Here in south Wales there has been no snow, at present it's a glorious crisp sunny morning although I don't think that will last. North Wales has had quite a lot of snow though.
About an inch of snow here and a lot of ice but the sun is shining so it will soon melt. Just had a short walk this morning because of the ice but will have a longer one later.
I’ve done my morning admin and emails, now a cup of tea before a bit of marking and tutorial planning.
There was a scattering here – a centimetre or so in Paris, a bit more in the suburbs, but it was too wet to properly settle.
Surprisingly, my morning commute (by bus) was quicker than usual. Apparently driving conditions on the boulevard Périphérique were rather unpleasant, and I suppose quite a lot of people outside Paris might have left their cars at home.
Has there ever been a time when the Bvd Périphérique was not unpleasant?
Here in south Wales there has been no snow, at present it's a glorious crisp sunny morning although I don't think that will last. North Wales has had quite a lot of snow though.
A very brief flurry in Zooport, all of thirty seconds! Middle son & family have seen more of it as they live in Ferndale, which is way up the Rhondda Fach.
Apparently my colleagues in Atlanta saw a similar amount of snow yesterday - the office was shut and everyone stayed at home due to the "risk of ice and travel disruption"
In places where ice and snow are rare, most people don't know how to drive in it. It's much safer if people stay home.
I've always sworn that if we ever get snow in Phoenix* (other than one or two random flakes, which does occasionally happen), I will stay inside and not venture outside even on foot. People here freak out if they have to drive in the rain -- which we're expecting for the next several days.
*It could happen with all the crazy weather around the world these past few years.
I can vouch for that, having experienced some of the most terrifying driving in my life when Athens had snow
Driving round Athens can be bloody terrifying even without snow (as the unbelted taxi driver stubs out his sobranie on the No Smoking sign while arguing on his mobile).
Best (worst) bad driving ever in Athens: when they had torrential rain on the Saturday before Easter and cars, which in any case would have been sliding all over the shop, were being driven by people holding their candles lit at the Easter Vigil in one hand
We got a few more inches of fairly wet snow today, but it seems to be turning to rain now, which with any luck will get rid of it.
Had lunch in an Italian chain restaurant before a spot of retail therapy in a rather quirky, upmarket shop across from the Cathedral. Their full prices are a bit eye-watering, but their sale prices aren't bad, and I got a nice top for $53 (£30), reduced from $85 (£50).
Best (worst) bad driving ever in Athens: when they had torrential rain on the Saturday before Easter and cars, which in any case would have been sliding all over the shop, were being driven by people holding their candles lit at the Easter Vigil in one hand
And if Athens is like Cyprus, resting their other arm on the open door so they can hold the roof on. Are they driving with their knees?
Btw, our yellow snow warning has been upgraded to orange, but it looks like Cardiff will get it worse. Typical F****** Cardiff, has to be better.
btw2: piglet, that's nuthin'. Mrs Sioni indulged in a stack of retail therapy for stuff for the Wedding (although to be fair a lot was tried and returned). Best deal was a dress at £200 reduced to £40!
Best (worst) bad driving ever in Athens: when they had torrential rain on the Saturday before Easter and cars, which in any case would have been sliding all over the shop, were being driven by people holding their candles lit at the Easter Vigil in one hand
And if Athens is like Cyprus, resting their other arm on the open door so they can hold the roof on. Are they driving with their knees?
There's that yellow tint to the sky that suggests snow is coming - I'm in the yellow warning area. Beautiful spiky frost and sunshine this morning gradually clouding over to grey, and now this yellowness. We've still got a sprinkling of the last lot on the roofs and grass, and there are patches of treachery on the shady pavements, so I'm being selective in choosing routes to walk around town.
john holdingEcclesiantics Host, Mystery Worshipper Host
Best (worst) bad driving ever in Athens: when they had torrential rain on the Saturday before Easter and cars, which in any case would have been sliding all over the shop, were being driven by people holding their candles lit at the Easter Vigil in one hand
Btw, our yellow snow warning has been upgraded to orange, but it looks like Cardiff will get it worse. Typical F****** Cardiff, has to be better.
In this part of the world yellow snow doesn't fall from the sky. It's found by the side of the road, and is its own warning. I've never seen orange snow, but I suppose a very, very sick dog might...
Very annoying here. No taxis available so I had to cancel an appointment in the audiology clinic. They didn't seem at Llmsueorised and I gather the town was a bit chaotic. Main roads ok, but all side roads very icy. Throunle is, the roads may have cleared but the pa cements are death traps for those of us who rely on sti cks in order to walk. So I am trapped here plenty of birds to watch in the garden, including a big flock of gulls who came right down on to the patio outside the window, plus the usual non of tits, jackdaw and other assorted asians.
