the bike and get to work.

I hope that wherever you are today, you'll have a great day (even if it is busy)!

Don Bergquist - 17 January 2007 - Thames Ditton, Surrey, UK

Cheeky!

Saga can be so cheeky some times! You can see her dame's influence on her personality.

This morning I was late getting to the office because Saga decided it was better to play outside in the back garden than to come in when Daddy called. I have no idea what so enthralled her out there, but I called from the door to the Dining Room (where she has been given the vestibule to call her own) and she never showed at the top of the stairs. I then made my way up to the lounge and looked out and there she was. She was in the back corner of the garden staring at something in the hedges.

What it was, I have no clue. She kept staring at and ignoring me as I called. So, out I went to round her up and get her inside. It was here that she decided that it was a good idea to play tag with me. She dodged and refused to be rounded-up and brought inside. She even refused to fall for the rattling of the snack bag. I finally got her in when it started to rain a bit heavier. Grrr! It reminded me of the first time I was asked to put Inka (Saga's dame) out while my roommate, Kelly, was at work. Inka went out and then refused to come back in!

Dogs! Gotta love 'em!

I hope wherever you are today you have had an entertaining morning!

Don Bergquist - 16 January 2007 - Thames Ditton, Surrey, UK

Happy Birthday to my niece, Sarah

Sunday in the Park

What a lovely day yesterday!

Unlike Saturday, which was cold and drizzly all day, Sunday was absolutely lovely!

Saga and I got out and took to the park in Long Ditton. It is the first time I have taken Saga to the park in my neighborhood and she loved it! She now owns the Long Ditton Park, as she peed on everything there. (That is how dogs acquire property, you know!

In the park, Saga showed that she is getting used to the idea that there are other dogs around that she has to deal with. The park had a number of people walking their dogs in it (many of them off-lead) and they all wanted to come-up and meet the new dog in the village. Saga was excellent! She came immediately back to me and pressed herself against my leg to make sure that Daddy was protected. There was no chance that any of these dogs who bark funny were going to harm her Daddy!

After our walk, I had a friend over for dinner. I made a crock pot full of chili and brown rice. By sundown the weather had already started to change to the heavy overcast and occasional sprinkling rain that is expected all day. But it really doesn’t matter. I have a bunch of work that I have piling-up on my desk. So I guess I had best get to the office and start in on it.

I hope wherever you are today, you've had a great weekend and you have had a great weekend and can start your week on a positive note!

Don Bergquist - 15 January 2007 - Thames Ditton, Surrey, UK

Happy Birthday to my uncle, Harvey

Happy Martin Luthor King Day!

What A Difference…

It is lovely out today!

Saga and I are going out to the park! It is a lovely, sunny day and the walk will do us good! Today is going to be a short entry. It is far too lovely to be cooped-up inside at the computer!

I hope that wherever you are today, the weather is lovely!

Don Bergquist - 14 January 2007 - Thames Ditton, Surrey, UK

Ah! Saturday!

Saturday, Rainy Saturday! The weekend is upon us and it is looks to be every bit as unpleasant has it has been all week. All week I have been riding into the next-but-one village, Tolworth, to watch a friend's dog while they are out of the country on holiday.

It has been a good time, but it has been rainy, cold and windy for the entire time that they have been away. Elaine and her family will be returning today so I have ridden back to Thames Ditton from Tolworth for the last time (for the time being…) This morning, I woke-up, dealt with Daisy and made sure that the house looked good for their return and then mounted my bike for the ride home. I arranged my trip to take my past Sainsbury's on the way home as it was nearly 08:00 when I left. But the rain started falling shortly after I got into the grocery store. It was pouring by the time I got out. So, instead of the ride I was going to take, through Kingston and Bushy Park, I headed straight home.

It has been raining all morning, on and off now. So I have decided to take a nice, quiet weekend at home, reading.

I hope that you have a wonderful, relaxing weekend wherever you are this weekend!

Don Bergquist - 13 January 2007 - Thames Ditton, Surrey, UK

Road Rash II

I want to make sure you're aware, it is not only hazard a cyclist in London (or anywhere, for that matter) needs to be aware of. Gravity is another of those hidden predators that can take their toll on the cyclist. Leaving the office last night, Gravity finally claimed its prize.

The car park that the Bike Shed is located in slopes downhill toward the river. The Bike Shed is located at the bottom of the lot just near the Thames. Generally, I downshift so as to put my bike in a low gear to allow me to more easily exit the car park.

Leaving last night I went to gain some momentum climbing the hill to exit the car park. My mistake was to stand-up in the stirrups to get more power. There, leaning over the handle bars to maximize the down-thrust, I suffered the upset. My derailleur skipped a cog and downshifted. The sudden release of all resistance (even though it was only for a moment) caused me to topple over forward; over the handle bars, through just over 180 degrees of arc to land on my shoulder. Luckily, the years of theatre taught me rules for not getting hurt when falling. I tucked, rolled and turned it into a pratfall.

Rolling to a supine position, my first thought was: "God! I'm glad nobody has a window at this level!" I brushed myself off and looked around the car park. I was alone in the gathering gloom of the evening. I congratulated myself on the fact that nobody ever need know about my fall.

This morning, there is no evidence of my tumble but a small patch of road rash on my elbow and a sore shoulder. I need never suffer the humiliation of people knowing that I can't ride a bicycle and stay on!

Of course, now I have told the whole world; at least that small percentage of the world who read English and have any desire to ever read my blog. It's too bad I do not have any video to post. I am sure it would have looked humorous. Perhaps there is footage: I have heard that there are enough Closed Circuit Television camera in the UK to catch the average pedestrian over 300 times a day!

I hope that wherever you are today, there is no camera there to catch your embarrassing moments! (And always wear your bicycle helmet!)

Don Bergquist - 12 January 2007 - Thames Ditton, Surrey, UK

Waterfront Dining

Many of the pubs along the Thames have waterside dining available for their patrons. A few have taken that one step better.

At Ye Olde Swann there is underwater dining available this week. The recent rains along the Thames have swollen the river until the tables on their riverside dock are underwater. This picture was taken after the waters had already started to subside. At the highest point, the water on the dock was up to the seats on the picnic tables.

I was not kidding when I said that it has been raining - a lot! Frankly, all this rain is for the birds. (Ducks and swans mostly…)

And of course, weather being mutable, today it has changed again and it is windy. There are gale-force winds blowing with gusts of up to seventy miles-per-hour. Ironically, the icons on the weather forecasting section of the BBC website show the icon for showers today and the icon for windy tomorrow!

I hope wherever you are today, your weather blows you a way, figuratively - not literally!

Don Bergquist - 11 January 2007 - Thames Ditton, Surrey, UK