Well we did have snow after all.
It wasn't much but enough for Andrew to decide that it would be unsafe to travel by bike. He was probably right, I have memories of Laurence skidding down the road on his back after coming off his bike on the way to work one snowy morning. It was after that he invested in four wheels. Peter drew the short straw and played taxi and got him to uni in time for his lecture, we will have to pick him up again on Friday, by which time hopefully the snow will be gone, so he can collect his bike.
My worry is whether it will still be here on Wednesday when I have to travel to work in the dark. I have a fear of driving in snow ever since a big accident about ten years ago. I'm not talking big accident as in 'spent weeks in hospital' but more 'blocked motorway'.
I was travelling down the motorway to get to work and the road was snow covered but the traffic had made tracks so where you actually drove was snow free. I was behind an articulated lorry and it was stop go all the way. We were going up a hill when we ground to a halt again but we were stopped for a lot longer than on previous occasions. I was fiddling with my radio trying to find some traffic news when I glanced up and saw the back of the lorry sliding towards me. I cannot describe the feeling of terror as this wall of metal got closer and closer or the feeling of helplessness knowing I could do nothing to get out of the way. Fortunately the damage was slight, I lost my bumper and headlights and gained a dent in my bonnet but, apart from palpitations, I was fine. The lorry must have stopped on a patch of ice because the driver was as shaken as I was and couldn't understand what had happened as he'd got his handbrake on. The problem was we were in the middle lane and I was unable to reverse to free myself as every time I tried the lorry slid a bit more and when the lorry driver tried to pull away his wheels just spun and got nowhere. It seems that the weight of my car was just enough to stop the lorry sliding further so we ended up having to wait for recovery and because I had no headlights I could not continue my journey and so missed work. My car was returned to me all nicely repaired at the lorry company's expense but ever since then I've hated driving in snow and never sit behind a lorry going up hill if I can possibly help it regardless of the road conditions.
I went out to refill my bird feeders this morning and had to dress like Nanook of the North to do so. I had so many layers on I could hardly bend and I was still freezing. Still the birdies won't starve and I'll get to watch some feathery squabbles this afternoon, camera at the ready.
I weighed myself this morning and am pleased to report that I'm back up to 7 stone 11 pounds, which is probably due to an influx of doughnuts and the finishing off of the cheeses. The target of eight stone still eludes me but at least I've put back on the bit I lost last week. It feels really strange to be on an 'eat everything' diet while everyone else is on a 'eat nothing' diet but that's January for you and it seems I'm having the same level of success that my colleagues are having. They can't shift it, I can't gain it.
Dancing On Ice
Oh dear could it get any worse, well yes it could and it did.
Apart from Joe Pasquali it was a lack luster cast of mostly nobodies, except a certain Welsh man that is. Why are people from reality shows, and bad reality shows at that, now being classed as celebrities? Fortunately the girl from Essex skated like a wardrobe and so was booted out pretty smartish. Next week all the celebs will be skating, apparently this is something to get excited about. So will I watch next week, well frankly I doubt it but you never know, if we are snowed in and I'm bored rigid I might tune in just to see Matt and Gareth, who to his credit was very graceful considering he is a rugby player.
So who will win? Well my heart says Gareth, because he's Welsh, but my head says Matt because he is the best skater there by far. Now I've said it both will crash and burn, just watch and see.
In the news the headline story is of course the weather.
I found it highly amusing that channel 5 chose to show 'The Day After Tomorrow' last night, a film about the coming of the new ice age. Coincidence or a sense of humour, you decide.
As for our news channels well there are endless snippets of reporters standing in windblown fields with a scattering of snow on them or on a motorway bridge being buffeted by the odd snowflake and trying to convinced us that its 'blizzard conditions out here.'
The trouble with us Brits is we are never happy with the weather we've got. It is always to cold, hot, dry, wet, icy, or windy and the reason we are all so obsessed with the weather? Well it gives us an excuse to indulge in our favourite pass time, having a good old moan. The problem is that although our weather is very varied it is rarely that extreme, OK 2012 was a bit wet, but on the whole we don't get the same sort of weather disasters that other countries get but boy would we like to, now that would really give us something to moan about. So in the absence of any real extreme weather we pretend, hence the mass panic at the first flake of snow.
Well I'm off to turn the heating back on and prepare a hot curry for lunch. If that doesn't warm me up nothing will.
