Just when I thought I’d be safe wandering the streets of Prague…

AVALANCHE!!!

Not sure where the nearest official mountain is to Prague 5 but I’m guessing Liberec direction. So that’s at least an hour’s drive out of the city. You’d think, therefore, the likelihood of getting caught in an avalanche is pretty minimal. We’ll you’d be wrong.

AVALANCHE!!!

I toy with the idea of practising. Shouting it out loud at random moments just so I’m ready. Other pedestrians would surely give me funny looks but they’ll be thanking me next time I save them from being crushed.

I am, of course, talking about great, heavy lumps of snow and ice that gather on the high roof tops. As the air warms and the snow begins to soften, like a mini glacier it inches towards the drop point.

Look up and you can see bulging waves of rapidly defrosting snow just ready to ambush unsuspecting passers by as they pass by.

I’ve seen the guys on cranes or roped up to the rooftops clearing the more dangerous sections but there’s an awful lot of houses in this big old city. They can’t possibly attend to them all… and they didn’t

Eating dinner with a friend we chatted about work and future projects. He said he’d help me with a short film test I wanted to do. Bless you Tomas… we paid and stepped out of the restaurant to say our final farewells.

The timing was impeccable. There was a groan and a sliding sound then a roar. Snow and ice was everywhere. I didn’t move. All my mental planning went out the window. Tomas moved like a jack rabbit. Chunks of ice bounced off my shoulder as he leapt forward to push us both into the side of the building.

The frozen tidal wave was gone in a second. I laughed, out of relief I think. A young couple peered out from the restaurant, probably expecting to see our flattened bodies.

What saved us, apart from Tomas’s superhuman reactions, was a balcony, directly above the exit. What are the chances???

After a short bout of swearing, we gingerly made our way along the sidewalk. Both peering upwards as we walked.

I finally made it onto the relative safety of a tram. I considered my good fortune. Maybe luck favours the ignorant or perhaps some one up there likes me. Whatever the reason I’m walking in the middle of the street these days. Least its safe there…

Er, actually…