Almost Blown Away

Was in Canary Wharf for a meeting on Thursday; a day when 70 - 80mph winds were raging across Britain. Thought I'd be economical and take the tube to Canary Wharf. Exited the train station and was stunned for a couple of seconds at the strength of the wind. I decided to brave it and cross the road to Smollenskys to ask for directions to the client's building. It seemed that the client was just up the road. Thinking it would be rather stupid if I were to get a cab to up the road, I thought it would be ok to walk there. Shouldn't be more than a 2 minute walk at most.

A strong gust of wind greeted when I walked out of Smollenskys. So much so that I had to grab onto the nearest lamp post. My cabin luggage flew about 15cms off the ground for about 10 seconds. It was almost funny. I say 'amost' because it was funny for about one minute, but not 10 minutes later when I found myself still hanging onto the lamp post. I was getting frustrated. The winds didn't stop long enough for me to let go, gain confidence and walk a few steps away. Oh, and I could see people being blown over as they tried to resume their journeys. A woman a few feet away from me was blown over and I think she was unconscious as security and paramedics tried to shelter her from the wind. I guess it would have been a comical scene to view from one of the many skyscrapers at the Wharf. Alas, I wasn't one of them.

The men waiting in Smollenskys found me quite entertaining, though - hanging onto the lamp post with my luggage and in fact, my body veering away in the direction of the wind. My faith in gentlemanly behaviour was slightly redeemed when a nice gentleman approached me not long after to ask if I was ok and then gave me his arm to hold onto as he walked me to my client. Isn't that nice? I was so thankful to him as otherwise, I'm not sure how much longer I could hold onto the lamp post for.

This would sound rather dramatic and funny if it's not for my arms still aching the next two days!