Commuting - Panic in the Streets !

Panic gripped the streets of London this morning when patches of sky took on an unusual blue colour and a ball of fire appeared above the city.

The phenomenon, known as 'The Sun' and commonly found in Mediterranean countries, unleashed a terrifying heat and brightness upon the capital, causing many pedestrians to take off their hats and scarves, while motorists were able to turn both their headlights and wipers off.

Prime Minister Tony Blair urged people to be calm and return to work as normal stating:
"We've seen this sort of thing before", he said,"but it never lasts."

There are forecasts that 'The Sun' could be seen throughout the weekend but a spokesman for No.10 said, "I wouldn't hold my breath".

And as predicted, the fireball (aka the sun) soon disappeared behind a reassuring layer of cloud, rapidly darkening and producing rain.

:beer:

Ellie

Don't people get thrown off by that silver disk in the sky that they see every once in a while at night, when again they can turn the wipers off?

Due to the unexpected and unusual appearence of the bright thing in the sky I've had to take some extra measure's before going out on my bike,

they include

Putting my hardly used visor back on my crash helmet

Taking more water than usual( instead of just looking up and letting the rain quench my thirst)

Only putting one layer of clothes on instead of wrapping myself in a duvet before I go out.

Now that the suns come out and I'll develop a tan line, when are they going to invent cycle shorts that let the sun through so that I'll get an all over tan:D

Errrr....they don't sell a lot of sunblock in your country, do they? ;)

Simply put, if anyone, anwhere in the world has some rain they don't need, can they please send it down here? The Gold Coast is currently gripped by it's worst drought ever. Even bushfires (yes, it's so dry the bushfire season is starting in winter this year) are being allowed to burn unchecked because there is simply not enough water left to fight them.

Of course, the local council are talking about building another dam, which is great if they can ever find anything to put in it.

Failing the rain request, does anybody have a way to de-salinate the pacific ocean?

Have to admit, the British weather makes for interesting cycling. I'm still carrying longs and a poloneck undershirt as well as Gore jacket in my panniers. At the moment I cycle in in shorts , T shirt and fleece, but often have to stop to take the fleece off when the big yellow disc appears.

Chris, They do have desalination equipment available. I think most naval vessels are equipped with them and my memory tells me --and it can't always be trusted-- that Israel irrigates the desert using them.

But by the time the politicians got around to funding a feasability study and all the other procrastinations they are wont to, the drought will be over.

Of course you could move to England and brag how the sun was so common in Queensland (BTW, do they change the name to Kingsland, when there is a king?) that no one enjoyed its presence, but instead wished it would go away once in awhile.

The phenomenon described in the UK has made its way to South Florida this morning. Small children are smiling, golf clubs are being dusted off, rain bikes are being temporarily retired. Could this possibly be a trend?

Originally posted by Inkwolf
Errrr....they don't sell a lot of sunblock in your country, do they? ;)

Of course we do, they are called 'Umbrellas'

Originally posted by ljbike

Of course you could move to England and brag how the sun was so common in Queensland (BTW, do they change the name to Kingsland, when there is a king?) that no one enjoyed its presence, but instead wished it would go away once in awhile.

I don't totally dislike the sun, we just need rain. The best part about the rain here normally is that it comes in real downpours during summer, so we get relief from the heat and plenty of warming sunshine in 'winter'. Trouble was, last summer there were no downpours, hence all my "I hate summer heat" posts around that time, and all my "we need rain" posts now.

I'm not aware of them changing the name of this place, but I'm sure I could find some redneck at Mt Isa who'd support that cause :D. Heck, someone on our council here just yesterday was asking religious leaders to start praying for rain, true story.