Fireworks catastrophes and the summer house

17 May 2016

A week of perfect, sunny weather saw me summerhouse painting rather than walking. Of course there were trips up the hill and a bit of general wandering about, but nothing that could rightfully be called a proper walk. On Thursday afternoon I finally got the last coat of paint on the inside of my little woman cave and scraped the excess off the windows. There was some making up of miles to be done on Friday and I had a plan. An arts trail in the city to be exact. A map and information was downloaded and I was all set to pound the pavements and parks. Sadly, a catastrophe of epic proportions involving fire got in the way.

Little did I know of the havoc being wreaked outside as I finished my hot chocolate and had a final look at the route. In fact the first I heard of it was a phone call from CJ, who’d gone off to an appointment a few minutes before.
“There’s a massive fire at the Fireworks Factory. The whole road is closed,” he said, sounding slightly breathless and more than a little excited. “I’ve had to turn back and walk up through Monks Walk towards Cobden Bridge.”
“Were the fireworks going off?” I asked, surprised he’d been able to tear himself away if they were. CJ and Commando love fireworks.
“The fireworks have all gone up in smoke, along with the building. The firemen are trying to put it out now.”

It sounded as if the fire had been raging for some time and, with the fire brigade there, I was sure it would soon be out and the road open again. In a quick change of plan I decided to go up the hill for supplies first and then walk the art trail. By the time I’d packed my shopping away and finally set off again, it was after ten o’clock, an hour and a half after CJ’s call. The road was sure to be open, or so I thought.

When I got to the road it was strangely quiet, at least heading west, the direction I was going. A few cars trickled up the other side of the carriageway though so I figured I’d be able to get through ok, even if I had to cross and walk around the loop behind Kwik Fit and the library. Then I got to the corner and I could see smoke drifting right across the road. A knot of people were standing about watching the firemen who were wandering about in the empty road.

Despite this I kept walking. After all there was a whole dual carriageway between the pavement I wanted to use and the fire and the smoke wasn’t exactly thick or dangerous looking, more like fog really. Obviously the road was closed because visibility for drivers was poor and there were firemen and fire engines but the pavement would be open surely?  A few more steps though and I realised it wasn’t. There was police tape blocking the way, along with a policeman. Across the road there was more tape blocking my alternative route past the library. What’s more the roof of the business lying next to the Fireworks Factory was gone, just a few tiles and some charred, skeletal wood remained.

There was nothing for it but to turn around and go home. Obviously, there were other walks I could have done but, having seen the extent of the damage, I was keen to find out more. For one, I wanted to know what happened to all the fireworks. As usual Google gave me the answer to that question. In fact the fire, which had began at five thirty that morning, was all over the news. There was even some quite spectacular video footage of the shop exploding and fireworks going off. This begged the question, how had CJ and I slept with all that happening just five hundred yards away?

As it was Friday, it wasn’t long before Commando got up. He knew all about the fire. He’d seen it on the Internet news and on his way home from work and couldn’t believe we were both sound asleep when he got in with all the commotion going on.
“I was going to go down to the carpet place later to get some lino for the summerhouse,” he said. “I wonder how long the road will be closed?”
“The last news report said it would be open after midday. They probably have to clear all the mess out of the road first.”
“Right, then I’ll have a shower and something to eat and we’ll walk down there.”

When we got there though, six hours after the fire began, the road and the pavement was still closed. The firemen were still hosing it down and thick black smoke was still pouring out. A policeman was on guard to stop anyone going under the tape.
“There are still cars in the car showroom that might go up,” he said by way of explaination when we asked what was taking so long.
So that was that, we turned around and went home again. The lino would have to wait.

The road remained closed late into the evening. On Saturday morning, after Commando came back from Parkrun, we tried again. This time the road was open and, as we waited to cross we looked across at the devastation. The whole roof of the delicatessen was gone, save for a few charred beams on the far side and the Fireworks Factory was nothing but a shell.  The kerb was littered with spent fireworks and small pieces of debris were everywhere.

Close up it was even worse. Pieces of the building had been sent flying in the explosion and now littered the ground where once tubs of flowers and planters stood. What little remained standing was charred and pitted and everywhere there were burnt out fireworks. A fire engine was still on standby and firemen were picking through the wreckage, probably looking for clues as to how it started.

Shocked, we gawped for a bit, then went to get our lino. On the way home, Commando now carrying a roll of cream lino over his shoulder, we talked about how much worse it could have been. Lots of people had been woken up and evacuated, the poor owner had lost his business and the people of the city had been inconvenienced for a day with the main route into town closed. Even so, no one was injured or killed and the fire didn’t make it as far as the piles and piles of car tyres in Kwik Fit.

Back at home Commando soon got down the the important task of cutting and fitting the lino. He made a rather Heath Robinson tool with a drill, a rake and a pencil to mark out a circle of the right size. Within an hour it was done and he was sitting relaxing with a well earned cup of coffee, looking very pleased with himself.

We sat and admired the view for a while, sipping our coffees, then we went out to buy the finishing touches. By the end of the day there were cheap blinds at the windows to shade the seedlings I hope to grow, a boat shaped, shabby chic, shelf unit I just couldn’t resist and a wrought iron key with a thermometer so I know what the temperature is. The wonderful Commando had also put up some hooks to hang my most used tools.

While he worked I painted the little wooden shapes that accidentally slipped into my basket at the DIY store. Eventually, they will be a mobile to hang from the centre of the ceiling.

It’s been an eventful few days so, today, I’m having a rest, sitting admiring my little home from home and thinking about all the happy hours I’m going to spend in it.