Saturday 30th January 2010

I returned from the Grey Horse last night at about 23:45, it was cold, but there was no snow. Woke up this morning and looked out of the window to see this in our back garden, about four inches of snow has fallen at some point during the night.

The weather forecast said to expect a crisp day, with blue skies, no mention of snow. Wrong again! Given that they cannot forecast the weather one day in advance and they expect us to believe they can forecast the climate 25 or even 50 years in advance, forgive me if I am a little skeptical.

This somewhat puts paid to my plans of a cycle ride and/or digging in Martin's allotment.

After clearing the snow from the drive, and the car, I decide to go to the allotment anyway, if you just ignore the fact that the ground is covered in snow, it is a beautiful winters day. Clear blue sky and bright sunshine, with even a hint of warmth in the sun.

Martin is there digging away when I arrive, and I join him for perhaps a couple of hours, by which time my feet are going numb. How on earth do people survive in Siberia I wonder?

I took a couple of shots, to just set the scene, above you can see someone actually has a palm tree of some kind growing this far north, while on the right, you can see out over the north sea.

We are not alone here, there are a few other people who have turned up, to attend to their greenhouse heaters etc, but no one else is digging.

We manage a few extra metres of turned over earth before admitting defeat. I took a "progess shot" to prove it, but it seems to have disappeared. Clearly I have not yet mastered this digital camera.

In the afternoon a visit to the Stags Head, to see son Anthony. The pub has a new manager, and seems to be very busy despite the weather. I cannot really see why a new manager should have made a difference, it is the same beer, same prices, same barmaid and same decor, just more customers.