How things can change
I have to go out tonight, so I will leave you with the historic tale of the Lewes avalanche.
England was a much, much colder place in them there days. During the ‘Little Ice Age’ (c. 16th to 19th C) the Thames would often freeze over in Winter, hard enough that they could hold Frost Fairs on its surface.
In 1836, it started snowing in October and the ground wasn’t clear until April. There were ten foot drifts in parts of Lewes, a town along the south coast in Sussex. A particularly strong snowstorm arrived on the 24th and blew right through Christmas.
Nobody in town noticed that on the chalk cliffs above the town, a giant cornice had formed – that’s like a curved wave made of snow. A few bits came down on Boxing Day and destroyed a shed. Some townies suggested the people right below should evacuate for a while, but they didn’t. Nobody appreciated how huge the cornice had grown.
There was a collection of ramshackle homemade cottages in the path of the avalanche. It came down on the 27th – not in a landslide, but as a huge chunk – and buried them alive. There were 15 people at home, mostly women and children, of which eight died. A hundred and fifty turned up to dig the bodies out.
Lewes is in my sort of latitude. In my 27 years coming here (lordy, has it been that long?), I’ve never seen a snowfall worthy of the name. The most I remember was about four inches (and, typical of places that don’t often get snow, it paralyzed everything).
Honest and truly, I’m more worried about the possibility of another ice age than I am warmening, which is most welcome.
Posted: November 9th, 2023 under history.
Comments: 3
Comments
Comment from Steve’s Kid
Time: November 9, 2023, 8:10 pm
‘Scuse me Miss Sweasel but I’d like to point you in the direction of the DeadPool comments section as I’ve posted a data-supported lobby for a winning verdict on my pick (Robert Card, Maine mass shooter).
Thanks, and sorry for hijacking your latest post for some shameless self-promotion (but not really sorry, I don’t think).
Comment from durnedyankee
Time: November 9, 2023, 8:59 pm
Colder eh?
Must have been all that coal smoke blocking the sunlight,
or some other farcical reason why the climate in a local place, like say Peshawar (Where, by the way, Kamal will be hanged when his son is raised to Risaldar 😜) is causing a heat wave in Texas.
Oh wait, that can’t be because only the 1st World country pollution affects the global climate. My error.
All of warming that ended the previous ice age is caused by the 1st world countries that didn’t exist yet, and were in many cases, UNDER the ice sheet.
Honestly though, I thought you were going to relate an avalanche story about a spoil tip (a coal tip) eating a town somewhere.
But an honest to God snow avalanche in Sussex, wow, who’d a thunk!
Comment from ExpressoBold Pureblood
Time: November 10, 2023, 12:03 am
Looks like Rich Rostrom won the Dick with Frank Borman, who died November 7.
The ball is now in Mdme. Weasel’s court…
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