1 May 2019

1st May 2019 Peace and Quiet of the Danish countryside?

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Wednesday 1st May 47F, light breeze with dark overcast. Just a walk to the lanes. The cold wind which had picked up made it feel rather unpleasant.

I wonder whether we will be treated to more hours of jet fighters playing silly buggers over the inhabited Danish landscape. I repeatedly measured 80-82dB[A] relative to a measured 50dB[A] background noise in the garden of our rural hovel. With lots of deep bass content from the jets I also measured at dB[C][Slow] meter settings and easily exceeded 85dB[C] on several occasions.

What made me decide to get my SPL meter out was the use of their crackling afterburners as they passed directly overhead on a northerly path. Unfortunately [?] they did not repeat this behaviour once I had my SPL meter outside. So I have no readings for the deafening racket that made. Only average readings from the constant passes overhead. I should have set the meter on a tripod and left it to capture Max reading but hadn't the patience to do so. I kept hoping they would become bored and go away.

There was considerable cloud cover and the jets were flying clearly and visibly just below the obvious cloud base. There were no identifying marks and they appeared only a uniform grey seen through binoculars. Travelling mostly in a clockwise pattern but repeatedly on a south to north path or east to west. I have absolutely no interest nor expertise in identifying particular kinds of jet fighters. They could have been Pootin's finest having a mock dog-fight for all I knew. Though there was never any obvious sign of one jet following anther to simulate combat.

My own guess would be they were deliberately testing the patience and tolerance of the Danes to see if anyone actually complained. This racket went on without a pause from about 10am to 11.20 when we just happened to be working outside in the garden. Their flight pattern would have taken them over much of the inhabited southern and westerly regions of Fyn. With the noise probably heard indoors even over the city of Odense.

It always amuses me to imagine a policeman stopping a car or motorcycle for making excessive and illegal, exhaust noise. Only to have to postpone the conversation for an hour and half. Just to be able to be heard above the constant racket going on overhead. 🙉

How does this oil seed rape on the verge survive without the constant spraying so vital to whole fields of the stuff? Is it only vulnerable due to monoculture?

Thursday 2nd 45-56F, windy, heavy overcast with the threat of some sunshine or none at all. Or some rain or none at all. There are now four, new, previously unknown and different pesticides to be found in many Danish, deep bore, drinking water wells. It seems as if nobody thought to test for them. So they didn't exist.

Walked to the village and back in a gusty wind. My cap blew off as a huge lorry passed. I was careful not to be distracted as I retrieved it. So avoided being run over by a closely following car. Well, they had to follow the lorry closely, didn't they? Just in case there was a new and unexpected break in the 3 miles of completely unbroken double white lines. On this endlessly twisting and humped, rural road. Where most corners are completely blind. With oncoming traffic always driving on the wrong side of the road.

I've just had a horrible thought. Tesla is going to have to teach its auto pilot to cut across every double white line on left hand corners and overshoot on all the rest. Randomly crossing double white lines along the straights and always exceeding the speed limit  will be very helpful too if they really want to fit in.

Otherwise the Danes will shun these cars as failing to grovel to Jante's Law. Given the present doubling of the purchase price through import charges. [To pay for the shiny new fleet of Chumpy's F35s.] Not to mention the compulsory demolition [without compensation] of thousands of homes around the noisy airfields. Teslas are very unlike to sell many cars anyway. Phew, that's a relief! We don't want any of these cars causing panic and confusion. It would be like aliens landing and then trying to drive without a clue as to how to do it badly enough.

Friday 3rd 41-49F,  bright at first but with a cool wind. Walked to the lanes. Heavy shopping in the car. Rain and hail in the afternoon.


Click on any image for an enlargement.

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