Towering Hamletts Inferno

[dotinthesky]

London has been under a fog these past few days. This is worrying because Kevin and I fly to Canada on Monday. Granted, most cancelled flights seem to be within Britain, but I'm still left wondering if on Christmas Day, when Kevin and I arrive at the airline's counter, we'll get a nasty surprise.

In the mornings, the apartment feels cold; there's nothing to see outside but the grey mist that covers the skyline and obscures the whole of the EastEnd. From the kitchen, I can't see Canary Wharf's flashing lights so I'm thankful the usual low-flying small aircrafts have been grounded.

People on the streets and in the tube seem miserable; everyone must be counting down the days until the weekend holiday. As the morning progresses, and the sun shines, the fog lifts and we can see a pale blue sky. My co-workers sing to Take That and do dance routines to "Do They Know It's Christmas Time?" while I'm stuck finishing off my workload. By the time I leave the office, the fog has returned -- thicker than ever, and a perfect companion to the dropping temperature.

I get off at Mile End station and follow the brightest lit roads. All the short-cuts -- those residential streets with spiderly trees and abandomned churches -- seem a tad creepy. There are less people walking around, and I catch a few odd stares from the loners that cross my path. On Roman Road, each pole has a flashing Christmas decoration but, because of the fog, they seem to hang in the air twinkling down at me. I imagine what this part of town must have looked like in Victorian times, so near to where Jack the Ripper's victims were found. Without today's electricity, and with a heavy fog, it must have been terrifying to wander at night. Or perhaps people felt some comfort in disappearing into the fog and being less visible.

***

Kevin, lying on the couch, asks if I smell something burning. There's just a hint of burnt plastic bag. He checks the radiators, then the bedrooms. He cries out that we need to get out of the apartment, that there's smoke in the hallway. I turn off the computer, the stereo and TV, throw on my coat and slip into my shoes. He knocks on the neighbours doors but nobody answers (eventhough we can hear them.) It's as if the fog has come into the building, but it smells of burning. From the emergency staircase I see a firetruck on the street. We rush down the stairs. On the floor beneath us, the smoke is stronger. The staircase is freezing... and silent, apart from us. We get to the reception and Kevin asks what's going on. The night "guard" says someone set fire to the skip outside and the smoke went up the garbage shute. But are you sure, we ask, because the smoke is quite heavy. Yes, he is sure: a firemen is checking all the floors. Just then, the fireman appears and tells us that everything is OK.

a) there was no fire alarm
b) nobody came out despite THE STINK of burning

Comments

[tonight-we-fly.livejournal.com]

Your post has made me want to put on "London 1888" by Momus. Which, in fact, I think I will.

Followed by "The Oliver Twist Manifesto" by Luke Haines.

Into a pea souper...

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

Never heard them. I hope they keep you safe tonight. :-)

[tonight-we-fly.livejournal.com]

...and then "London" by The Smiths. And then (stretching it a bit) "Don't Look Back Into The Sun" by The Libertines.

Smoke, lingers 'round your fingers...

[theairwebreathe.livejournal.com]

scary scary scary. do you have a fire alarm in your unit? If not, get one now!

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

We have a fire alarm in need of a battery. After the incident, Kevin went around looking for one in the drawers.

What's unsettling is that the building itself doensn't have an alarm. So, technically, we could wake up with fire lapping at our doors and have nowhere to go. I'm writing to the council that runs this building ASAP.

[theairwebreathe.livejournal.com]

that's completely baffling. how is that even possible? granted, there was a freak windstorm in my fair city last week, and as a bizarre consequence a woman drowned in her own basement (http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/296094_fleming15ww.html). anything can happen.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

You'd be surprised at the amount of buildings and houses I've been to in London which don't have fire alarms.

[theairwebreathe.livejournal.com]

that is totally unacceptable. maybe I'm just a pansy american used to verging-on-ridiculous safety requirements, but that seems like a really awful thing to be lazy about - or at least non-stringent. awful and dangerous. they're cheap to install and cheaper to maintain and they work. I can't understand why anybody wouldn't have one. I mean, I have two, and my apartment is small.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

Kevin is Canadian and he feels the same way. I'm less worried since I come from a similar-acting banana republic (Brasil). :-)

[http://users.livejournal.com/_b_angel/]

I hope its gonna be fog-free Christmas -)
For me it was sooo big problem on flights on tuesday and on last night

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

I know what you mean. Let's hope the fog is dispelled by tomorrow.

[msanthropist.livejournal.com]

Often your posts, as well as your life, bring the surrealness of life to my awareness...I think that's cool, if a little disconcerting. You and Kevin often seem to be the only sensible pair in many of your anecdotes...?

Happy Holidaze, and never a dull moment for our hero Ollie - which is all the better for us since it's not but more fodder for his writing grist...Fact is often stranger than fiction...

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

You and Kevin often seem to be the only sensible pair in many of your anecdotes...?
I'm guilty of leaving out all the juicy stories where one of us does something naughty. ;-)

Happy Holidazeness to you too! I hope your meal plans for Monday go well.

Lots of love to you and the fam.

