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History See other History Articles Title: Days of toxic darkness Fifty years ago, a choking cloud enveloped much of London and the Home Counties - a toxic fog which killed thousands. Here, Barbara Fewster recalls her 16-mile walk home - in heels - guiding her fiancé's car. It was the worst fog that I'd ever encountered. It had a yellow tinge and a strong, strong smell strongly of sulphur, because it was really pollution from coal fires that had built up. Even in daylight, it was a ghastly yellow colour. Barbara Fewster was a dancer of 24 at the time I was a dancer at Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet at the time, but I wasn't performing the night the smog came down. I'd gone out with my fiancé for dinner with a conductor who lived at the top of Hampstead Hill. At the end of the evening we drove off towards Kingston upon Thames, where I was staying at time, when the smog hit us like a wall. It was absolutely solid. It was a terrifying journey. The only thing to do was for me to walk in front of the car. My fiancé hung out of the window while I walked - in evening clothes, in evening shoes - in front to guide him. In those days if you had headlights up in the fog, they didn't help you very much, they just reflected off the fog. Animals as well as people wore smog masks So we inched our way down Hampstead Hill in this dreadful smog, with just sidelights to guide us. I had to be very near those sidelights for him to be able to see me. We couldn't stop as that was far more dangerous than keeping going - somebody would ram you because you couldn't see a car's taillights until you were on top of them. Cross-city trek After a long time we arrived at Kew Bridge - that's at least 10 miles from Hampstead - when my fiancé called out to me, 'I've lost you, where have you got to?' I must have veered off out of range of the sidelights. The Great Smog 5-9 Dec, 1952 Laced with sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and soot Caused by pollution and extreme cold At that point, a milk float passed by and my fiancé told me to get in so we could follow its taillights. He put his foot down. Well, then the milkman disappeared and we could hear the float bouncing over the grass on Kew Green. All I could do was get out of the car and continue walking. We later came across a car that had overtaken us earlier on in the journey - it was up a tree, crashed, and no sign of the occupant. Dirty pretty things We eventually got to Kingston at five in the morning, absolutely black as sweeps. As it was so cold - for fog brings the cold with it - I was wearing a woolly yellow scarf and that too was pitch black with soot and muck. Our faces were black, our noses were black and everything was filthy - and we were exhausted, of course. St Paul's Cathedral: half clean, half dirty Landmarks are still being cleaned of smog stains Fortunately, I didn't suffer any ill effects from breathing in all those toxins, but my lungs have always been very strong. You literally could not see your hand in front of your face. My partner of today tells me that he remembers the smog in that he brushed against what he thought was a human being and asked it for a light for his cigarette - and the human being turned out to be lamppost. I remember little else of the great smog, but that journey will stay with me forever. I can't believe I walked that distance now, and in evening shoes.
Poster Comment: I think this is the transcript of a radio report, so difficult to make it readable without changing too much. From The Presurfer, where I found the link: "From Friday December 5 to Tuesday December 9, 1952, a toxic mix of dense fog and black coal smoke killed thousands of Londoners in four days. It remains the deadliest environmental episode in recorded history. The so-called killer fog is not an especially well-remembered event, even though it changed the way the world looks at pollution. Early in December 1952, a cold fog descended upon London. Because of the cold, Londoners began to burn more coal than usual. The resulting air pollution was trapped by the inversion layer formed by the dense mass of cold air. Concentrations of pollutants, coal smoke in particular, built up dramatically. The fog was so thick that driving became difficult or impossible. Officials believe that as many as 12,000 people may have died. Many of those killed were elderly people or those who were already weak or ill. According to medical staff who treated patients at the time, few people realised the extent of the impact."
Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 1.
#1. To: Indrid Cold (#0)
Hence the cocaine. I cannot live without brain-work. What else is there to live for? Stand at the window here. Was ever such a dreary, dismal, unprofitable world? See how the yellow fog swirls down the street and drifts across the dun- coloured houses.
#2. To: MUDDOG (#1)
... my dear Watson ;P
Just weird, I mean who ever heard of a toxic fog outside of a Stephen King novel?
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