It wasn't much but enough for Andrew to decide that it would be unsafe to travel by bike. He was probably right, I have memories of Laurence skidding down the road on his back after coming off his bike on the way to work one snowy morning. It was after that he invested in four wheels. Peter drew the short straw and played taxi and got him to uni in time for his lecture, we will have to pick him up again on Friday, by which time hopefully the snow will be gone, so he can collect his bike.
My worry is whether it will still be here on Wednesday when I have to travel to work in the dark. I have a fear of driving in snow ever since a big accident about ten years ago. I'm not talking big accident as in 'spent weeks in hospital' but more 'blocked motorway'.
I was travelling down the motorway to get to work and the road was snow covered but the traffic had made tracks so where you actually drove was snow free. I was behind an articulated lorry and it was stop go all the way. We were going up a hill when we ground to a halt again but we were stopped for a lot longer than on previous occasions. I was fiddling with my radio trying to find some traffic news when I glanced up and saw the back of the lorry sliding towards me. I cannot describe the feeling of terror as this wall of metal got closer and closer or the feeling of helplessness knowing I could do nothing to get out of the way. Fortunately the damage was slight, I lost my bumper and headlights and gained a dent in my bonnet but, apart from palpitations, I was fine. The lorry must have stopped on a patch of ice because the driver was as shaken as I was and couldn't understand what had happened as he'd got his handbrake on. The problem was we were in the middle lane and I was unable to reverse to free myself as every time I tried the lorry slid a bit more and when the lorry driver tried to pull away his wheels just spun and got nowhere. It seems that the weight of my car was just enough to stop the lorry sliding further so we ended up having to wait for recovery and because I had no headlights I could not continue my journey and so missed work. My car was returned to me all nicely repaired at the lorry company's expense but ever since then I've hated driving in snow and never sit behind a lorry going up hill if I can possibly help it regardless of the road conditions.
I went out to refill my bird feeders this morning and had to dress like Nanook of the North to do so. I had so many layers on I could hardly bend and I was still freezing. Still the birdies won't starve and I'll get to watch some feathery squabbles this afternoon, camera at the ready.
I weighed myself this morning and am pleased to report that I'm back up to 7 stone 11 pounds, which is probably due to an influx of doughnuts and the finishing off of the cheeses. The target of eight stone still eludes me but at least I've put back on the bit I lost last week. It feels really strange to be on an 'eat everything' diet while everyone else is on a 'eat nothing' diet but that's January for you and it seems I'm having the same level of success that my colleagues are having. They can't shift it, I can't gain it.
Dancing On Ice
Oh dear could it get any worse, well yes it could and it did.
Apart from Joe Pasquali it was a lack luster cast of mostly nobodies, except a certain Welsh man that is. Why are people from reality shows, and bad reality shows at that, now being classed as celebrities? Fortunately the girl from Essex skated like a wardrobe and so was booted out pretty smartish. Next week all the celebs will be skating, apparently this is something to get excited about. So will I watch next week, well frankly I doubt it but you never know, if we are snowed in and I'm bored rigid I might tune in just to see Matt and Gareth, who to his credit was very graceful considering he is a rugby player.
So who will win? Well my heart says Gareth, because he's Welsh, but my head says Matt because he is the best skater there by far. Now I've said it both will crash and burn, just watch and see.
In the news the headline story is of course the weather.
I found it highly amusing that channel 5 chose to show 'The Day After Tomorrow' last night, a film about the coming of the new ice age. Coincidence or a sense of humour, you decide.
As for our news channels well there are endless snippets of reporters standing in windblown fields with a scattering of snow on them or on a motorway bridge being buffeted by the odd snowflake and trying to convinced us that its 'blizzard conditions out here.'
The trouble with us Brits is we are never happy with the weather we've got. It is always to cold, hot, dry, wet, icy, or windy and the reason we are all so obsessed with the weather? Well it gives us an excuse to indulge in our favourite pass time, having a good old moan. The problem is that although our weather is very varied it is rarely that extreme, OK 2012 was a bit wet, but on the whole we don't get the same sort of weather disasters that other countries get but boy would we like to, now that would really give us something to moan about. So in the absence of any real extreme weather we pretend, hence the mass panic at the first flake of snow.
Well I'm off to turn the heating back on and prepare a hot curry for lunch. If that doesn't warm me up nothing will.
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