Today has been very reminiscent of the movie “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles” but of course without the planes – that would be far too environmentally unfriendly. Sigh. It’s not easy saving the world – by being carbon-aware. As I am pushed for time (am writing this in a restaurant on a friend’s laptop) the best way I can put you in the picture is to copy and paste the email I just sent out to the friends most impacted by my travel hassles…
Hi All
As you may have guessed by now, I have had a total nightmare trying to get back to England. The Eurostar has been cancelled, and added to that the trains in Denmark, Germany and Belgium have been in total disarray due to a few flakes of snow. I left Copenhagen at 6.40pm last night, and since then it has been one transportational horror after another. Today I have done the grand tour of Western European train stations, an experience I hope not to repeat any time soon.
And of course, thanks to that lovely thiefy person, I have had no mobile phone or internet access to a) find out what is going on, or b) let anybody know that I am lost in space.
But there is now light at the end of the (railway) tunnel. My saviour Baldwin Hopmans met me at the station when I finally reached reached Brussels, and has arrived fully kitted out with multiple laptops, mobile phones, etc etc, so I am able to issue this rather belated explanation for radio silence. I am sitting in a restaurant near Bruxelles Midi, having had a fine dinner (a nice change from railway station food) and am able to let you know what is happening.
I am now booked on a bus that will leave at 10.30 tonight and should arrive at London Waterloo around 7am tomorrow. A second sleepless night on public transport. Oh joy.
My first action on returning to London will be to get myself a replacement iPhone, and to insert the replacement SIM that Mum has sent to Anthony’s flat in Marylebone, so I should then be back in the land of the living.
But this does leave all other plans in utter chaos. I will try to gather my wits when I arrive in London tomorrow, hopefully feeling marginally less sleep-deprived.
But for now, this is as much as I know:
Deirdre and Trish – sorry about tonight. Had no way to let you know I was stuck in Europe. Hope we can get together some other time.
Simon and David – sorry, but I’m not going to get to our appointments in Weybridge tomorrow. Would love to reschedule. Will get back in touch when I know what I’m doing.
Anthony – will certainly need to swing by the flat to pick up SIM card etc. Not sure yet where I’m going to stay tomorrow night. If need be, may I stay at the flat? Am aware it may be full of rugby players!
Nikki and Sue – will need to let you know about Wednesday. Am still hoping to make it over to Cirencester, but may not make it up to Bristol as well, so may need to reschedule TWiE.
Polly and Misty – have been having some powerful thoughts today while sitting on trains. Have been making lots of notes about how the next COP should look, and what it should achieve. Would love to get together for a visioning exercise very soon, either in London or elsewhere.
Charles – sorry, but meeting up in Putney is now very unlikely to happen. Sorry about that, and hope we can get together some other time.
Mum – hope you haven’t been worrying about me too much. Am getting by just fine, with a lot of help from my Brussels friends. Should be back in contact tomorrow.
Phew, okay, hope that covers it all. Sorry so much is still TBC. Just too brain-dead to plan logistics right now. After the last 24 hours I’m quite inclined not to plan any travel for the foreseeable future, but will no doubt rally soon, once I’ve had a good night’s sleep.
lots of love
Roz xx
It sounds almost as difficult as trying to row across the Pacific! 😉 I am glad that there are some people around to help you; I’m a little too far away in San Francisco but would love to have been around there to lend a hand. Cheers Roz.
Hi Roz!
Bob here, Nikki’s cohost on This Week in Energy (TWiE) podcast. Thanks for the update, we were just discussing contingency plans in case you were lost in the snow. Rowing across the ocean sounds easier than navigating Europe in a snow storm (well maybe not)! We’ll certainly rebook you if need be. No need to break an oar trying to make the show on Wednesday (still would love to have you on if you can make it though)- and, by the way, Happy Birthday!
Cheers,
Bob Tregilus
in Reno, NV USA
http://ThisWeekinEnergy.tv
http://ElectricNevada.org
As usual your perseverence is inspiring. What a nightmare! I will be sending positive thoughts your way for a speedy trip back to London and eventually to your Mum for Christmas? Let me know when you are back on the East Coast. Remember 2010 will be YOU in the history books.
