The Athenian Messenger

In times of old and a long time before social media and WhatsApp the quickest way to get a message from one place to another was either by horse or by runner.

This afternoon we have been promised lightning and thunder from 3 pm onwards up in the woods.

However it arrived much earlier than thought. I heard the thunder rolling in From Far Away and was keeping check on roughly it’s distance from us.

As sound travels roughly at three seconds per kilometer, when you see the flash you start counting. Divide the number by three when you hear the first rumble and you will find out how far away it is.

Some of my dogs were getting a little bit nervous and luckily in some senses the storm was right on top of us as we arrived back at the truck. I certainly did not need to encourage any of those dogs to jump up in the back.

By this point we were already quite drenched, though I must say it was refreshing due to the heat.

As we drove back towards Oslo we overtook the Storm Cloud and emerged into glorious sunshine. But the storm was very much on our heels.

Some of you may have seen my Instagram story warning of the impending weather conditions heading down town.

Whilst dropping back my first dog I saw a man with a young baby at a playground. I asked him if he lived locally and warned him what was about to come 10 minutes later. He thanked me and started packing up.

On my drive all the way down to the city I did not spot one raincoat. Everyone was out in shorts and T-shirts. They had little to no idea what was about to hit them.

Upon dropping another dog I remembered that his owner was going to be out playing golf this afternoon. Therefore shot the open Terrace the door and his wide open bedroom window so as to save his flat from getting a good soaking. I then telephoned him to explain that he did not need to rush home and that his flat was now water tight.

I felt somewhat like the Athenian Messenger who ran from the Battle of Marathon to warn the citizens of their impending loss and that the city would be ransacked.

Unlike that messenger I am still alive after my messaging duties.

In the end it seems that the afternoon storm would spare Oslo and dump all it’s load on Oslomarka and the suburbs. But a following lightning storm is forecast for in a few hours, so be warned!

There is never a boring day as a dog walker!

Doggies: Balto, Tiara and Tesla