Oh What A Nght!

Harvey has got a slight case of kennel cough at the moment so I went to the chemist to get some children's cough syrup to sooth it a little. I think this was the first time the lady in the chemist had been asked for cough syrup suitable for a dog and she was a bit unsure at first and then saw the funny side. There was also another customer waiting and he said, "you need Tixylix", he'd given it to his dog to combat kennel cough. So Tixylix it was and then the lady said, "is it for a chesty cough?". How I didn't crack up laughing then I don't know, I just said " yeah, sounds a bit chesty, that one will do". Harvey got his first dose at lunch time and by the time I got home at tea time he was hardly coughing or sneezing at all.

The kids were trashing the old shop again, I'd been home about 5 minutes and then went outside with the dogs and noticed smoke coming from the old shop area, I thought at first the it might be a fire from someone's garden but then I heard the sirens getting closer and closer. I got the dogs back in, grabbed the camera and ran upstairs to see what was going on. The old shop was on fire and a fire engine was just pulling up at the gates which were locked, figures, secure enough to keep the fire engine out but not nearly secure enough to keep the kids out. They got through in a matter of seconds, out came the hose and they got started on putting out the fire, while the kids stood around clapping and laughing. I wonder if it would have been so funny if one of them had been trapped inside? A few moments later a second fire engine arrived and another team of firemen jumped out ready for action. At one point the bushes behind the shop caught fire and it could easily have spread very quickly across the land behind the houses, if the firemen hadn't arrived when they did, it could have been a whole lot worse and a very real danger to life. After about an hour, the second fire engine left, leaving the remaining team to finish of extinguishing the fire, it took another hour before the smoke died down.

The police were on the main road directing the traffic over the ramps covering the hose that was laid across the road. I would have though that, having called them on Sunday, they might have called to see I'd seen anything but they were quite content waving their arms about in the middle of the road while all the kids sat on our wall taking in the evenings entertainment.

The guys at South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service did a fantastic job, and it's reassuring to know they are only round the corner, just in case these half wits come back and do it again.

Paul