February Continuance Day 2: Cycle - 13.2 mile, Time - 59min, Weather - uniformly grey, wind nippy.
"It is believed a structural fault in the building caused the collapse of the building which was currently in the process of being renovated."
So said our local paper about the collapse of a a building in Berkhamsted High Street, probably written by a graduate of the University of the Bleeding Obvious. Whether the fault was actually caused by the renovations is another matter - a far more interesting question that may or may not be answered in the fullness of time.
Fortunately it collapsed early Sunday morning, when nobody was about, and no one was hurt. (Early sunday morning is obviously a dangerous time in my area, as that was also the time when Buncefield exploded).
When I look at this house I think of is the collapse of the house of Mrs Clennam in Little Dorrit
"In one swift instant, the old house was before them … another thundering sound, and it heaved, surged outward, opened asunder in fifty places, collapsed, and fell. Deafened by the noise, stifled, choked, and blinded by the dust, they hid their faces and stood rooted to the spot. The dust storm, driving between them and the placid sky, parted for a moment and showed them the stars. As they looked up, wildly crying for help, the great pile of chimneys which was then alone left standing, like a tower in the whirlwind, rocked, broke, and hailed itself down upon the heap of ruin"
This is not quite as dramatic but nevertheless it is quite spectacular
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