The 'Beast.'

I awakened this morning to the sound of slow moving traffic, the sound deadened implying that the 'Beast from the East' had arrived.  Indeed three inches of snow has brought the nation to its knees!  Schools close, people 'work from home' whatever that means, and snowmen arise from back gardens here, there and everywhere.  
Only an idiot would venture out early in the morning to take pictures of snow similar to the snow seen in the past.  Therefore at 6:45 am this morning I, wearing the old Royal Mail boots I found under the bed, waiting until the council gardeners tractor with snow plough fitted raced by, I sauntered out Ernest Shackleton style across the park.

  
My hope that I was the first to cross in the snow was quickly disappointed, not only feet had trod this way before but some clot on a bike had cycled across heading for work and an accident somewhere along the road.  

Few others were seen, none spoke as I might be dangerous.  Quite how dangerous someone can be in three inches of snow early before seven in the morning does not strike me that clearly, though I can understand misery at that time people being unwilling to work on such a day.  Who can blame them?  I wonder if any postmen will arrive?  It is one thing to drive a van around the main roads but the back roads will not be cleared.  Those forced to push those barrows will be unwilling to go up the hills with them, difficult and dangerous I would say, so I suspect mail will be hindered understandably for a few days.

    
The town is covered in snow and I hear that London is also suffering.  This is good as it is about time they endured what the rest of the nation has to cope with.  If however it lies then a disaster will be called and troops will be out on the streets.  Poor Londoners.

I will do my bit for the nation while under this terrible blizzard, I will remain indoors drinking tea and laughing at those wandering abroad.  I suspect it will all have gone by tomorrow...

The snow having stopped I cleared the short path to our front door considering that if I didn't the snow underneath would harden in the icy night and become dangerous.  Naturally five minutes after I did so a passing thirty minute shower of heavy snow fell and covered it all again.  I suspect this will continue on and off all day.  I'm not doing it again....

The cheery weathermen, well the not so cheery lassie standing on the TV roof freezing to death, inform us there will be two more days of this stuff.  I might go out and panic buy a loaf of bread later. I wonder how they survive in Norway without difficulty as we strive valiantly against two or three days of the stuff every five or ten years or so?
Is it just me or am I the only person who suddenly wishes to eat ice cream...?

     
Maybe we ought to have a competition, who can come up with a better name than 'Beast from the East?'  I suppose the name originated in the tabloid media though some suggest it was in the Met Office itself,who knows?  However the people who name storms Suzanne or Geoff are well capable of such things I suggest.  Personally I would prefer 'Storm' or 'Gales' as to names on such things likewise 'Severe snowstorm' to 'Beast from the East.'  I would think those out in such weather may have their own name for such snowfall of course, none of which ought to be seen on here. 
How boring it is when there is little to say but "It snowed!"  Nothing else is happening, football is off because of snow, politics is off because of politicians, TV is off because of the programmes.  So I am off to finish lunch and go back to bed, it's warmer there...

 

Snow and the World Ceases to Turn.

For a week now they have been threatening snow, this usually ends with a smattering of flakes similar to the other day, however this morning we awoke to a white landscape with large snowflakes happily floating down hour after hour.  
Naturally being Sunday many people remained indoors, I was one of them, but some have to be out and about and a few cars slowly slugged their way along the streets.  Before the snow began cold rain had fallen and the gritter lorries work was being washed away.  This meant the snow lay thus giving the moaning minnies an excuse to grumble that there were no gritter lorries on the roads.  
Any excuse for a moan and usually with no idea of how to operate a gritter service.  
Of course I don't have a car and don't need to go out.  

Having decided to remain closeted beside the heater I ventured to open the window sufficiently to photograph the effect of the snow on bare tree branches.  Apart from flurries in my face I took a few shots and returned about an hour later for more as the snow had thickened considerably in that time before beginning to thin out. 

Thick snow meant many were indoors however the tailwaggers of this world were not inclined to sit by the fire like a cat would, the park was full of people being pulled along by dogs of various sizes, tails wagging, the dogs not the people, while they chased across the park delighting in the new experience and meeting their mates doing the same thing.  Most dogs here appear to get on well. The owners, wrapped up like Nanook of the North,' followed obediently discussing hot Bovril and firesides. 

