During our project meeting this morning a siren, then a voice came over a loud speaker system I didn’t even know existed. It was an odd sound something like I imagine the Vogon announcement to earth would have been, all perfect clarity in a stern Japanese – something about a fire in the boiler room. Everyone just carried on with their daily business until “We should escape now” was directed at the confused looking foreigners in the corner. So we all trundled down the stairs and into the courtyard. Where we all lined up by the person bearing the plaque describing the floor of the building we occupy. It was all extremely orderly and calm and organised. Gods, we’re a rabble compared to the other occupants of the building, with a good proportion of Europeans among the Nokia staff we stood a good six inches taller than everyone else from the building, and they were all wearing their protective hats with their name and blood group written on.
There was a slow trickle of people emerging from the building for most of the twenty minutes we spent standing outside, and, incredibly, there were a few absent minded businessmen who walked past all the people and commotion outside straight into the ‘burning’ building.
Of course, it was just a drill, but I wouldn’t have known about it unless I’d tried to organise a meeting this morning and been told that it wasn’t a good time. I seem to have fallen off some mailing lists somewhere.
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