[Pippa]

Hello Everyone

This is my first post on PeakOil.com although I am registered on PowerSwitch (UK site).

I have started writing a story (to help my headache). Here's the first instalment, hope you enjoy........ (you can see more on Powerswitch).......................................






Dearest

What a strange Day! I got a telephone call earlier from an old school friend. When I first answered the phone I struggled to understand what he was saying. He was practically hysterical and it took me a while to get him to calm down enough to make any sense what so ever! I think that he had been crying, certainly his voice sounded very wobbly. Anyhow, he kept apologising for troubling me but explained that he was in a lot of trouble.
You won’t know him but he was always very keen on nature as a kid and it turns out he still is, he told me that he spends most of his spare time out in the countryside with a pair of binoculars just enjoying the wildlife; funny eh!
So, yesterday he was out as usual, this time at The Peak.
Gosh, haven’t we had good times there! Remember (well how could you forget) all those bus trips we used to organise to there when we first met? The food and drink we took, our wild friends, those parties, (I blush just thinking about what we got up to) but mostly I remember the view. We used to crowd on the top of The Peak and look down across the huge valley below, so green and beautiful. You used to put on a silly American accent and pretending to be Charlie Chaplin say, “Look folks, Nature makes it own great depression, who needs diggers” as you cast your hand theatrically out across the vale. You were the witty one in our group back then.

But I digress.

Mike said that he needed help urgently. He had been up at the car park at The Peak watching some rare voles doing their “thing”. They scampered off into those really dense bushes that were on the opposite side of the road. Ugly, scruffy looking things they were, I never could understand ‘til now why the park authorities didn’t chop them down and put something more attractive in their place. Anyway, he followed them and managed somehow to fight his way through the bottom of the hedge and came out in a small clearing on the other side.
He said that it was like another world there and he was currently watching the biggest disaster of all time happen right in front of him! He had tried many times in the previous 24 hours to get his family and closest friends to come and help but couldn’t get anyone to believe what he was saying.
Do you know, it was odd, but he was asking for my help but refused to tell me exactly why.
He said that the previous hours had made him very wary of telling the truth. I could hear a lot of sadness in his voice as he said that. He asked me please could I come and help, he wouldn’t ask if he didn’t really need it.
He must have been desperate to ask me because we haven’t seen each other for years. So sympathy got the better of me and I said I would.
He said I would need to bring something to chop through the bushes with, some food and water (enough for me and him, the more the better he stressed), and a first aid kit if I had one as he had cut himself pretty badly getting through the hedge.
He kept repeating, bring plenty of water, don’t forget the water.
I did my best to re-assure him. I know it sounds cruel, but I struggled to respect him the way he was carrying on, on the phone. He was always very popular when we were at school, so sporty and a great laugh. To hear him going on like he did, being so pathetic, was a touch off-putting to say the least, but I told him I would come as quickly as I could.

I got off the phone and went to the kitchen to make sandwiches. I got plenty of crisps, biscuits, sweets and fruit from the pantry. I also picked up one of those “slabs” of bottled water we buy from cash and carry – such a cheap and convenient way to get things I always think.
Two strokes of luck; one that you had just bought a home emergency medical supply kit (you clever e-bay bargain hunter you), and also I hadn’t thrown out that old hand scythe that we found when we cleared out my dads shed after he died. I kept it for sentiments sake and now I’m glad I did.

I packed the food in the small rucksack we use for days out, threw everything in the car boot and drove up to The Peak.
I only just got there; once again I had kept putting off filling up with petrol! I can hear you now saying “running on empty again Pippa”. You never could understand why I hated doing it so much and I don’t suppose I can explain it that well, it just seems like a hassle that I can do without (even though I know I can’t). I parked as close to the bushes as possible and put as many of the water bottles as would fit in, in the rucksack with the food.

Trying to cut though the undergrowth with the scythe was not easy. There was obviously a knack to it and I didn’t have it. To add to my problems, apart from the fact that I am left handed (and I think the scythe was designed for the right handed), the thing was blunt and not meant to cut through such thick bits of wood and vegetation.
I hacked away as well as I could but the scythe took quite a hammering. Bits kept breaking off the tip and each time a chopped into an especially woody stem a bit more of the blade buckled and broke.
Not that it’s a surprise, when I thought about it. It must have been at least 60 years old (I can remember dad talking about using it as a boy). It’s hardly surprising that it is so rusty and fragile. Perhaps if it had been stored better for the last 30 years it would have kept in better condition.

