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anyanka_egToday there was a 3 star rated Severn Bore, on Thursday there's supposed to be a 4 star bore. To most folks outside the UK this is probably utterly meaningless but go with me on this.
The Severn Bore is the wave created by a high tide being funneled through the River Severn estuary and up into the river itself. It's pretty damn impressive because this place gets the second highest tides on the planet. The difference between high and low tide here can be as much as 47ft (14.5 m). That's a lot of water rushing up a fairly narrow river.
Obviously this creates a wave, one of the longest lasting in the world and people, being people, surf it. It's not like the massive surf you get in Hawaii or such places but you do have the added fun of bridges and low hanging trees.
This is a video of someone surfing it
There's some good photo's here
Obviously I immediately thought this is something John would do. They'd be Earthside and Rodney would be attending a conference in the UK. In Cambridge I think. After John finishes his debrief he'd convince Cauldwell to beam him over to Rodney's hotel. He'd arrive carrying his rucksack and a surfboard. Rodney, who's typing up his notes for his key note speech the next day would just stare at him, too shocked to even swear.
Once John has said 'Hey McKay' though, he snaps right out of it and calls John all kinds of rude and inventive names. It takes him a few moments to even get to the stupidity of bringing a surfboard to the UK in February.
Of course Rodney's speech is a huge success, mainly because he stops obsessing about it and starts wondering why John's there. Afterwards, once everyone's done congratulating him and John's stopped glowering at people who want to buy him drinks, they get into the car John's hired and drive to Gloucestershire. John of course still hasn't told Rodney why they're going.
Once they get to Gloucester and check in to the little B&B John has found (only one double room left, I'm afraid sir) they're just in time for dinner in a great pub recommended by Mrs Shufflebottom who runs the B&B. Neither of them can look at the other for the entire time they check in because they keep making each other laugh about her name.
The next morning, far too early for Rodney's liking, John gets them up and drives them down to Newham. Once they get there, John changes into his wet suit and Rodney realizes something's afoot. John tells him to watch and then follow the route planned into the sat nav in the car and meet him at the Severn Bore Inn if he gets lost. Rodney's baffled by it all as the river's as flat as a mill pond.
He waits, watching John who's paddled out to park himself next to a group of people who seem to know what they're doing. Rodney wants to yell at him because the others are all way younger and therefore can't be expected to know better. Just when he's about to shout at John because he's bored, there's a rushing noise and a wave about 6ft high rounds the bend of the river.
John's watching it and watching it and then he's up and riding it, jockeying for space with the other riders. It's not the fastest wave he's ever ridden or the highest, but it's possibly the weirdest. Trees are whipping past him and a couple of surfers wipe out under them. And there's bends to negotiate, and later bridges, and he hopes to god Rodney isn't actually watching because he'll be having kittens. He thinks he sees a dead sheep at one point, and possibly a refrigerator.
Much later, when his legs are wobbling, when he's surprisingly very nearly the only man left standing, they round the the bend and he sees the people crammed into the garden of the pub. He nearly looses it looking for Rodney, but then he sees him barreling to the front of the cheering crowd, and he steers his board over to the banks right in front of him.
Rodney drags him out of the water, speechless with anger and pride and all sorts of other things he can't place. And then they probably kiss for the first time, right there in the open, in front of all the people who just don't care. Later they have hot sex in Mrs Shufflebottom's spotless B&B.
At least that's how it goes in my head.
The Severn Bore is the wave created by a high tide being funneled through the River Severn estuary and up into the river itself. It's pretty damn impressive because this place gets the second highest tides on the planet. The difference between high and low tide here can be as much as 47ft (14.5 m). That's a lot of water rushing up a fairly narrow river.
Obviously this creates a wave, one of the longest lasting in the world and people, being people, surf it. It's not like the massive surf you get in Hawaii or such places but you do have the added fun of bridges and low hanging trees.
This is a video of someone surfing it
There's some good photo's here
Obviously I immediately thought this is something John would do. They'd be Earthside and Rodney would be attending a conference in the UK. In Cambridge I think. After John finishes his debrief he'd convince Cauldwell to beam him over to Rodney's hotel. He'd arrive carrying his rucksack and a surfboard. Rodney, who's typing up his notes for his key note speech the next day would just stare at him, too shocked to even swear.
Once John has said 'Hey McKay' though, he snaps right out of it and calls John all kinds of rude and inventive names. It takes him a few moments to even get to the stupidity of bringing a surfboard to the UK in February.
Of course Rodney's speech is a huge success, mainly because he stops obsessing about it and starts wondering why John's there. Afterwards, once everyone's done congratulating him and John's stopped glowering at people who want to buy him drinks, they get into the car John's hired and drive to Gloucestershire. John of course still hasn't told Rodney why they're going.
Once they get to Gloucester and check in to the little B&B John has found (only one double room left, I'm afraid sir) they're just in time for dinner in a great pub recommended by Mrs Shufflebottom who runs the B&B. Neither of them can look at the other for the entire time they check in because they keep making each other laugh about her name.
The next morning, far too early for Rodney's liking, John gets them up and drives them down to Newham. Once they get there, John changes into his wet suit and Rodney realizes something's afoot. John tells him to watch and then follow the route planned into the sat nav in the car and meet him at the Severn Bore Inn if he gets lost. Rodney's baffled by it all as the river's as flat as a mill pond.
He waits, watching John who's paddled out to park himself next to a group of people who seem to know what they're doing. Rodney wants to yell at him because the others are all way younger and therefore can't be expected to know better. Just when he's about to shout at John because he's bored, there's a rushing noise and a wave about 6ft high rounds the bend of the river.
John's watching it and watching it and then he's up and riding it, jockeying for space with the other riders. It's not the fastest wave he's ever ridden or the highest, but it's possibly the weirdest. Trees are whipping past him and a couple of surfers wipe out under them. And there's bends to negotiate, and later bridges, and he hopes to god Rodney isn't actually watching because he'll be having kittens. He thinks he sees a dead sheep at one point, and possibly a refrigerator.
Much later, when his legs are wobbling, when he's surprisingly very nearly the only man left standing, they round the the bend and he sees the people crammed into the garden of the pub. He nearly looses it looking for Rodney, but then he sees him barreling to the front of the cheering crowd, and he steers his board over to the banks right in front of him.
Rodney drags him out of the water, speechless with anger and pride and all sorts of other things he can't place. And then they probably kiss for the first time, right there in the open, in front of all the people who just don't care. Later they have hot sex in Mrs Shufflebottom's spotless B&B.
At least that's how it goes in my head.
