FISHING ON THE THAMES FOR AN ENDANGERED SPECIES
By David Quigley
Much of my “Weather Work” experience has been crisis management: Filling the empty cistern at Heartwood by summoning a storm, fighting firestorms, Stopping floods. But sometimes I have a totally hilarious assignment appears!
I was visiting London as a guest of the famous hypnotist Valerie Austin at one of her hypnosis conferences in 2013. The day before the conference, my beloved Raven (Olga Osborne) and I were enrolled in a Harry Potter London tour as we are both Harry Potter fans. But a huge London rainstorm was predicted...and arrived on schedule. All 30 plus folks on the tour were sensibly cloaked and hooded like trappist monks in dripping coats. Except me. In a 4 hour rain filled tour I stood upon the outer deck of our boat on the Thames river in complete exposure to the weather and despite the rain, I remained completely dry. I wore an elegant velour smoking jacket, dress shirt, and silk tie. My only concession to the weather was a billed hat.
I kept hoping someone would leave the huddled masses of faceless cloaked tourists under the tarp and ask me the critical question. "What are you doing dressed like this out in the rain? Are you crazy?" Sorry. That's the wrong question. It should be: "Why aren't you wet?" I could then explain: I run a wizard School: Hogwarts West, otherwise known as The Alchemy Institute. And I was fishing for untrained wizards. Sorry, None were biting that day!
The following day Valerie Austin entertained us with alively story: The two minutes it took to walk from her car to the conference center with a load of kit was enough to soak through to her underwear! Right by the river. I told her I was wearing the same outfit with her right there at the conference that I had worn the entire previous day as Raven and I toured London in the storm. But no rain gear. No wet.
Same storm. Two journeys.
Much of my “Weather Work” experience has been crisis management: Filling the empty cistern at Heartwood by summoning a storm, fighting firestorms, Stopping floods. But sometimes I have a totally hilarious assignment appears!
I was visiting London as a guest of the famous hypnotist Valerie Austin at one of her hypnosis conferences in 2013. The day before the conference, my beloved Raven (Olga Osborne) and I were enrolled in a Harry Potter London tour as we are both Harry Potter fans. But a huge London rainstorm was predicted...and arrived on schedule. All 30 plus folks on the tour were sensibly cloaked and hooded like trappist monks in dripping coats. Except me. In a 4 hour rain filled tour I stood upon the outer deck of our boat on the Thames river in complete exposure to the weather and despite the rain, I remained completely dry. I wore an elegant velour smoking jacket, dress shirt, and silk tie. My only concession to the weather was a billed hat.
I kept hoping someone would leave the huddled masses of faceless cloaked tourists under the tarp and ask me the critical question. "What are you doing dressed like this out in the rain? Are you crazy?" Sorry. That's the wrong question. It should be: "Why aren't you wet?" I could then explain: I run a wizard School: Hogwarts West, otherwise known as The Alchemy Institute. And I was fishing for untrained wizards. Sorry, None were biting that day!
The following day Valerie Austin entertained us with alively story: The two minutes it took to walk from her car to the conference center with a load of kit was enough to soak through to her underwear! Right by the river. I told her I was wearing the same outfit with her right there at the conference that I had worn the entire previous day as Raven and I toured London in the storm. But no rain gear. No wet.
Same storm. Two journeys.
