quaking

I somehow missed the earthquake which was supposed to have shaken the UK yesterday. I've been in proper earthquake zones before, including places like the San Andreas Fault where they give visitors briefings about what to do in the regularly occurring earthquakes.

One time I remember quite vividly was when I was with some friends in a shopping mall somewhere around Seattle. We'd all been er - drinking - and were tucked away at the back of a bar. At some point during the evening there was a series of events a little like a ship turning in a big swell of a sea, but at the time I thought it was more to do with a combination of jet-lag and alcohol. The gang I was with were similarly oblivious.

For whatever reason, we decided to leave the mall, in our own time and fairly undramatically. As we got to the outside, we could see fire engines, police cars and flashing lights. It unfolded that there had been an earthquake of moderate severity and the ship-like effects were the building's way of handling the waves as the earth literally moved.

We had some kind of bus to return us to our hotel and sure enough, the radio was filled with the story. If only we'd all paid more attention when it was happening.