Some December Musings

So thankful that the snow has cleared. Going to be dull and damp through Christmas but at least travelling will not be a problem like it is when it is snowing.

Some people wonder why everything comes to a standstill when it snows in this country - we don't have it often enough (well here in the South anyhow) for it to be viable to have lots of snow ploughs and equipment. 

I was surprised to find that I had peeled a twin banana last week

very unusual

I thought I was all ready to serve dinner to friends recently

when I realised the chicken breasts where still in the fridge!

I usually prepare them just before cooking but this time prepared them earlier and put them in the fridge

I hate to keep guests waiting but that's how it turned out! 

Such different December sunsets on two consecutive evenings. 

Had to share this! My daughter walked 62 plus miles over 2 days this Autumn along one of England's 

Ridgeways. A Ridgeway being an ancient trackway described as one of Britain's oldest roads. The term originated in Anglo-Saxon times 410 to 1066 and they run along high ridges of hills.

It was well organised. The group stayed and ate together in a hotel the night before and camped over the middle night.

Seen here with our grand children Oliver and Rebekah at the finish.

Well done Jane  

A few Saturday's ago my neighbour held a charity cake sale.

All of these cakes were made by her Sister-in-law and they were delicious.

Yes I bought enough to freeze as well as eat that weekend!

Well I am sure I have gone on long enough so I'll take this opportunity to wish everyone a Very Happy Christmas and a Blessed year to come. 

How could the World Change While we ate Dinner?

Dear Diary

I have to tell you that Saturday night was high up on the list of scariest things in my life.

Whilst eating dinner with friends our world became covered in 5 inches of snow.

How can it happen that quickly?

These friends live only 20 minutes away but on the edge of Epping Forest

We made a hasty retreat around 9.45 pm to take an advised quicker route that the familiar one

(Strangely we knew that the Sat Nav did not seem to know it was snowing and was suggesting the fast but narrow country lane route we had arrived on so did not attempt that!)

Very soon afterwards we found ourselves well and truly stuck

on a hill, in deep snow, in the dark, late at night, on an unfamiliar narrow road, in the forest and with no phone signal.

Everything we tried did not work, the tyres just would not grip the road and we knew we had to stop when the smell of burning tyres permeated the car. We did not have a map for such a short journey and we did not know where we were.

I tell you diary, I was frightened

I had heard of people being stuck in cars all night on the motorway, but with emergency services checking folk and handing out drinks that would not have been so scarey

.

Alone without drinks, blankets, and suitable shoes my imagination ran wild.

For the next hour we worked with a number of different manoeuvres.

First we allowed the car to roll backwards down the first bendy hill, unable to see out of the windows for the constantly falling snow.

When this became too difficult our next strategy was to try and turn around, becoming initially stuck sideways across the road.

This was frightening too as there were a number of 4 wheel drive vehicles using the road and not stopping even though we had our hazard lights on. Nobody wants to stop in these conditions in case they become stuck too.

Eventually we turned around and very slowly made the next hill with Alan driving zig-zag across the road, literally inch by inch while I pushed from behind.

Remember diary I was wearing flimsy shoes and my feet soon were wet through and freezing, not to mention sodden gloves and lots of snow on my hatless head.

Now this dear diary is a lady who walks around the park in the worst of the winter in a quilted jacket, fur hat, thick scarf, thick gloves, walking boots or trainers and thick socks.

Things were looking up a little until we came to a one-way single line traffic light system where we again became stuck. 

We did however, after an hour, make it to a main road which was still quite treacherous but flat and wider.

We had no choice but to return to our friends home and initially when opening the door they did not recognise these two snow covered and shivering images on their doorstep.

Soon however they were making up beds in their spare rooms while we sat drinking hot tea.

It was 2.0 am by the time I pulled the covers over me (yes dear diary it gave us more time for lots of chatting and catching up while we thawed out) to spend the night going over our ordeal in my mind and thinking of the possibility of having to spend a second night as our car was now stuck on the hill in their road.

Fortunately, and in spite of my mental gymnastics, we were able to move our car about midday on Sunday and make it home after reaching a gritted road (seen in the photo) the long way round via. 2 motorways. 