Cheers, Laurin
I just now heard this brief report on the radio: Eurostar To Resume Service Tuesday. A senior Eurostar executive said “the snow was too fluffy” and got into the ventilators, melted and caused electrical circuits to fail. Roz had plenty of company, if that is any consolation; 40,000 travelers were affected on “one of the coldest and busiest travel weeks of the year.” Following is the text that goes with the audio:
December 21, 2009
Eurostar said it would resume its high-speed rail service linking Britain, France and Belgium on Tuesday after a three-day suspension that stranded tens of thousands of travelers. The traffic was suspended between Paris and London through the Channel tunnel as experts tried to discover what caused five trains to get stuck while attempting the passage on Friday.
“If you want to build a ship, don’t herd people together to collect wood
and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to
long for the endless immensity of the sea.”
–Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Unfortunately what the rest of Europe is experiencing is what any South Eastern England commuter into London has to suffer every winter.
As you said, you try to do the right thing when it comes to travelling arrangements, but it can be hard work sometimes! ( is it something to do with wearing a hair shirt ? ).
Talking about lack of sleep, when my alarm went off this morning I’m sure I heard a piece about you criticising China at the COP ?
http://jewishworldreview.com/cols/sowell122209.php3
John, the link above is not even remotely germane to Roz’s post. But since it is there, it begs the question of relevance since the author Thomas Sowell states: “Factual data are crucial in real science.” Mr. Sowell’s opinion piece violates that very statement. Please read the facts and context neatly laid out by one respected and credible scientist, Gavin Schmidt: The CRU hack (Part 1) and The CRU hack: Context (Part 2)
Does anyone know where Roz is? Besides Roz, that is. I assume “she” knows where she is. Do we need to send out a Saint Bernard dog, with some brandy? 🙂
Roz got on a bus yesterday 10 pm GMT in Brussels, heading for London. Probably catching up on sleep, now.
UncaDoug: I am familiar with Schmidt’s work. Sowell is at least as well respected in his field and it seems petty to criticise his comment on the basis of one prefectly correct observation. The fact remains that there are many people – some of them climatologists, analysts and statiticians – who do not see “90%” certainty of anthropomorphic climate change nor that the actions demanded would have any effect on the climate in any event.
If I missed the point, I apologize, John. I understand that there are those who deny the scientific observations, and that is understandable. I thought the point of the OpEd was the CRU “controversy” which seemed to me to be the thrust of the polemic: “The recently revealed destruction of raw data at the bottom of the global warming hysteria, as well as revelations of attempts to prevent critics of this hysteria from being published in leading journals, suggests that the disinterested search for truth — the hallmark of real science — has taken a back seat to a political crusade.” I have no tolerance for spreading misinformation, especially when the “controversy” is manufactured intentionally to cause doubt when there is no malfeasance, and when so many have examined and explained everything in context. Gavin is just one who has taken time to read the emails and explain in depth.
It is past midnight GMT, early hours of December 23.
Happy birthday Roz.
Happy Birthday Roz. May you have sweet rest in your own bed soon. And Merry Christmas too. Next time you should just row there. You’re a lot more dependable than that old Eurostar!
Laurey in Asheville
Happy Birthday Roz! I wish you safe travelling, and some wonderful food and drink with friends and/or family. When you’re back in the Bay Area, let’s celebrate. Take care, Bonnie
Happy Birthday, Roz!
Wishing you an abundance of lattes and cakes, relaxation, and the joy of reconnecting
with family and friends this holiday season. A full moon is on its way, for you …
brrrr … dark night … pale moon
cozy hearth … glowing embers
love … lattes and cakes
Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year, Roz and fellow Rozlings!
Wishing you safe travels on your final leg…looks like we are colder than your London arrival in the morning–getting down to 27 (above) here…West Coast(USA) birthday greetings and wishing you a Merry Christmas reunion with family and bed…hope you are getting a little shut-eye on the bus…what a final exclamation point to the the last 10 days…
And a HAPPY BIRTHDAY from Florida! Glad you finally made it to your mum’s. Best to you both.
JohnH
Happy Birthday Roz and hope you will soon be safely back in good old Blighty.Trust you have a good Christmas with your Mother and manage to recharge your bateries! Take care. Love Pat & Keith in Guernsey
Happy Birthday Roz! Hope you made it back to the UK, and have a very happy Christmas with your mum. Your book and card arrived safely from Copenhagen (thought you’d like to know!) and I’m sure I shall thoroughly enjoy it when I eventually manage to sit down and read it.