By the time I had worked my way through the hedge the poor old tool was in pieces, it certainly would never be up to doing that job again. Just as I broke through into the open, the wooden handle fell off! It was as if the thing was saying “try using me again now you can’t even get hold of me, ha, ha”.

As I looked around the very first thing that struck me was that this wasn’t a small clearing, in fact quite the opposite and that Mike wasn’t alone, in fact the place was crowded. It was just so weird. The place looked almost exactly like the view from The Peak; the place I had arrived in looked just like the valley you see from The Peak (or as you would say the great depression) and across the valley stood a mountain that looked almost exactly like The Peak.

All around were buildings; offices, factories, schools, tower blocks, housing estates, car parks, train stations and airports and construction is going on at a pace you just can’t conceive. The place is heaving with people. At first sight, everyone seems to be very happy and busy and I don’t know if it’s my imagination, but it feels a lot sunnier here than home.

No wonder Mike’s family and friends didn’t believe him.
It began to sink in that he might have turned into some sort of nutter. I started to look around for him (to give him a piece of my mind) then I saw him, lying in the scorched grass, covered in blood. As I walked closer, I could hear him groaning softly and muttering incoherently under his breath. I was shocked and angry.

How on earth could all these people just leave him there, it was quite obvious he was in urgent need of help.
I was just on the point of shouting out to everyone and telling them what selfish and ignorant people they were when I saw sense. If they could leave Mike in this condition, what would they do to me if I threatened them in any way? I decided not to take the chance. Seeing Mike lying there sent a shiver down my spine. I had never had to deal with anyone in such a state before. I am ashamed to admit that I was beginning to wish that I had never taken his call; then I wouldn’t have to get involved.

Then Mike opened his eyes and saw me. He weakly gestured me towards him and I saw his lips moving. He was asking for water so I quickly pulled one of the bottles out of my bag and put it to his mouth. There was craziness in his eyes as he said “go and have a good look over there, its madness, it’s a disaster, look, then look again and watch out for the glass”.
I tried to calm him down. “Look Mike, its OK now”, I said “it’s a mad world, I know, you’ve certainly had a rough time for the last 24 hours and you definitely need some proper medical attention, but I really don’t think that there is any need for you to be quite so hysterical. I think you must be suffering from heat stroke stuck here as you are in full sun with no shade and I have to admit that it must be very distressing to see all these people close by and to realise that not one single one amongst them has any desire to come forward and help you. God, these people make me so angry. Where’s their community spirit, what’s happened to their sense of compassion? Anyway, I don’t think that we should dwell on it. I think the best thing to do is for me to pop over there and get help. There must be someone round here with a conscience. We’ll get you into one of the houses where there is some shade and then we can think about calling a doctor”.

I started to walk off though the long grass. At this point Mike got really animated, “watch out for the glass, watch out….” He started to choke, I didn’t know whether it was just the words catching in his throat or something more serious starting to happen, so I picked up my pace, warily peering down at my feet to avoid the glass he was warning me about.
Next thing, something hit my forehead, hard, and I found myself thrown to the ground. Jesus! What was it? I couldn’t see any objects lying about. There was no evidence that anyone had thrown anything at me but reflecting on how they had completely ignored Mike, I wouldn’t put it past them.
I got back on my feet and proceeded cautiously trying to work out if any of the people close by had had anything to do with it.

Bang, my nose hit glass! Sheet glass! Yes, I could see it now. There was a wall of glass that divided Mike and I from everyone else. It stretched out as far as the eye could see, left and right. I looked up and it extended at least 50 meters, it was hard to tell. I banged my fists against the pane; I had to get some attention.
A little girl wondered towards me. Hopefully, her mother would be close by and she could lead me to her. I called out, “Hi, little girl, I’m Pippa, what’s your name”. Strangely, she didn’t answer back, in fact she didn’t show any sign at all that she had either seen or heard me. She stepped closer, her eyes fixed directly on me except that it appeared she was looking through me. Then, she leaned forward, pulled a comb out of her pocket and started to put it though her hair. She was looking in a mirror!

I knocked on the glass once more and started jumping up and down, waving my arms in the air and shouting hello at the top of my voice. Nothing, she didn’t even flinch. She had absolutely no idea that I was there, just inches away from her.

Wow, this place was strange. At least it explained why they had left Mike lying there all that time. They weren’t such bad folks after all.
However, it didn’t solve my problem. I had to get Mike some help. I wasn’t strong enough to pull him back through the bushes on my own and he was obviously in no state to walk. Damn, there was practically no petrol left in the car anyway, so I couldn’t even drive off and get help that way. I would simply have to go back to the road and try to flag down a passer by.