Sorry, Boogie! Seems my seed and fat is preferred!!!
In this part of the world yellow snow doesn't fall from the sky. It's found by the side of the road, and is its own warning. I've never seen orange snow, but I suppose a very, very sick dog might...
No snow at home and no snow on the drive to middle Rogueling's college but a smattering of snow when I got to work which is in between home and college. Very localised and soon disappeared.
Wow - and I thought I'd got a bargain! Can I borrow Mrs. Sioni the next time I go shopping?
Weather here is quite boring - we haven't had much more snow, although what we have has probably frozen, as it's -13° and falling.
Memo to self: wear something reasonably warm for choir practice, as it was really quite cold in the choirstalls last week. It's hard to judge, as we never know whether the heating will be firing on all cylinders. If it is, and I'm wearing something warm, I'll be too hot*, but if it isn't, and I'm not, even I could feel a tad chilly. I think layering is my best bet.
Talking of birdie feeders, we reopened the birdie bistro the other day - D. bought a new feeder (the old one being snowed-in in the shed) and hung it up on the hook, but we haven't had any little visitors yet. I suspect that most of them have buggered off for the winter, and I'm not at all sure that I blame them.
* I would put it down to my age, but I've always felt the heat rather than the cold ...
At least when it's -13° it doesn't matter if you leave a tub of ice-cream in the car after going to the supermarket.
Potatoes, not so much. We left a bag of spuds in the car overnight by mistake (they got buried under something else) and when we brought them into the house and let them defrost, they were absolutely manky.
No proper snow here, but fog is developing, and as any John Carpenter fan knows that is not good news. As I was stood at the bus stop 3 ambulances and a rapid response car rushed past me towards the motorway. Wouldn't want to be driving in this weather.
The weather here in Continental WesShire has been nicely wintery for most of the past few weeks. There's nearly always a certain amount of snow on the ground or the roofs, or it is being replenished; night temperatures are a few degrees below zero C.
I find it pleasant to the eye to nearly always have at least a dusting of snow, or very few inches; road and pavement clearing services and gritters here are very efficient. I sometimes wake up at 3am or so, when the local council has their snowploughs going. It makes me go back to sleep then and dream of winter wonderlands! (Ok, I'm hopelessly romantic, and my routes to work, by train and bus, are normally well accessible, so I can't complain.)
And if the sun is out, it just looks lovely and is great for walks.
I wonder though how I would feel in a place like Piglet land, or similar! If there's nothing but snow, and shedloads of it all the time, I might think differently!
It does get a bit tiresome when it's been there since the beginning of November.
Our wheelie-bin has become snowed in; it's big enough that we could get away with not putting it down to the end of the drive last week, but we'll really need to put it out tomorrow, and that's going to involve shovelling.
Shovelling of ice ...
In a general sort of way, when you have snow, fog is a good thing, because (a) it helps to shift the snow; and (b) you don't have to shovel fog.
I’m a spring and autumn sort of person, I don’t like extremes.
Less than an inch of snow here and it’s fading fast. I might leave my walk until it’s cleared a bit.
More marking today and prepping for a tutorial tomorrow afternoon. But the weather is making me want to do something more cheery. I might start planning our costumes for this summer’s Tudor re-enactment. Our current outfits are based around late 16th C gear but we are doing mid 16th C this year. Bizarrely by modern fashions, it’s the men’s costumes which are not the right fashion. A woman’s basic ‘kirtle’ is the same throughout the period but this was an era when men went from long hose (footed trousers like tights) to below knee hose (my son was gentry so wore puffed paned hose, he’s one of the pages here https://www.flickr.com/photos/hecubasstory/14243925977/in/pool-kentwell So we need to make 2 pairs of wool long hose with feet. They also need new long doublets. This is going to be a challenging year for sewing...
A little bit of snow here, my road slippery but main roads not too bad. Rang Leisure Centre and was surprised to find it open, so went swimming as usual on a Friday. Only one other person in pool when I got there, another came later. Now back home enjoying coffee & croissant!
