We have lots of earthquakes in Britain. There are about 200 every year, but most of them are so small that people do not notice them

　　The earthquake this week – in the early hours [ie between midnight and about 4am] of Wednesday morning – was different, however. It was of course, very small compared with earthquakes in other countries. But it was the biggest earthquake in Britain for 25 years, and people could feel it over a large part of England.

　　The epicentre of the earthquake was close to a small town in eastern England called Market Rasen. Very little happens in Market Rasen. It is famous for …well, it isn’t famous for anything really. There is a racecourse and a man who wrote the lyrics for one of Michael Jackson’s songs once went to school there. Several web-sites tell me that Charles Dickens, the famous 19th century novelist, described Market Rasen as “the sleepiest town in England”. However, I can’t find where Charles Dickens said this, so I don’t know if it is true.

　　But everyone, and everywhere, can be world famous for 15 minutes. Market Rasen’s 15 minutes of fame was this week. On Wednesday, newspaper and TV reporters set to work to write the story of the great Market Rasen earthquake. Here are some of the things that they found :

　　teacups rattled in Bedfordshire;

　　toothpaste fell off a bathroom shelf in Halifax;

　　cupboard doors flew open in Tipton, near Birmingham;

　　a radio jumped up and down in London;

　　a glass of water rattled on a bedside table in Chester;

　　some chimneys were damaged in Yorkshire;

　　a piece of stone fell off the church at Market Rasen.

　　...and a glass of water rattled on a bedside table in Chester.

　　Photo by bram_app/flickr.

　　As you can see, there was no story for the journalists to find. No-one was killed; only 1 person was injured; and damage to buildings was small. So why was the Market Rasen earthquake the big news story of the week?

　　I think it is because the earthquake was an experience which everyone shared. On Wednesday morning, everyone had a personal story to tell. Some people could say how they woke up in the night. Their houses shook, and they heard a deep rumbling sound. Some people knew immediately that it was an earthquake. Other people said that they were frightened because they did not know what had happened. Some people ran out of their houses to see what was happening. Other people stayed in bed and went back to sleep. And other people said that they had not woken up at all – they had slept straight through the earthquake. So, for a few hours on Wednesday morning, everyone in England could talk about the same thing.

　　When people try to describe something like an earthquake, they often use the expressions “it was like…” or “it was as if…”. I found these descriptions in the newspapers:

　　it was as if a giant was shaking my house;

　　it was like a bomb had exploded;

　　it was like a train very close to the house;

　　it was as if someone had hit the house;

　　it was like a plane had crashed;

　　it was like a heavy lorry passing the house;

　　it was as if a train was going under the house;

　　it was like there was a big animal on the roof.

　　Listen to English will be back next week with more important news stories.