Arguments with the planners over parking provision for our Cambridge Street development wrecks the day as a stressed Nigel visits with a bad cold after losing his gardener and housekeeper.
News today of a huge earthquake in the San Fernando area near Los Angeles in Southern California with 20 dead and freeway flyovers collapsed at junctions. At least today, Diana was happier having settled for a long week at EuroDisney
The weather continued chilly and I let Sam off of his swimming for the second day running. I then spent more time in my office working on my computers so that I now have a full range of spreadsheet and graphics software installed and available on my portable PC-compatible computer. But most of the day was tied up with two visits to Cambridge Street and efforts to try and get the parking spaces approved without preventing the further development of the site.
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It started with an unhelpful fax from Nick Ettiene drawing the revised plan of the site but with no proposals for the parking. I then had to persuade Nigel to go to the site where we agreed one layout of the parking only for me to find that this was not satisfactory when I met Andy Carmichael, the planning officer, back there later. We had only shown six spaces when eight were wanted and one of them was half under a sycamore tree. I spent all evening with cut-out bits of paper and plans and eventually came up with a plan that was unusual but could work.
Poor Nigel was still suffering from a cold in the aftermath of 'flu but would not put a coat on for the site visit and then missed his chemistry course in the evening as a consequence. His gardener has resigned and they are also still without a housekeeper and trying to fill both positions which is also a strain. News later today of a big earthquake in the San Fernando area near Los Angeles in Southern California. Over twenty people have been found dead so far and a thousand or more casualties.
Though such 'quakes are always expected and this region has the most sophisticated studies and building control rules to withstand the phenomena; they have no answer to such as this. Most of the buildings held up but even so a three-floor apartment block was squashed into two floors as the whole building was thrown up a foot or so and then came crashing down to crush the first floor totally. The biggest problems were the rupture of underground services. Gas and oil pipelines were the worst casualties causing explosive fires that devastated entire neighbourhoods. Then several of the freeway flyovers collapsed at junctions several arterial routes into Los Angeles and blocking others below with monumental debris.
When we were last in San Francisco, we saw the Bay Bridge still down in that state more than a year after their latest earthquake and so it will be some time before the region will revert to normal. Interstate 5 is completely blocked and President Clinton has already declared a state of emergency to allow federal aid. At least today, Diana was happier having settled for a long week at EuroDisney and recovered from the worst of her period. Della was back at Brownies and Debbie from a school trip to The Imperial War Museum and Churchill's wartime bunker.