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Old June 5th 08, 09:33 PM posted to uk.sci.weather
Colin Youngs Colin Youngs is offline
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First recorded activity by Weather-Banter: Dec 2004
Posts: 1,770
Default Turbulent day in Brussels - but calm weather

"Chris Smith" schreef in bericht
...

: Colin Youngs wrote:
: Intermittent severe smoke haze outside my office window this
: morning :-)
: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7435831.stm

: That wasn't your car was it?

No ! The cross-shaped barbed wire barriers you see near the start of the
video were directly opposite my office on the other side of the road. I
work on the 13th floor. The stand-off between the police and demonstrators
was by our building - you see the ground floor briefly through the smoke at
the beginning of the film.

At around 13.00 Belgian time while I was eating my lunch at my desk, the
demonstrators set off a barrage of flares, at least one of which hit a
window in our building. At that point the police switched on the water
cannon and chased the demonstrators down the road. The rest of the rioting
took place out of my sight - but within earshot. The upturned car was in a
side street a few hundred yards away from where I was.

If there had been rain like today, no doubt the demonstration would have
come to nothing !

Colin Youngs
Brussels