SNOW!!

..let it snow, let it snow, let it snow..!! was the song of the week last week. As you have undoubtably heard, or seen yourself, it snowed major time last monday in London. There was 10cm of snow out at Heathrow and 15cm in south london and 1 foot-1metre deep in the mid parts of england. It started snowing on sunday afternoon, when we were all out for a friends farewell. (We went bowling, nando's, and went to see a comedian which was great fun) anyway we got to the comedian just before the snow started i think, it was damn cold with a biting wind- when we got out 2hours later there was a good 2cm on the ground everywhere and it was snowing heavily - it snowed all night until Monday morning we got up to our 'white christmas' in february. There was a thick blanket of the softest powder snow everywhere.. it looked beautiful. My flatmates and I had a quick run round the lawn before work and I took photos all day long. I was able to go into work as i was able to catch the two tube lines that were actually still running. Many others were snowed in or couldnt get to work, as the entire bus network was off for the day, and all other trains and tube lines suspended or delayed. All my flatmates and friends got a snow day.. Only 5/12 people in my department made it into work - the ones that could get the tube line that was running. It was a very quiet day at work - hardly anyone in the whole building and it was snowing all day. All cafe's and our catering team etc were all off so our PA's rustled up some lunch for all the staff, and we all went home early because there were more transport delays and the snow was still coming down.

The snow almost ground the country to a halt. I've mentioned most of london transport wasnt running. Many roads all over england were closed. Snow plows doing their best to clear drifts of up to a metre deep out in the country. All schools closed on monday, most still closed tuesday and some closed mid week too as further heavy snow which hit the country for round two on weds & thurs. Gritting trucks working 24/7 to get enough grit down on the roads so that they were accessable. There were/are problems that some councils only have enough grit for 3 days more snow as of thursday when it was still snowing in places. Footpaths remained covered in snow/ice largely until weds, when in london at least, the snow had stopped and they were able to clear it. On Tuesday the snow had turned to slush or ice where it was compacted by lots of foot traffic. Getting to work was slippery and hard going. It was like walking through a giant slushy and then walking on an ice rink. Hearing the sound of crunching snow and cracking ice under your feet is quite satisfying, but only when you have footwear that keeps your feet dry!! Most commuters donned gumboots or hiking boots for the whole week (not me as I dont own any. my heels acted as ice picks) The slush and ice hung around till friday as temperatures didnt get above 2-3degrees. It was only on friday that the ice and snow had been removed by council workers from all public accessways, peices of grass, footpaths, etc and heaped into piles. Some snow is still sitting in little piles all over the city now, its just been so cold. We still have big balls of ice that was our snowman sitting on our lawn.

People did make the most of the snow though, and on Monday there were snowmen galore all over the city, some people were snowboarding and sledding, others just playing in the snow. The newspapers and news were full of snow updates and snow photos - also lots of blogs online mentioning the snow and putting up private pics aswell. The news had lovely stories about neighbours who had never met that were building snowmen together. 1/5th of the city apparantly had the day off on monday, and cost englands economy £1.5billion or something. It hasnt snowed like that in over 20years apparantly. so it is a day to remember. Apparantly the coldness is set to stay till the end of the month. So yay for that.