[...] I might start planning our costumes for this summer’s Tudor re-enactment. Our current outfits are based around late 16th C gear but we are doing mid 16th C this year. Bizarrely by modern fashions, it’s the men’s costumes which are not the right fashion. A woman’s basic ‘kirtle’ is the same throughout the period but this was an era when men went from long hose (footed trousers like tights) to below knee hose (my son was gentry so wore puffed paned hose, he’s one of the pages here https://www.flickr.com/photos/hecubasstory/14243925977/in/pool-kentwell So we need to make 2 pairs of wool long hose with feet. They also need new long doublets. This is going to be a challenging year for sewing...
Heavenlyannie, the photos look spectacular, and to be frank had me in a bit of a shock - it seems really a long way from the quite comfy outfits of today! I've seen people dressed in mediaeval gear, which I think were more loose and less formal. (Perhaps they were mere peasants?) - How comfortable and actually useable are Tudor period costumes? Or would people not have worn them all day? I'm intrigued now!
Grrr... comedian Jeremy Hardy's just died. Cancer. I didn't know that. Apparently few did.
RIP. - I've been catching up on old News Quizzes from the Sandi Toxic (as I like to call her) and Miles Jupp eras. (Can be found by putting 'news quiz archive' in a search engine.) It's good to hear him do his thing. A lasting tribute.
We had about an inch of snow overnight. I went out walking in the Forest earlier and was the first person down one of the bridleways from the footprints, which had fox tracks weaving in and among rabbit prints, and lots of others, including deer, bird and others I didn't recognise. Currently there is more precipitation but I'm not sure if it's sleet or snow, or alternating. It's also not clear whether it's settling or not.
Wow - and I thought I'd got a bargain! Can I borrow Mrs. Sioni the next time I go shopping?
Twas Debenham's in Cardiff. I picked up a decent suit at half price (£186 to £93). We have done pretty well in Debenham's stores recently and we aren't skinny, so it's good to find a choice at reduced prices in the non-catwalk sizes.
@Wesley J these are gentry, for peasant costumes look at http://www.kentwell.co.uk/events/tudor/may-day-celebrations (nb I am a volunteer at Kentwell, I make no money from them). I am a peasant, a spinster in the wool shed, and my husband a wood carver. I am both a spinster and married, lol.
Tudor clothes were well made because they needed to be hard wearing; poor people might only have one or two dresses or jackets. You also needed several layers as there was no heating and the winters were cold. The outer layers were seldom washed, they were wool so they were brushed down. Your linens were changed daily, however. Women wore their hair covered in a coif.
Clothes would also need to be fitted for practical reasons, such as comfort. Women didn’t wear underwear other than a shift (knee length, long armed shirt) so she needed a bodice that held her attributes in place. Loose clothing might also indicate loose morals.
Grrr... comedian Jeremy Hardy's just died. Cancer. I didn't know that. Apparently few did.
RIP. - I've been catching up on old News Quizzes from the Sandi Toxic (as I like to call her) and Miles Jupp eras. (Can be found by putting 'news quiz archive' in a search engine.) It's good to hear him do his thing. A lasting tribute.
Sadness.
It is sad news, I loved the Linda Smith/Jeremy Hardy era of ISIHAC.
A short piece from 'Last Word' on Mr Hardy, with comments from Mr Corbyn and Mark Steel... who literally doesn't know whether to laugh or cry, and you can hear it. A good way to remember and be remembered, I guess. (Note to self: must be funnier and wittier, and compassionate.)
In other news, it's been precipitating here all day, with light rain first, which made me fear the worst: a premature end to all landscaped whiteyness, but hooray, in the late afternoon, ginourmous snow flakes appeared, some wider than an inch in diametre (!) - I was even trying to catch some, so fascinated was I, silly me...! Smaller flakes later, but still ongoing. I like it.
It makes me wonder about the physics behind this, about size and density and appearance of my flakey hibernal friends from the heavens. Marvellous.
Sincere apologies to spring, summer and autumn lovers.
That's quite a respectable amount of snow, @TonyK!
@Wesley J - the conventional wisdom over here is "wee flakes - big snow; big flakes - wee snow". The bigger flakes tend to be wetter and more splatty, and melt more quickly; the little ones are more compact and determined wee buggers ...
It's colder than enough here today: I went out this morning to liberate the wheelie-bin from its two-foot casing of icy snow so that the bin-men could empty it, and it was absolutely baltic (Environment Canada said it was -13° and feeling like -23, but tbh it felt colder than that).
* * * * *
D. decided that a sensible use for some of my dad's estate would be to pay off the car loan, so the Pigletmobile now belongs to us; between that and my (tiny) British pension coming in, we'll be a few $$$ better off each month, which is a very comforting thought. If I could get someone to employ me, we'd be laughing.
