24/11/2010 to 27/11/2010 Snow, Snow and More Snow

Wednesday afternoon is spent painting the bedroom walls at Tanya's flat. It is a light colour to cover a dark colour, so it definately going to need two coats, what fun. Do you detect my enthusiasm is waning?

In the evening the snow starts, how I hate winter!

Thursday, it is daughter-in-law, Susana's birthday.

Birthday wishes are sent by text, although the more traditional flowers and card have already been dispatched.

We awake to a good three inches (OK, 7.5 cm for you metric types) of snow lying.

According to the news, the East coast of England  is effected most, no doubt this will bring the whole area to a shuddering stop.

More painting, at Tanya's flat, on for the second coat now, so at least I get the satisfaction of it begining to look good.

There is no heating on in the place, so I am painting with my coat and scarf on!

As if decorating is not enough, Tanya's iron has given up the ghost.

I suspect the flex is broken, but being a Morphy Richards it has "tamper proof" screws to encourage you to buy a new iron, not very environmentally friendly.

I borrow a suitable tool to overcome the "tamper proof" screws, but it is not the flex, The lights come on but it does not get hot, so it looks like the element has gone, it is destined for the great iron graveyard.

Friday, and still it is snowing.

A sign of getting old, I wimp out of my usual Friday night trip to the Grey Horse, on the basis that the weather is bad. If you bear in mind, I get a lift there, and a taxi back, that is pathetic old person stuff isn't it.

Initially I amuse myself on the Internet, reading about Squirrels (both Red and Grey). This obscure interest being fired off by a conversation with a neighbour, which included mention of the fact that, despite the prescence of quite a large number of trees nearby, we have never seen a squirrel in the garden. I never cease to be amazed at the sheer volume and variety of "information" you can find on the internet, about just about any subject under the sun.

Later we amuse ourselves watching TV. Since Friday night TV, in common with most nights, is crap and consists of non-stop soaps, this involves scrolling through the list of stuff we have recorded at some point in the past in the hope it may be watchable.

The first three films we begin watching we have already seen, and I cannot stand watching something I have already seen, but we eventually while away the evening with:

• the new version of Reggie Perrin (not as good as the old version in my opinion, but still quite funny).  
• a documentary about how the landscape of Scotland developed, interesting only for the fact that the presenter managed to tell us how climate change in the 1400's killed off thousands of trees (not many aircraft, power stations or cars around in 1400 according my understanding of history), whilst still admonishing us humans with the present "climate change" scare stories.

In the meantime, the snow is still falling, fortified with a few drinks we venture outside with our digital cameras to make very inexpert photographs of the night time snow fall.

For my first effort, I try the snow scene setting, in the back garden, where there is virtually no artificial light, well apart from the usual "light pollution" to be expected in an urban area.

Not very successful, in my opinion.

Athough the the falling snow flakes are well defined.

I reason that the setting for "Snow Scene" probably means day time snow scene so I switch the setting to "night scene", but the exposure time is clearly too long for a hand held shot by someone shivering in the snow, with the inevitable blurred result.

At least you can see the garden, and I suppose it could be regarded as being artistic, if you were being kind.

I round off with a couple of shots, using "night scene", in the front street, where there is good street lighting, but the results are not much, if any, better.

Clearly, if I am to take this photography lark seriously (which I am not), I need to learn at least how to use the camera I have.

There must be a setting which allows you to adjust the exposure time manually (I think), or perhaps the answer is to use the night scene setting but with the camera on a solid surface, instead of in my shaky hand!

Before giving up, I work my way through the bewildering list of menu settings available, firing off a few shots to try out the results, nothing startlingly good (or bad) I am afraid.

At one point I think I have found the setting for adjusting the exposure time, but no, it is the setting for "delayed action", shots, presumably to allow the photographer to get in the picture him/her self.

 Interest wanes, and I end up with a shot to show off our decorating efforts, in the Lounge.



Saturday, the snow continues to fall.


Kathleen decides to go Christmas shopping in Sunderland with Dana and Claire.

Are women totally insane when it comes to shopping?, I would have thought that six or more inches of snow was a perfect excuse to give it a miss!

So, I dig out the car, and clear enough snow so she can get into it without crampons, before dropping her off at the metro station.