Snow Report

Thursday:
The meteorologists have been referring to today as a "snow event". So far, for us at least, it hasn't been all that eventful - though there is yet time; it's only half past eight! In the south of the country it has been very eventful already. The schools in Birmingham are closed. Some of the airports are closed. Trains are being disrupted. We are advised to travel with supplies of food and warm drinks. And a torch!

I went outside at around 07:00 to put the recycling in its bins. It was a balmy 0d (that is balmy when it has been -6.5!) and quite clear. I went upstairs to the loo and to brush my teeth,. The Builder yelled up that it was snowing quite hard. By the time we left at 07:10 it was settling. Fortunately, Derbyshire grits most of its roads. Not only was the A61 gritted, as you would expect, but so too was QVR. Sheffield only grits its main arterial roads. They're not very good here. It's snowing cheerfully in Sheffield at the moment. But nothing startling. Yet!

The Builder was supposed to be replacing some windows for my pal Sue today. Somehow I don't think that's going to happen. Not today, anyway!

Lunchtime update:
Someone has skidded into the Vixen and crumpled her nose :-( While The Builder was measuring Sue’s windows and I was peacefully drinking my coffee at work, the other driver came around the corner into Ward Street (I assume too fast!) and couldn’t take the corner. At least he made great efforts to find out who belonged to the poor, crumpled red car. I believe his insurance is sorting it all out. I haven’t seen it (obviously, being still at work); The Builder says the front bumper is bent and the number plate doesn’t look all that cheerful, but he thinks it’s still driveable.

Snow report. It isn’t really snowing in the Sheffield city centre. Just the odd flurry. The Builder tells me it is still snowing properly in Tupton but the roads, are now more or less clear. There had been several centimetres of snow on Bridge Street and QVR but the grit is clearly doing its work. I think it’s those nesh, feeble, delicate flowers in the south Midlands and the home counties who are panicking because they’ve forgotten that winter does, sometimes, involve white stuff falling out of the sky and landing on the roads! Although, I suppose it *might* be that conditions are a tad worse on the southern and western part of the country.

They’re forecasting sleet and black ice for this evening. Weather is such fun! I think I might go home early. The only appointment I had in my diary for this afternoon was coffee with Peter-my-boss. We’ve cancelled that. He’s leaving early too! After all - the Met Office has issued severe weather warnings advising us not to travel unless absolutely necessary. Clearly I should go home in this lull!!

(Imagine if England and Wales were in Scandinavia. Or Russia. How on earth would they cope with the winters?!?!?!?!?)

Later:
So. I got home at around 2, The Builder having picked me up from the Chesterfield station. The local countryside looked absolutely beautiful, all glistening white. I really wouldn't have described it as particularly bad weather; it was just snow. I realise that it was worse in parts of the rest of the country, but to close 2500 schools seems a bit over the top to me. Wasn't that bad! Tupton looked glorious. The garden looked lovely. Probably around 3 inches of snow. We went down to inspect the orchard, The Builder carrying Marlo on his shoulder. Marlo jumped down to come back and see what I was up to (I had stopped to look at the "winter" garden) - and sank to his knees. He was a bit surprised!

The Vixen has had her front right hand bumper stowed in. The number plate is hanging loosely. The bonnet is dinted :-( I must ring our insurance company and make sure that Mr Other Driver's insurance company is actually doing something. I would have done it today but I've brought last year's insurance certificate in. I must remember to do it tomorrow. I hope the car is actually driveable. I'd quite like to use it to get to Collegiate tomorrow and Sunday!

Marlo GROWLED. Really, really GROWLED. He was sat on my shoulder watching out the kitchen window with me, when the grey tabby cat that I sometimes see ambling about in the orchard hoved into view. Clearly Marlo has not noticed this cat before. He was very, very unimpressed. I let him out the back door before he went through the (unopened!) kitchen window! By the time he got down the garden, the tabby had dropped into next door's garden. But he remained suspicious and vigilant for some time! Haven't ever heard him growl like that before, though. He sounded like a big, ferocious lion!

Friday:
It snowed on and off until early evening yesterday. We had cleared the driveway and side path so could get out easily enough this morning. It was cold and icy and foggy coming in today. Just grey and dank in Sheffield. At least, it is in the city centre. You still have to wonder, though. All that chaos yesterday, particularly in the south and centre of the country. When did the British forget about winter weather? It didn't used to come to a crashing halt whenever there was a light dusting of snow (I'm sorry, not by any definition does 3-4 inches of snow count as "heavy"!!)

It had just begun raining in an icy way when I walked up to Collegiate at lunchtime. The Builder picked me up from there at 5pm, when it was a kind of sleety snow. By the time we got home it was snowing really quite hard. The roads weren't recently gritted because the snow hadn't been forecast to get to us till much later. It was an interesting drive home for The Builder. I've don't think I've ever seen him drive the Dronfield Bypass so slowly! The gritters were just coming out as we passed through Chesterfield. The snow was settling on the paths we had cleared around the house, and on Bridge Street and QVR. Hope it doesn't do this all night or I'll have trouble getting in to work tomorrow. Does look really pretty, though. All shiny and glittery.

Tabitha reports that there were large drifts of snow in Cambridge, where schools were closed, traffic disrupted and public transport was affected. Freyja says it was properly snowing on Friday evening in the Sheffield City Centre. Kids all over the country vhave enjoyed an extra two days added to half term which is this coming week in most places. I suppose, in the end, that it was a snow event.