My grandparents lived up the road in Wooton under Edge and I remember being there when it was literally waist deep in snow in the early 1980s. Nostaligia is become a disease of mine in middle age - I should snap out of it!
I was around for the long snow of 1946/7
Not that I remember it, but am told that I was pushed 2 miles through it daily, in my pram by my mother (pregnant with my little brother) to my grandmother's house , taking a few lumps of coal so we could share the warmth in the one house.
Ah yes ... I understand that, when the film people actually managed to get there, the snow had abated somewhat and the director asked the shovellers to bend their knees to make it look deeper ... Sadly the line is long closed.
It is freezing and snowy here, but there is one spot of balmy warmth.
Unfortunately it is inside our fridge. I woke this morning to find the fridge warm and the milk off. I had to have a bracing early morning walk to the Co-op before I could have my coffee. Full matks to Aberdeenshire Council - the pavements were gritted!
Wish our pavements were gritted! Not that it particularly affects me, but my wobbly daughter didn't get out yesterday as ice and dodgy joints are not a safe combination.
Comments
I’ve done my morning admin and emails, now a cup of tea before a bit of marking and tutorial planning.
It’s deep but due to stop soon.
I hope so -we are flying to Berlin tomorrow to meet my son to celebrate his birthday.
Has there ever been a time when the Bvd Périphérique was not unpleasant?
A very brief flurry in Zooport, all of thirty seconds! Middle son & family have seen more of it as they live in Ferndale, which is way up the Rhondda Fach.
In places where ice and snow are rare, most people don't know how to drive in it. It's much safer if people stay home.
I can vouch for that, having experienced some of the most terrifying driving in my life when Athens had snow
*It could happen with all the crazy weather around the world these past few years.
Driving round Athens can be bloody terrifying even without snow (as the unbelted taxi driver stubs out his sobranie on the No Smoking sign while arguing on his mobile).
Had lunch in an Italian chain restaurant before a spot of retail therapy in a rather quirky, upmarket shop across from the Cathedral. Their full prices are a bit eye-watering, but their sale prices aren't bad, and I got a nice top for $53 (£30), reduced from $85 (£50).
And if Athens is like Cyprus, resting their other arm on the open door so they can hold the roof on. Are they driving with their knees?
Btw, our yellow snow warning has been upgraded to orange, but it looks like Cardiff will get it worse. Typical F****** Cardiff, has to be better.
btw2: piglet, that's nuthin'. Mrs Sioni indulged in a stack of retail therapy for stuff for the Wedding (although to be fair a lot was tried and returned). Best deal was a dress at £200 reduced to £40!
Steering with them when necessary is not unknown
In this part of the world yellow snow doesn't fall from the sky. It's found by the side of the road, and is its own warning. I've never seen orange snow, but I suppose a very, very sick dog might...
Sorry, Boogie! Seems my seed and fat is preferred!!!
Weather here is quite boring - we haven't had much more snow, although what we have has probably frozen, as it's -13° and falling.
Memo to self: wear something reasonably warm for choir practice, as it was really quite cold in the choirstalls last week. It's hard to judge, as we never know whether the heating will be firing on all cylinders. If it is, and I'm wearing something warm, I'll be too hot*, but if it isn't, and I'm not, even I could feel a tad chilly. I think layering is my best bet.
Talking of birdie feeders, we reopened the birdie bistro the other day - D. bought a new feeder (the old one being snowed-in in the shed) and hung it up on the hook, but we haven't had any little visitors yet. I suspect that most of them have buggered off for the winter, and I'm not at all sure that I blame them.
* I would put it down to my age, but I've always felt the heat rather than the cold ...
Potatoes, not so much. We left a bag of spuds in the car overnight by mistake (they got buried under something else) and when we brought them into the house and let them defrost, they were absolutely manky.
I find it pleasant to the eye to nearly always have at least a dusting of snow, or very few inches; road and pavement clearing services and gritters here are very efficient. I sometimes wake up at 3am or so, when the local council has their snowploughs going. It makes me go back to sleep then and dream of winter wonderlands! (Ok, I'm hopelessly romantic, and my routes to work, by train and bus, are normally well accessible, so I can't complain.)
And if the sun is out, it just looks lovely and is great for walks.
I wonder though how I would feel in a place like Piglet land, or similar! If there's nothing but snow, and shedloads of it all the time, I might think differently!
Our wheelie-bin has become snowed in; it's big enough that we could get away with not putting it down to the end of the drive last week, but we'll really need to put it out tomorrow, and that's going to involve shovelling.