What bliss - a wide and gritted road and away from the deep forest

Our friends garden when we left

and a little of ours when we arrived home

the first bit of our journey where our car became stuck again.

We could not get from the road to our drive

Very soon our house church leader was busy with a shovel and Alan eventually drove in

So that Dear Diary was an interesting entry for today

don't you think!

Many in house church having fun either playing, having snow ball fights and sledging and clearing snow from the road and pavements

I am afraid I stayed indoors having seen enough snow for this weekend

Taken from an upstairs window it looks like we have 

match stick men

Now Julie next door is handing out Mulled Wine

The first tray was knocked right out of her hand by a snowball

Winter Wonderland vs. Chaos on our 51st Anniversary

I had planned to do a post on afternoon tea but the snow bug caught up with me!

Before getting into the chaotic winter wonderland I would like to wish my dear husband a Happy 51st Wedding Anniversary today.

Cannot believe that a year has gone by since our Golden Wedding celebrations. With so

much going on I confess I made him quite a simple card and entitled it 'two hearts joined as one' 

We had our house church Christmas buffet and secret santa today and forgot to mention it to anyone

The snow you will see in the following pictures came down in the space of an hour yesterday. It caused so much disruption with travel chaos with many of the major airports closed including Gatwick and Heathrow and making the roads impassable for people stranded at airports to return home

I was watching it come down so fast as I began to decorate my Christmas tree

So.......Why HAVE we suddenly been plunged into a deep freeze?

The cold winter is being caused by a flow of freezing air from the Canadian Arctic. Normally at this time of year the UK enjoys the benefits of a jet stream from the Atlantic, which brings milder weather than being currently endured.
But a large dense block of cold air is sitting over Greenland and Iceland, blocking the stream's progress over the British Isles and diverting it south over continental Europe.
Meanwhile winds from the Arctic and Siberia, via Scandinavia, are blowing from the north, putting the country into a deep freeze.
The phenomenon is called an Arctic Oscillation and the bad news is that it generally brings long spells of cold.
Tim Thorne from the Met Office, said the big freeze is expected to last past Christmas and perhaps into the New Year. He said: 'The problem is that the jet stream from the Atlantic has been forced south and when this happens it is very difficult for it to correct itself and flow up north again. The cold weather is entrenched over the British Isles I am afraid'
Taken from The Mail on Sunday

The steps down into next door's garden

(we are on a hill)

Cars stuck in the snow outside my house

and that's a car in the foreground almost invisible

The snow has stopped  for now so it's off for a walk in the park

We are so blessed to have this park at the top of our road

My footprint

Alan seems alone

London on the horizon 15 miles away

Someone left behind a snowball

But the outdoor gym is deserted

And the children's playing areas

Snow Has Fallen Snow on Snow

A way for house church to share the Love of God in the community as well as shopping for, and checking on the elderly.

This was some of our house church caring for us as we then went on to care for elderly neighbours not thinking of ourselves in this category!

And then the next day it was all back again

This has been the difficulty in this current cold snap

After the snow lots of ice forming and then snow on top has made for hazardous conditions

It is now Friday and we have not been able to get the car out since last Monday. Living on  a hill does not help, especially when it is used for sledging

We are having a high of 28f today with 25f forecast for the weekend.

So unfortunately we were not able to travel to see Janie and dear little Oliver and Rebekah after all. 

At least we can enjoy the garden without going out into it, except of course to feed the birds

Snow Report

The snow has nearly all gone in my neighbourhood after much torrential rain but just 30 minutes away the snow has been doing it's thing again causing chaos. Where we had rain, they had more snow.

The Severn Bridge between England and Wales had to be closed when large blocks of ice dropped from the high suspension and smashed into car windscreens. We have severe weather forecast into next week with ice being the main culprit as well as snow so it is not over yet.

A walk in the local park showed many abandoned snowballs and a pretty sky as the snow began to melt.

And here is a little British humour to lighten the day. Images from the Daily Mail newspaper. There were lots but here are just a few.

Our son is about to escape it all (if he can get to the airport) as he will be on his way to Palm Springs in Southern California again tomorrow. He chose the right time I think.