Around 4:00 we heard a siren and Jeff remarked that it was very unusual to hear a siren in the village. Some time later there was a knock at the door and Rhiannon came in wanting to use the bathroom because the road was closed because of the fire and he couldn't get home. Of course the response was the pub was on fire. I grabbed my camera and went out the front door while the rest of the house bailed out the back door. This was the scene from the end of the driveway.
The part of the pub that was burning was the some 300 years old. The new buildings that are in view were added in 2004.
The very attractive lady who picked me up in her red MG was one of the first on the scene. Her car was effectively trapped by the closure of the main road. Unfortunately she fell and fractured the radial head of her left elbow, the arm she uses to shift the gears. So a photo of this lady and her car will have to wait a bit, but please stay tuned.
The full impact of the fire was seen the next morning. One of the problems fighting this fire was that it was impossible to pull off the burning thatch because it was common practice to cover the thatch with wire to keep out birds and vermin. Earlier thatched roofs did not have this covering and firemen carried long staves topped with metal fingers to pull off any burning thatch.
Just catching up on your recent adventures! It was so sad to see the pub go up in flames. Is Abbots Ripton well supplied with pubs, or was that the only one?
ReplyDeleteFreegle sounds like the Kingston Freecycle which I have been using recently. It's a great way to get rid of stuff that is still in good condition but wouldn't attract much attention if you tried to sell it. Actually, I'm not even sure it needs to be in good condition! It's a great resource though.
We were enjoying some great weather for little red cars until last week; Easter promises warmer, drier conditions. PTL!
Derek