Disaster Avoided

[KillerB]

I got back this evening (still sober) and went into the cellar to find something to drink. I noted the six bottles of d'Arenberg Dead Arm Shiraz 2005 on the floor and peered up at the six bottles of 2003 that were on the top of the racks. Except that above I could see a box which contained some D'Arenbergs - had to check what they were and what vintage just in case they were 2004, so a three year run would have been nice, but they were 9 feet up- needed step ladders.

No room to put them up right next to the stacks so had to stretch when on top but got one bottle out having turned the box a bit towards me. It was 2005 and one missing so I have eleven 2005s and six 2003s - cool. Put it back... at a stretch... which it didn't appreciate.

The bottle decided that I was wrong to have tried this and dispatched itself from its placement taking the parabolic route from the box nine feet up to the shelf opposite at five feet up holding a couple of bottles of Dow rubies, one of which was duly dispatched a further five feet downwards towards the brick floor. This deviated the path of the Dead Arm in a more traditionally vertical manner but rotating the bottle towards a horizontal aspect. The Dow decided on a new parabolic trajectory back to the side from which the Dead Arm had originally departed having rotated 180 degrees from the upright vertical to the downwards vertical. Both reached their final resting place at approximately the same time.

The D'Arenberg managed to land on some bags cushioning its fall.

The Dow fell precisely between protruding bottle necks from the racks and lands on its T-cork directly. The cork is a bit squished but the bottle is undamaged along with the bottles that broke its fall.

All's well. Had a beer.

[jdaw1]

Luckier than you deserved. Use a ladder next time.

Cellar racks nine feet high? Cool!

[DRT]

That could have been much worse. Imagine how disappointed you would have been if it was a bottle of Cockburn Special Reserve that had fallen 5 feet onto a brick floor and not smashed?

[RonnieRoots]

I must say I sort of hoped for an ending where you where able to catch both bottles at the same time, standing on one leg and singing a song. Well, you can't have it all. Glad the bottles survived.

[Alex Bridgeman]

Quick. Run out and buy a lottery ticket. Right now.