There are reasons aplenty to be lax in your blog postings but the front of your house burning down is probably the best.
Nobody got hurt but there are few scarier wake-up calls at half two in the morning than "wake up - I think the front of the house is on fire!" I don't think this picture really does it justice but standing outside watching it sweep through the place and eat everything it touched while licking its way down the fences towards the main part of the house was possibly the most frightening thing I've ever seen.
Stupidly, I thought it would be a good idea to move one of the cars before it caught fire as well. Yeah, I know... but you don't think straight in that sort of event. Your head moves into business mode and nothing less. As soon as I got in I knew I shouldn't have. It was so, so hot in there and as soon as I turned the engine over, the back windscreen blew into the car... not nice, but thankful that I have all this hair still even if it is a bitch picking it out.
I really can't even begin to get across what it's like watching something that out of control coming towards you. No matter how brave/stupid you feel, there's simply nothing you can do against hungry 60ft flames and a good headwind helping it along.
The Fire Guys turned up as quick as they could considering the house is in the middle of nowhere. Once they were on the scene, all you can do is stand back and watch them do what they do best. How 2.30am turned into 5.15am I'll never know but it did.
Once the fire had been reduced to red hot wet ash and dawn broke, there was little more to do but stand there, think what was there a few hours earlier and what's there now. Which as you can see here, is nothing at all. Now, I know it's not my house and I'm moving shortly, but these people who I rent some rooms from, lost at least half of their personal possessions. Thirty plus years of collective life gone in 20 minutes. Bad, bad shit.
The fire guys had a good look round and despite hearing a car at some vague time before the fire started (which is unusual for the middle of nowhere) put it down to 'maybe an electrical fault'. Arson or electrical fault, I don't know but I stood there coughing up ash and wondering if I simply hadn't given enough food to the angels that live in the field across the road. Maybe they'd gotten a taste for Yorkie's and were less than impressed with the apples I had thrown in there that had fallen off the tree. Seriously.
Anyway, it's been the most exhausting week and there's a lot of aftermath to blog about: A fire, a divorce, moving house, a magazine, stories and poetry... if you made it this far, you may wish feast away on this video featuring the last few moment of Monday morning. We had to wait until there was nothing left to burn before we even got this close... scary.
Look after yourselves people... death can come on swift wings.
http://www.youtube.com/get_player
Currently listening to: Roxy Music
Currently reading: The Likeness: Tana French and Red Rackham's Treasure
Currently: Also sleeping a lot