Shovelling of ice ...
In a general sort of way, when you have snow, fog is a good thing, because (a) it helps to shift the snow; and (b) you don't have to shovel fog.
Less than an inch of snow here and it’s fading fast. I might leave my walk until it’s cleared a bit.
More marking today and prepping for a tutorial tomorrow afternoon. But the weather is making me want to do something more cheery. I might start planning our costumes for this summer’s Tudor re-enactment. Our current outfits are based around late 16th C gear but we are doing mid 16th C this year. Bizarrely by modern fashions, it’s the men’s costumes which are not the right fashion. A woman’s basic ‘kirtle’ is the same throughout the period but this was an era when men went from long hose (footed trousers like tights) to below knee hose (my son was gentry so wore puffed paned hose, he’s one of the pages here https://www.flickr.com/photos/hecubasstory/14243925977/in/pool-kentwell So we need to make 2 pairs of wool long hose with feet. They also need new long doublets. This is going to be a challenging year for sewing...
Heavenlyannie, the photos look spectacular, and to be frank had me in a bit of a shock - it seems really a long way from the quite comfy outfits of today! I've seen people dressed in mediaeval gear, which I think were more loose and less formal. (Perhaps they were mere peasants?) - How comfortable and actually useable are Tudor period costumes? Or would people not have worn them all day? I'm intrigued now!
RIP. - I've been catching up on old News Quizzes from the Sandi Toxic (as I like to call her) and Miles Jupp eras. (Can be found by putting 'news quiz archive' in a search engine.) It's good to hear him do his thing. A lasting tribute.
Sadness.
Twas Debenham's in Cardiff. I picked up a decent suit at half price (£186 to £93). We have done pretty well in Debenham's stores recently and we aren't skinny, so it's good to find a choice at reduced prices in the non-catwalk sizes.
Tudor clothes were well made because they needed to be hard wearing; poor people might only have one or two dresses or jackets. You also needed several layers as there was no heating and the winters were cold. The outer layers were seldom washed, they were wool so they were brushed down. Your linens were changed daily, however. Women wore their hair covered in a coif.
Clothes would also need to be fitted for practical reasons, such as comfort. Women didn’t wear underwear other than a shift (knee length, long armed shirt) so she needed a bodice that held her attributes in place. Loose clothing might also indicate loose morals.
In other news, it's been precipitating here all day, with light rain first, which made me fear the worst: a premature end to all landscaped whiteyness, but hooray, in the late afternoon, ginourmous snow flakes appeared, some wider than an inch in diametre (!) - I was even trying to catch some, so fascinated was I, silly me...! Smaller flakes later, but still ongoing. I like it.
It makes me wonder about the physics behind this, about size and density and appearance of my flakey hibernal friends from the heavens. Marvellous.
Sincere apologies to spring, summer and autumn lovers.
Local paper has drone footage of my town (Dursley) and church (St James the Great) taken this morning
https://www.gazetteseries.co.uk/news/17402666.amazing-drone-footage-shows-town-blanketed-in-snow/
@Wesley J - the conventional wisdom over here is "wee flakes - big snow; big flakes - wee snow". The bigger flakes tend to be wetter and more splatty, and melt more quickly; the little ones are more compact and determined wee buggers ...
It's colder than enough here today: I went out this morning to liberate the wheelie-bin from its two-foot casing of icy snow so that the bin-men could empty it, and it was absolutely baltic (Environment Canada said it was -13° and feeling like -23, but tbh it felt colder than that).
* * * * *
D. decided that a sensible use for some of my dad's estate would be to pay off the car loan, so the Pigletmobile now belongs to us; between that and my (tiny) British pension coming in, we'll be a few $$$ better off each month, which is a very comforting thought. If I could get someone to employ me, we'd be laughing.
My grandparents lived up the road in Wooton under Edge and I remember being there when it was literally waist deep in snow in the early 1980s. Nostaligia is become a disease of mine in middle age - I should snap out of it!
Not that I remember it, but am told that I was pushed 2 miles through it daily, in my pram by my mother (pregnant with my little brother) to my grandmother's house , taking a few lumps of coal so we could share the warmth in the one house.
It was snowing as we walked home from seeing the most tedious film in the world last night (Tulip Fever).
MMM
Unfortunately it is inside our fridge. I woke this morning to find the fridge warm and the milk off. I had to have a bracing early morning walk to the Co-op before I could have my coffee. Full matks to Aberdeenshire Council - the pavements were gritted!
You can guess what that meant: both trains were punctual!