A Big Bang In The Morning

Several days ago. At first I thought the kitchen had blown up. Then I thought a neighbour's house had blown up. Then I thought Sizewell had blown up.

Actually it was that bomb they found in the Thames being detonated off the Essex coast. Probably the sound travelled across the sea to get here. Much like when that fuel storage depot blew up (Buncefield?) the explosion was heard in Holland. Actually I remember hearing that one too, I though a bird scarer had misfired.

No big bangs round here instead we have a big pong, there's a quarry about three miles away they are now using as a landfill site and for the past few months the stench has been awful, there has been a protest group set up that has picketed the quarry and the Environment Agency is now involved

http://chorley.gov.uk/news/Pages/Clayton-Hall-Landfill.aspx 

Just hoping it's resolved before the spring I'd hate to be outdoors with that stench around

Oh sympathies. The nearest we came to that, apart from the overripe manure piles in the fields just after harvest, was when the local farmer bought a load of composted food/garden waste from the council. It wasn't properly digested, and apart from the whiff it unleashed clouds of flies.

Pigshit is usually the worst, but some of the digested human ordure runs it a close second and cow slurry is the bronze medalist.

I may be wrong about the source of the bang because there was another one this morning, loud enough to open bowels. Normally the farmers use those triple-bang propane guns, and some have a version that does one really loud bang. In still weather it can sound like Beirut on a bad day.

This sounded more like one of those Syrian barrel bombs. Since it has only happened once every few days I wonder if my first though about the Buncefield blast was correct and a birdscarer had misfired. Badly.

I'm used to the smell after the farmer's been muck spreading but you do expect that living next to fields, that though unpleasant is only once every two or three years

Yes and once the manure has been dug in the soil gets to smell really sweet.

I was just remembering that where we used to live they had filled in a quarry with rubbish. At first they topped it off with soil and put in standpipes and flared off the gas. After a while they used the gas to drive a generator. That might be worth suggesting, gets rid of the stink and generates income.

chris c wrote:Yes and once the manure has been dug in the soil gets to smell really sweet.

I was just remembering that where we used to live they had filled in a quarry with rubbish. At first they topped it off with soil and put in standpipes and flared off the gas. After a while they used the gas to drive a generator. That might be worth suggesting, gets rid of the stink and generates income.

They supposedly have put in standpipes and are burning off the gas, as I've not noticed the smell for the last couple of days whatever their doing is working at present.

That's a step! Now I'm remembering a programme about the history of garbage. Birmingham had a huge incinerator they called the "destructor". They used the heat to generate steam and hence electricity which they used to drive the electric dustcarts.

chris c wrote:That's a step! Now I'm remembering a programme about the history of garbage. Birmingham had a huge incinerator they called the "destructor". They used the heat to generate steam and hence electricity which they used to drive the electric dustcarts.

 Sensible use of energy I hope they make use of the gas rather than just burning off

Feels like we could use it in the next few days, I can feel the heat being sucked out through the windows already and it's predicted to be dire for the rest of the week. Nighty night!

chris c wrote:Feels like we could use it in the next few days, I can feel the heat being sucked out through the windows already and it's predicted to be dire for the rest of the week. Nighty night!

Hope it doesn't get to bad I've a funeral to attend in Cumbria on Wednesday 

Sympathies.