It was just starting to drizzle when Wingnut and me hurried out under an umbrella to be picked up by Jen. Two minutes later we blessed her good timing as hailstones smashed down from a dark sky. Um, hello? Wimbledon is over thataway ->
It was worse going on the motorway, and a number of drivers pulled over to wait out the storm. Wingnut pointed out that one of the cars seemed to be minus a windshield. It was almost the worst conditions I've ever been on the road in, the only exception being a bad storm in Wellington and that only because it was nighttime. (Customer alert in the cinema: license plate XYZ, your car is floating down the street.)
However, we made it safely north to sunny Royston (near Cambridge), well in time for dinner with the rest of the group.
By the way, here's why you should sleep over at an SF fans' house:
The next day, some of us were taken on a walk through Royston and up through some chalkland which had quite a few Iron Age barrows on it. I don't think anyone else was impressed but I thought it just amazing (Maori settled New Zealand about 8-900 years ago).
Later in the afternoon, we went to Royston Cave. The cave lies under a crossroads and was made by humans, possibly early 14C, and is almost eight metres high. Its walls are filled with carvings of nobility, Christian saints and pagan symbols. The cave's users would've had to climb down a steep shaft and, likely, onto a wooden platform. Fortunately, a smart 18C gentleman created another tunnel, and incidentally, a source of income for himself, so us modern tourists have an easier time of it.
It was worse going on the motorway, and a number of drivers pulled over to wait out the storm. Wingnut pointed out that one of the cars seemed to be minus a windshield. It was almost the worst conditions I've ever been on the road in, the only exception being a bad storm in Wellington and that only because it was nighttime. (Customer alert in the cinema: license plate XYZ, your car is floating down the street.)
However, we made it safely north to sunny Royston (near Cambridge), well in time for dinner with the rest of the group.
By the way, here's why you should sleep over at an SF fans' house:
The next day, some of us were taken on a walk through Royston and up through some chalkland which had quite a few Iron Age barrows on it. I don't think anyone else was impressed but I thought it just amazing (Maori settled New Zealand about 8-900 years ago).
Later in the afternoon, we went to Royston Cave. The cave lies under a crossroads and was made by humans, possibly early 14C, and is almost eight metres high. Its walls are filled with carvings of nobility, Christian saints and pagan symbols. The cave's users would've had to climb down a steep shaft and, likely, onto a wooden platform. Fortunately, a smart 18C gentleman created another tunnel, and incidentally, a source of income for himself, so us modern tourists have an easier time of it.
