Another morning, another old DVD to watch; it was war films today so I thought I'd start with Saving Private Ryan on of my favourites. I was about halfway though it, when Tom Hanks and his squad are halfway across France looking for Ryan when I realised how stiflingly hot it was in the flat and not to mention how hungry I was. Now by this time I was sick of toast. I had it for breakfast, I had it for lunch, for days and days. It was time for a shopping trip.
(Edit - 26/05/09 - it should be mentioned that I was having a break from emplyment at the time. Hence the toast diet. )
So thats how I found myself out in Beckenham paying the council tax and stuff, you know, the chores on the list I had woken up to find next to my face, thanks Nik. Well it looked nice out, it was sunny and hot, and I mean baking! The flat was always so sauna-like so I thought I'd get the list done and out of the way as well. The sky was blue with not a cloud in sight when I popped into Sainsbury's to get a few bits; however, when I came out the heavens had opened and it was absolutely bucketing down and I'm talking rivers in the road, thunder and lightening type of rain here. So there I was sheltering from the downpour with about half a dozen other slightly damp shoppers just outside of Sainsbury's, wishing I had in fact parked in the Sainsbury's car park instead of in the high street parking space (at the time it had been crucial to my carefully laid out shopping route so as to avoid unnecessary walking to and fro). I looked out towards the car, it wasn't far, just about fifty meters or so maybe I could run for it? More people joined us and it was clear that even a couple of seconds was enough to soak them not to mention I would probably fall over in my stupid flip-flops. No I would have to wait out the worst of it like everyone else, trouble was that I only had a few minutes before the parking meter ran out and I was supposed to be meeting a friend for lunch just down the road. The dilemma was actually a point of excitement for me, after all I had been in the house for months now with only a handful of ventures out into the wildlands of Beckenham. Well that did it, it was decided, I was going to make a dash for it!
Then all of a sudden, there was a flash and the loudest bang I have ever heard (it sounded like a bomb!), and the chimney on the building next to us exploded! I made it all of about 5 yards out of the shelter and turned back, bits of masonry falling around me, people screaming, bullets shrieking over head... Well ok so there may not have been anyone shooting but I had just been watching Saving Private Ryan again that morning remember and the similarity in my mind was uncanny!
Anyway, the lightening had struck not 20 feet away hitting the chimney (which really did explode) and not only that but the power of it also made the little children's pay for a ride on the plastic horse thing start by itself... spooky! So we are all standing there nervously laughing with bits of chimney falling around us, the plastic horse galloping on the spot with no rider and a river passing by in front of us. Surely only the most efficient of parking wardens would be out in that wouldn't they? I had no choice but to clutch my shopping and press my back against the cash machine so as to avoid the water blowing in and wait it out.
Eventually it subsided a little so I made that dash for the car. Phew no ticket, mind you they would have needed a boat by the looks of things. It was then that I remembered we still had a hole in our kitchen roof. Oh joy, the bucket easily fills about a quarter just when its a shower and... Oh no we cannot flood downstairs again! That does it, my friend will have to wait; if need be he can celebrate his news of a second job interview alone, I had a leak to stop. Driving back home it was like driving through a lake, there was water jetting out of manhole covers like fountains and people walking along the pavement where in some parts the water was half way up their shins.
I got home and dashed up stairs, my feet slipping and sliding in my now soaking flip-flops to find... Nothing out of the ordinary it was like it hadn't rained at all here.
Now its all over and you would hardly know it happened at all apart from the shops with sandbags in front of their doors.