I walked back to Mike so that I could let him know my plan.
I told him that I would come back with assistance just as soon as I could and that if he felt he could manage it, I would leave him a bottle of water and a sandwich maybe to keep him going for a while. I was just about to go when he started wailing again. “I tried to get back and the bushes wouldn’t let me. I’m scared” he said and started to cry.
I smiled. “Stay calm old friend. There really is no need to panic. I don’t need to go though on my hands and knees like you did, I took your advice and bought something to make a path with. I can just walk back, piece of cake so to speak. Just wait here, it won’t be long before I get some help now”.
I turned and went towards the opening I had made shortly before. Strange, I couldn’t see it. Perhaps it was a little further away than I had realised.
I was about to walk on when I saw the remnants of my dads old scythe scattered on the ground. Yes, I thought the place was close at hand.

I looked at the bushes and at that moment my blood ran cold. The plants had almost completely regenerated themselves. Just minutes before I had hacked out my pathway into this place, leaving twiggy stumps and jagged ends poking out from the soil and now they were gone.
I could see the lush green tips of new growth shooting off thick sappy new stems. The thorns which adorned the branches shone with a ruby like translucency reminding me of the blood they would be only too happy to scratch from me if I dared to tangle with them.
How on earth had they grown back so quickly? How was I going to get back? What was going to happen to Mike? Help, what was going to happen to me!

So, darling, this brings me to this e-mail. I have tried to ring you. God, why will you never answer the phone! The point is we really do need your help now. I tell you, I am so glad now that you made me get this new fangled internet mobile phone. I know that you will be sitting at your computer doing your best to get on with your work and earn us a good living. I know you check your e-mails all the time. Knowing that you are reading this is so re-assuring.

To be honest, I am feeling a bit down myself right now. I have actually shed a little tear but made sure that Mike hasn’t seen me; I wouldn’t like him to know that I am at all worried or at a loss in any way. Anyway, I have got quite a long list of things we need as soon as possible. I know that some of the things are going to seem strange to you but please trust me when I say these things are vital. It will all become clear why when I send my next e-mail to you.
I have just covered the basics for now because I really do need you to urgently get organised and rally the troops. It takes me a while to type things down so by the time I have managed write more about what is going on here, or to be precise behind the glass, I am hoping that you will have arrived to see for yourself.
I don’t think that this list is definitive but it will do for a start. When you get here you‘ll be able to assess what else is needed I am sure. Oh, before I get on with the list, one major thing, please phone the police. Mike has told me that he has repeatedly made the call but that so far I am the only person that has shown up.
Now I think about it, it must be because they couldn’t see where he was or couldn’t cut their way through the bushes. I must have been lucky which leads me to the first thing we need here

Heavy duty Chainsaw – so that you can get in and we can get out!

Parasol for Mike – it seems to be permanently noon here as far as the sun is concerned, there is simply no shade to be had from The Bush even when you try to get up as close as possible . Just a thought but I think that its probably not such a good idea to bring the fancy electronic parasol designed by Bright Ideas that we recently purchased; apart from the fact that it is really heavy, don’t forget it needs to be plugged into the mains to work and there aren’t any round here!

Water – as much as it as you can lay your hands on – think tankers not bottles

Medical supplies

Laptop computers

Rope

As much food as you can

Petrol – Perhaps you could ring Aliwood Ltd and see if they are prepared to make a delivery up here, when we get through to the folks on the other side I am sure that they will only be too pleased to pay the market price

Some brains! – A few friends that I can think of (just of the top of my head) that are usually willing to help a good cause and know what they are doing – Clive, MacG, Tess, Bozzio (can’t believe we still call him that after all these years), Andy Hunt, Mobbsey – I could go on but I am sure you get my drift – actually, some of the old party crew might enjoy coming up here again, revive some great memories maybe

Batteries for this mobile phone – probably a good idea to bring some extras for yours as well

Paper and a catapult - Sounds mad I know, but it occurred to me that one way we might be able to get the attention of the folks on the other side is to “chuck” a note over the top of the glass!

Energy generators – Solar panels spring to mind – its very hot and sunny here, practically 24 hours sunshine

Suncream – factor 50 (if you can get it)

Anyway, I am going to send this to you now. I’ll keep you posted so don’t worry wasting time for now e-mailing me back. I know I can rely on you. Hugs and kisses and see you soon.


All my love to you as always

Your darling wife

[americandream]

Oh dear...it all sounds so civilised in these post Thatcherite times of blankety blank!!

Welcome aboard and here's to fun and games.