Thanks to Unca Doug for the following “Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year, Roz and fellow Rozlings!”. Seconded!
Caroline
Hi Roz,
I’m so very sorry to hear Copenhagen was a bust, all your stuff got stolen, and the Eurostar ain’t up to it. My place in Germany is still available if worse comes to worse, but I suspect you’ll get to England. But for the Copenhagen thing, well, not much help there. All I can say is that hope is not lost. When I was in Germany in 1988, the Cold War was in it’s 40th year and seemingly still going strong. NOBODY would have believed it would be over in less than two. In fact, hardly anyone in authority did. I vividly remember military briefings from informed military intel people assuring me it was nothing but a communist ruse. (According to them Gorby allegedly wrote his senior college dissertation on how to dupe the West by “tearing down the wall.”) So as bad as things are, I’m always reassured that it’s always at least POSSIBLE things can do a 180 on the shortest notice.
Merry Christmas,
Eric
Happy birthday, Roz.
And Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year everyone! Next year will be a wonderful year!
Boy, what an adventure. Here’s hoping you have a safe and Merry Christmas. Happy Birthday Roz.
Today 12/23 is your birth-day, I believe Roz. You have not heard from me for quite some while, but I do want to make sure you know how glad I am that you were born, and grew to become the person you are today!! Happy Birthday!! Congratulations to your Mum!!!
You could not possibly know how you inspired and encouraged me every day that you were on the ocean in your last row. I checked in with your blog every morning, and every morning you inspired me to take life one stroke at a time, during a time that was exceedingly difficult, tho on land.
Every day I thought, ok, Roz is keeping on rowing, and I’m going to keep on … doing, hoping, loving, getting up, and getting going.
I was so amused and inspired by the Tuvalu/Tarawa decision! The whole process – it was so YOU! – …and didn’t it work out well?
Want you to know there are some of us out here (the Wonderful Women in Northern CA) who may be silent, but who are nevertheless with you, every minute, every stroke, every step, every sleep-deprived night, every speech and video, every moment of doubt, and every moment of confidence and hope. One stroke at a time.
Thank you and bless you,and hope you have some candelight moments and some genuine fun during the holidays,
~Melinda
Dear Lady Roz,
Somewhere o’er the rainbow,
And behind the full Dec. moon,
There hides a Rozkin birthday
That’s a’comin’ this way soon.
Now with oars raised on high,
By jove – it’s really here!
For it’s rowed the vast Pacific
For one Cold & Birthday Beer!
A JOYOUS & HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Roz!
Doug S.
Enjoy! http://j.mp/SnowyScenes
Beautiful photo’s……it is a very magical time of the year!
May all your hearts be touched with love and blessings!
Nancy
Roz…………I received my bookmark today, so now I have your book and bookmark which I shall always treasure. Rita does a wonderful job on a candy wrapper !!!!! Happy birthday, and Happy New Year, with lots of love.
Happy Birthday and Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Roz …… hope this one turns out to be a good one for you 🙂 Jim Bell (Australia)
The book arrived from Copenhagen in perfect condition. Thank you very much for taking the time to do this, amidst all the things that were going on. Best wishes to you and Rita for the New Year. And warm wishes to all my fellow Rozlings. 2010 will be a sensational year! 🙂
Richard, you and Amy and I (and other Austinites) will have to get together when I visit my son and his family in Georgetown this Spring.
Roz, I am taking this week off and enjoying the time to catch up on my reading. Just this morning, I finished reading your book … and am quite relieved with the happy ending … although the hug brought a teeny tear to my eye. My niece finished her copy on Christmas day, which was when I gave her the peanutbutter bookmark. She and her boyfriend both loved your story. Thank you so much for the special Pecan Pie bookmark for me. Finally, at long last, I posted the following review on amazon.com:
So many thoughts have already been expressed, there aren’t many left to express my feelings.
I enjoyed Roz’s self-deprecating story and to honor her journey, I’ll resort to a simple haiku:
bared soul … in-sight out
grit … humor … sincerity
zen serenity
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