Tony_S

Morning all. We have had some snow overnight but so far it isn't as bad as was predicted. I'll trek down to the bird feeders and top them up. I thought that if birds actually resorted to cotoneaster berries it was a sigh of a hard winter. They (and squirrels) have not eaten the fruit off our crab apple tree though. DD, St Clamber's hearse would have to be a stretch Volvo to be modern round here (or horse drawn which some people seem to favour) Tony

Channa dal with chappati?

Morning all. I'm setting off later to take my mother back to Droitwich. Today's forecast seems the mildest for a while assuming we are back before the blizzards return tonight! Tony

Hello Matthew's college is open as normal today (website even has a pretty picture of the snow covered campus!)My wife's college sent text messages to all staff and students early this morning letting them know it would be open. Matthew has got AS/A2 modules and resits starting next week. He has been revising all through the holidays and is finding it useful now to discuss stuff with his tutors so he is keen to go in. Tony

It was a bit worrying when the Sky commentary referred to "Bunny Onions" saving the day. I was wondering if for the next match they could drop Pietersen and play an extra bowler?

Perhaps Graeme Smith will be phoning Don and asking him to go home early today! Tony

Hello. I've just got back from taking Matthew to college. The trip there was uneventful but then it started snowing. Fresh snow on -4 C roads was interesting but sensible driving prevailed until someone joined the traffic behind me and had no idea at all about how to drive or why everyone else was being cautious. Fortunately when she decided to overtake there was a handy (and empty) side-road to continue her sideways movement into. Tony Tony

Hello. I had an unexpected trip out this morning. Matthew rang home to say the bus hadn't stopped to pick up any passengers at his stop. The bus wasn't full. He walked home and I took him to college. I don't think I'll let him rely on the bus when he has A level exams next week. I've emailed First Bus to see what possible justification there could be for a bus driver missing out a stop. Anyway after taking Matthew I took the opportunity to do a bit of early shopping in Sainsbury. It was really quiet. So was the petrol station until as my card went in the card readers crashed. Hopefully taking the dog for a walk shouldn't pose too many problems! Tony

Morning all. We seem to have had about a centimetre of snow overnight. More is expected this afternoon. Tony

Hello all. It is -5C here but the car windows didn't take as long to scrape as yesterday. Snow is forecast here but not until tonight. I may clear the garage up (railway stuff!) so I can get one of the cars away if it is going to be this cold for another week. Tony

I was worried that the same batsmen were in when I returned from the dog walk that they may have been following on.

Is the linseed for the birds or the bats?

Morning all. It was -5?°C when I went out to scrape the Clio screen and windows. It had risen to -3?°C by the time I finished. Today shouldn't be too hectic. I may even try and watch the cricket for a while. Tony

Hello. Slight frost overnight here but there are some large clouds heading this way so I suppose it could rain or possibly snow later. Tony

The only sports I've watched recently on the television were cricket from South Africa and outdoor ice hockey from Boston. The weather seemed appropriate in both locations. Our neighbours came home today as they were able to make a break from the hillside in Denbighshire where they were staying. They had a great time with their family but did appreciate the milder Essex climate. However our friends from Norfolk seem to be getting snow dumped on them tonight and may not be able to get out of their village tomorrow to make the trip here. Tony

The only time I've driven to Scotland up the eastern side of the country was in August. It was some years ago and I think we left the A1 and went up the A68 and went through Jedburgh. Our main aim was to get to the campsite at Rosemarkie by 8pm. We had a car then that was very good at overtaking uphill (too scary downhill) and did get there just as the site was shutting up for the night. It was a really cold summer in Scotland that year. Tony

Morning all. I think cycling to school in winter many many years ago put me off cold weather cycling for ever. I did ride my motorcycle (also many years ago)from Canterbury to Solihull one December when it was sub zero all the way. I had to get off every few miles and hug the engine to warm up. My cold weather exercise now is limited to scraping windscreens or walking the dog. Tony

It seems much colder here now the snow has all gone. Even Robbie didn't go for a swim today. No one had a hangover from last night. Matthew asked if he could try some of the Soviet era vodka I found at the back of the cupboard but he didn't like it so I had to finish it (the small glass not the bottle). We only saw one bird today and it looked not very happy. I think the egrets are supposed to be an example of warmer climate! However I didn't see the species that got my message yesterday censored. Tony

Hello and Happy New Year We had a very sharp frost here last night. Not much happening today but I suspect a frenzy of cooking tomorrow. Some friends who moved out of the area years ago will be coming to see us on Sunday. We are all really looking forward to seeing them again. I've warned Matthew there will be a lot of comments about how much he has grown since they last saw him. Tony

Our dog walk wasn't snowy although there was a very brief sleety shower as we set off. It was obviously too warm for Robbie as he went swimming twice today. Not a lot of bird activity on the walk but there was a tree with lots of long-tailed ###### in it. The egret that lives in the stream Robbie swam in made an appearance for a while. Tony

Good Morning. The weather seems to be a re run of yesterday's, rain and dull. We were going to have some friends over this evening for the New Year but they cancelled. It was my mother's birthday yesterday and Matthew decided he would like to cook something for his Grandma. Everyone enjoyed the dinner. I think my shed project this year will be to stop the "summer house" being used as a shed. At the moment it is full of stuff (like the lawn-mower) that should be in the shed. Tony

Morning all. Weather report for here is dull and damp. Dog enjoyed finding puddles in the garden while I put the bin bags out. We had an early morning call from our neighbours who are in North Wales at present to say they won't be returning here today. They seemed to confirm Dd's weather report and are now spending the New Year away as well. I went shopping yesterday but only to the supermarket. It was very quiet. Tony

Do you qualify for South Africa? Matthew could qualify for England, India and Pakistan on the birthplace of grandparent rule. However he never demonstrated any proficiency at cricket. He is only interested in American sports now. Tony

Morning all. Don I'm sorry to read about your friend in Germany. I was having a conversation about woodburners at the weekend. Someone at the family lunch has had one and had to have his first one replaced as he was burning the wrong type of wood (pallets mainly) but he was very pleased with the fire. He now has an arrangement with local tree surgeons to dump their waste branches in his garden. Tony

I've finally managed to make it to the computer. It is dry and sunny here. I've just been up to the shops to buy a birthday card for a friend. There were a lot of empty shelves that had held Christmas cards but very few birthday cards (and very few "appropriate" ones). It is very quiet here today, my wife is studying, Matthew is revising, I'm not sure what my mother is doing. We had a nice day in Enfield yesterday but the bit of the M25 we joined seemed stationary so we left at the A12 and went the "pretty" way. Sat nav not necessary as my wife seemed to know the route via every pub between Harold Hill and Epping Forest. Tony