A crazy weekend across the world

AC/DC sing you shook me all night long, well Adelaide didn't shake all night long only 3 minutes and it certainly wasn't Off the Richter as the Black Eyed Peas sing but it has caused a stir. "The Advertiser" must have reprinted there front page to fit the 100 word incomplete story into the Saturday edition's front page because the earthquake hit at 11.30 on Friday night and the paper is already on the presses then.

The epicentre of the earthquake was in the Adelaide Hills approximately 35 kilometres from my place but was felt all over Adelaide. I was on the phone at the time which is nothing unusual but the sensation of the earth moving felt like somebody ripping a mat out from under my feet it was weird. Adelaide's quake was nothing in comparison to the recent ones in Haiti and Asia, it only measured 3.8 but it has indeed got the locals excited as the last quake the sleepy state of South Australia has experienced since 1954 and that one measured 5.5 on the Richter scale.

As my Nana at 86 lives in the hills, I thought I should make the courtesy call to ask if she experienced any damage, "No dear, it was just a little rumble, I remember in 1956 (sic) my dear husband while we were lived in Port Augusta jumping out of bed, holding the door frame so the house would not fall down". I had to stifle my laughter as she was so serious but the image of my grandfather who I remember as a reed thin, 6 foot 4 man pottering in the garden or smoking a pipe in a recliner prior to succumbing to dementia was no competition to a falling house.

But little old Adelaide isn't the only place having problems in the natural disaster category as international air travel has ground to a total stop because of a Icelandic volcano spewing it's black ash and smoke all over Europe. The image of Heathrow international terminal devoid of passengers seems unbelievable but it's happening. No one is immune of course there is a small piece in the paper on Saturday about John Cleese of Monty Python fame spending $5500 in taxi fares to get from Scandinavia to Belgium so to return to London, Nice if you have money but many travellers are indeed running out of cash as the planned to return home and instead need to fork out more than they can afford to and it is feared that many Australians are going to miss out on the opportunity to reach Gallipolli for ANZAC Day due to this nightmare. Again it is a case of why Mother Nature do you do this to us the airlines are losing millions but nothing can compensate for those who have missed family events or have to wait for treasured travel experiences to begin or to end.

Just in closing, after all the chaos that natural disasters are creating right now I was sent an email on Saturday morning an automated send out from travel company, webjet advertising Today only! International flight sale. Mmm, I'm curious if no flights are flying how much money are webjet going to lose because they chose now to hold a sale.