Troubles with Trees

Storm Otto wreaked some havoc in Sheffield, and it felled a large tree near Nute's house, seriously injuring one man. It also put out the electrics for quite a while.

And the troubles continue. From Nute's facebook page:

 I was waiting for a meeting to start yesterday morning when clonk, my internet vanished. Lights on the router suggested this wasn't the usual router-going-on-walkabout issue, (easily solved by an electronic boot up the bum) but more of entire-telecoms-for-the-area-obliterated. It was a particularly important meeting, and due to start in about 20 minutes.

I wandered to the front gate and sure enough, there was a disconnect of BT Openreach engineers with their vans parked all over the road, one in a cherry picker, the rest leaning against the telegraph pole, drinking coffee, eating their sandwiches and generally enjoying the clear skies. I approached with caution - BT Openreach engineers are notoriously skittish, and if you upset them, the whole disconnect can leap into its van, vanish and not come back this side of Christmas.

I tried, 'Is the internet down?' and they agreed that it was. The fallen tree had damaged the pole, and they were replacing it - when they'd finished their coffee and sandwiches. I stepped a bit further out on the wire. 'Um... how long is it likely to be out?' For some reason they found this question hilarious. The one in the cherry-picker nearly fell out and the ones on the ground clanked teacups at my wit. Then I over-stepped the mark. 'Only I've got a meeting, and a bit of warning would have...'

I could see them gathering themselves for the van leap, so I hastily switched to 'Never mind. It's fine. Fine,' whilst retreating at speed.

I went back to my desk and did what I should have done in the first place: set up a phone hotspot and used up all this month's data in one fell swoop. At some stage during the day, the internet came back.

I just hope that the poor guy who was seriously injured is making a good recovery. But I am very impressed at my sister's ability to set up phone hotspots and such technical things. While not quite as old as I am (and indeed, who is?), she is not young either. We are children of the Times Tables and the abacus beads, not of the computer.

And it set me wondering about communication post Armageddon, when the present wicked system of things on the earth has been destroyed as completely as it was in Noah's day. Wondering, not worrying though, as while Noah and his family emerged from the Ark into a world still ruled by Satan, one in which the Messiah had not yet appeared and the ransom had not yet been paid, the post-Armageddon world will be run by the loving and perfect heavenly government, the Kingdom of God. And all of us who have chosen to be under its rule know how well it cares for us, even now, in an imperfect world, full of imperfect people.

I did get out on the field service on Saturday morning, and once again was saved from the Roundabout of Terror, this time by kind young sister who drove me there and back. We found some people in and had a couple of good conversations on the doorstep. And at one house a large Alsatian (German Shepherd) shot out, her owner in hot pursuit. "Don't worry, she's very friendly", the owner reassured us. And thankfully she was.

I managed to stay awake all Saturday afternoon (quite an achievement these days) and got a rhubarb crumble made, plus a veggie soup. And I did my Watchtower study for Sunday. The crumble turned out really well - almost as good as the crumble served at The Fat Cat!

We were thin on the ground at the Kingdom Hall on Sunday. I think a lot of us are ill. The two years of lockdown have probably zapped our immune systems.

The photo above is of a painting of the trees of Sheffield, in Endcliffe Vale Park, by the artist Ken Reah, my much loved and missed brother-in-law.