[icymorning.livejournal.com]

london under the fog ... must be beautiful. most of my friends' flights have been cancelled because of snow storms over Colorado and Illinois.

paris is boring ... i should celebrate the holidays in london.

hope you & kevin are well - love x

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

You should definitely visit London one day, if only so you can begin to love Paris again.

All is well with us. I hope you are well too. xo

[showwyourteeth.livejournal.com]

i take it you're okay though? thats good
where are you flying to in Canada
ps. another beautifully written entry

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, we are OK. We are flying to Toronto and then immediatly catching a train to Ottawa. That's where Kevin's parents live. For the New Year, we are going to Montreal and staying with friends... can't wait!

And I'm glad you enjoyed the entry. :-)

[showwyourteeth.livejournal.com]

i live about 30 mins from toronto so i was curious =)

[brokenhaze.livejournal.com]

a sad indication of modern, shared living?
i hope your flight is not grounded; here in newcastle the fog seemed to have lifted today - we were left with hazy, bright sunshine.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

I hope so too. The fog has lifted somewhat here - and the flights leaving from Gatwick before (which is the airport we are using) didn't seem to be suffering as much as the ones from Heathrow. It seems like everything will be OK.

[brokenhaze.livejournal.com]

happy christmas x

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

To you too. xo

[zenithed.livejournal.com]

Can I choose "c) Blimey charlie! Install a fire alarm!"?

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

We are sorted... it's the whole building that needs one!

[thirstypixel.livejournal.com]

That does not inspire overwhelming confidence.

[naturalbornkaos.livejournal.com]

Don't really have much to say about that (I'd have freaked out, I'm sure) but I loved reading about it. Such an evocative post. :)

I know what you mean about everyone's being miserable yesterday. Most people I know had stopped work for the holidays already and yet our place still hadn't closed down (in fact, the last two days were particularly busy/stressy ones to boot!). I kept seeing people on tubes with packed suitcases, obviously going home for the holidays, and getting jealous.

The last few working days before Christmas are always such a bleak time and this weird fog hasn't been helping the general mood.

[lelapin.livejournal.com]

someone set fire to the skip? what's that?

i'm glad that you haven't been burnt to death.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

A skip is our version of dumpster. We have a big one underneath the garbage shute, where everyone's garbage lands in, and which gets collected by a giant truck each morning.

Send us a prayer so we won't get burnt while we live here.

[noondaydemon.livejournal.com]

Yeah, people on the streets yesterday seemed snappish and weird here in Greenwich.... yet today it was crowded as can be in the supermarket and yet everyone was in jolly spirits - there were even little kids singing carols of their own volition fer crissakes!

How utterly odd that everyone didn't investigate the smoke. Is everyone comatose in your building?

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

Kevin says that when he knocked on the neighbours doors, he heard one of them say "it's the neighbours" (i.e. us). I guess they couldn't be bothered opening their doors and finding out what we wanted. I'm also guessing that they don't have any fire alarms and, if there is ever a serious fire and we knock on their doors, they won't come out and they'll be found the next day charred. :-/

[noondaydemon.livejournal.com]

they'll be found the next day charred. :-/

God, I hope so:-) That'll learn 'em for their complacency!

[belacane.livejournal.com]

yesss london is foggy! I am stranded here (there... london.. wherever) because of the fog!

However, I think my flight out tomorrow will leave with no problems, so maybe you'll get lucky too.

have a wonderfuly holiday!

[vilia64.livejournal.com]

Your building doesn't have smoke or carbon monoxide alarms? I'd say that a SERIOUS take with your landlord is in order. I'm just glad that it wasn't more serious!

I hope your trip to Canada goes/is going well! :)

[hunterjr.livejournal.com]

I love fog but I've never needed to walk on the streets under a heavy mist. It must be scary *hides*

[yearning.livejournal.com]

I like the photo!
I've only been to Mile End twice and both times it was a bit scary. But I'm going on Sunday again, to work in the cemetery of all places...

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

Why was Mile End scary? It's busy, and kinda ugly, but if you go into the little side streets, or walk down Mile End park, or come to Victoria Park, it has some lovely little pockets -- with cafes, bookstores and restaurants. What kind of work do you do at the cemetery?

[yearning.livejournal.com]

it was very bleak, I don't know, I just didn't feel comfortable...I'm sure there are parts that are nice, I just went towards the uni both times.

It's conservation work, felling and planting trees, planting wildflowers, you know, increasing biodiversity. I am excited as it's my first time doing this but I hope it'll become something regular, I need something to balance out uni in terms of physical activity (I just hate gyms).

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

Is it through a NGO? I almost joined one last Summer, which does that kind of work. Their offices are near King's Cross.

[yearning.livejournal.com]

yeah, it's that. btcv. it sounds really good, I am curious about what kind of people will be there. at my uni a conservation society just started a couple of weeks ago and I am going through them. unfortunately, most of their activities are in north london, but maybe they'll have more diverse locations in the summer.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'd be really interested in learning what you think of them! May I add you as a friend? :-)

[yearning.livejournal.com]

sure, go ahead. I really hope they're good, I'd like to finally find something I can stick with for a while (in terms of volunteering).

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

A co-worker told me about the organization; she used to spend her Saturdays two summers ago doing stuff with them. She really loved it and highly recommended them. They even have a side-group for gays and lesbians.