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| Monday, 30 December 2002 |
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Cold over the city! by Robert Clements Brrrrr its suddenly become cold and mornings are not a nice time to creep out of bed. The quilt that I use to casually cover myself with now is more precious than a suit of armour, and a sanctuary I don't feel like leaving. We city people can hardly take the cold and a little drop in temperature makes us shiver, but we also love to have our air conditioners running full blast in our bedrooms and boardrooms and cars. I remember once travelling by train in an AC compartment. A friend of mine was travelling with me, and we both gave whoops of delight when we walked into our bogy and found the coolness so refreshing. It was a matter of an hour by which time we both found ourselves holding our arms tightly across freezing chests. We called out to the attendant and asked him whether he could do something to raise the temperature, "Arrrey no saar," he said, "the other people will object." "They won't," we told him, "they are all as uncomfortable as we are." "No, no saar", he said, "they will ask for refund. If they pay for AC compartment, they want AC full blast..!" My friend and I spent a lot of time outside our compartment, with him puffing away on his cigarettes to keep himself warm. At first I stood with him inhaling the foul tobacco smell and then to escape the deadly fumes walked into the next bogy which was an ordinary second class compartment. It felt like paradise. People were cramped together in very close proximity to each other, there was warmth and sweat. They looked at me and knowing that I had come from the next bogey stared at me with envy. I smiled in the luxurious heat and wanted to shout and tell them how lucky they all were..! When we pay for our cold, we gotta have it. We city people hardly know what real cold is all about. Last year I had a brush with a cold wave that still causes icicles to form on my neck: There I was with five thousand others attending a concert in Vaison La Romaine in France. The concert was being held in the ruins of an ancient Roman open air amphitheatre. Suddenly without warning a cold breeze swept across the people. Nobody had come with any warm clothing and all kinds of protection including newspapers were used to ward off the icy winds. It became unbearable and along with a group of others I rushed away from the concert and towards where our living quarters were. All I saw in front of me was our building which looked warm, welcome and cosy. I rushed across the lawns to the entrance and nearly died with shock at the jets of icy cold water that hit me from all sides. The automatic sprinklers had been left on for the night and I had gone head on from a cold wave to an even colder shower. It took more than an hour for the shivering and trembling that shook my body to cease. Even now a tremor runs through my body when I think of that unforgettable experience. Brrrr its cold outside, and as soon as I finish this piece I'm going to get back under that beckoning quilt that lies so seductively on my bed and I'm going to enjoy the cold wave cocooned under layers of warmth ..! |
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