Seeing our friends in three dimensions is still a novelty following Lockdown. So meeting Mark and Adri in Epping Forest was already an exciting prospect.
Then it got even better!
We set off for a walk in the mature Robin-Hood-style
forest. After ten minutes we noticed wood
smoke drifting through the trees and assumed it was a group having a (probably
illicit) barbecue. But something
bothered me - I couldn’t hear any voices.
We went to investigate, and sure enough, discovered a forest
fire. A broad stretch of blackened leaf
mould was scattered with smoking branches, and fresh flames licked at a large
dead tree.
If the dead tree caught fire, there would be no putting it
out.
Nigel beat at the flames and extinguished them while the
rest of us scuffed at patches that were still smoking.
However, the forest was very dry and the fire seemed likely
to erupt again. Mark and Adri phoned the
fire brigade and returned to the car park to await them. This left Nigel and I battling with a few
stubborn logs which we could not stop from smouldering.
‘If only we had our water bottles with us.’
‘Or if there were a stream...’
After some time, Mark and Adri returned with four cheery firefighters
carrying tanks of water on their backs and holding nozzles.
Nigel and Mark whispered to each other ‘Who you gonna call?’
‘Ghostbusters!’
As the firefighters damped the area down, we went on our way
only to discover that over the very next rise was a large pond.
If only we’d known, we could have carried the smouldering
logs and quenched them here instead of wasting half our afternoon.
‘Never mind,’ I said, ‘This is probably the most exciting
thing that’s happened to me in 2021!’
‘Or indeed, 2020.’ agreed Adri.
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