Also to be seen were several children who had not experienced such an event before.  It might be seven years since the last deep snow fall, I don't recall too much last year, and sleighs pulled by dad were enjoyed by many, but less so by dad who will now be grumbling about his bad back.   

After a while it calmed down so I opened the wee window for air and returned to my important lazing around on the laptop and after a while i heard a clattering noise.  At the window hang the bird feeders and a Robin had foolishly come through the small gap, deliberately small to stop this happening.  I think he might be youngish and not experienced enough to avoid such things but there he was above the, closed, big window.  

I tried gently to persuade him to venture towards the wee window but he remained determined to aim for the big one.  This is not easy to open or close and I wished him to follow orders, he would not.  Up on the curtains, on the wall, on books, papers and even when tired for a moment on my finger the scared and tired wee lad was constantly aiming for the high points and refusing to duck low and head for the wee window.  Several times he could see it, and by this time I drew the curtains on the big window to stop him, but he could not comprehend that was the way out.  Eventually I managed to get him trapped near the right window and forced him on to the windowsill.  His escape was clear, the window was open wide, the air was cold and what to do now?  He sat on the bar holding the window open and considered his options.  Possibly he realised it was warmer inside?

He flew off, glad to escape and with adrenalin pumping.

A wise woman claims he sat on the bar rather than fly off because he was male, could this be true?   

  

As always with a couple of inches of snow the roads are blocked, daft people crash cars, trains cease, runways are closed and the minnies moan about it in the usual fashion.  A similar but weaker day will follow tomorrow I hear, a working day and many will find the roads slippy early on.  I have food, heating, a laptop and the door firmly closed to notions of walking in snow.   

I feel sorry for the birds in this weather and rather wished Robin had settled down until it was clear to fly again, he would have been well fed.  However many birds sat through the storm, the starlings were constantly at the feeders today showing that few other options were open for them.  You can just make out a wood pigeon sitting towards the top of this picture facing to the east into the snow as it falls.  No hiding for the birds in this weather.

Soon of course it will be slush, then wet, floods here and there and more reason to grumble.
How often we faced this in Edinburgh?  Yet today there was frost up there and no snow whatsoever!  It is a disgrace that we get their snow, it belongs to them up north.  I watched the game at Airdrie on BBC ALBA and by six in the evening as the game finished the BBC weather claimed the temperature was minus four!  Colder than Moscow as the tabloids like to boast.  It is merely zero here now.

Look up!

For many years I have been a believer in 'looking up.'  This is because whatever is happening on the ground around at the moment the sky above continues on its daily routine.  The sun rises and makes its slow way across the sky brightening and warming the land.  (Those living in Edinburgh will no doubt find this difficult to believe)  Had we been born in Egypt we would notice this daily except every 16 to 20 years when excessive rain will fall and change our lives for a week or so and this sunshine would affect us in ways I cannot explain having been brought up under a gray misty cloud!
Today I noticed the bright blue sky smeared with distant white cloud high above stretching for miles across the heavens.  The starkness of the trees minus their covering of leaves against the bright blue was a notable feature for me.
High in the branches of the trees starlings chirped and argued with one another happily as is their way, unseen behind the blue stars and planets continued their daily journey hidden to us, and while we fought to the death for bargains in overcrowded shops the world continued to turn and those of us not seeking bargains smirked to one another at the thought.  
Whatever small issues we have the world keeps turning.

ISIS in an effort to prove they are still alive and kicking have attacked a mosque containing many of an Islamic creed they despise.  The attack, featuring around 40 gunmen, killed at least 250 and wounded many more.  The Egyptian Sinai has been dangerous for many years and I suspect the army will now be sent in with great force and little consideration for human rights to deal effectively with the problem.  This will be a long hard battle with consequences unknown and a great many will suffer.
Some cynical types would claim that the Bush/Blair needless attack, inspired by Rumsfeld and Cheney, was the originator of much of the trouble in the middle east, they might be right.  Maybe it is better to say they failed to handle the situation correctly or with any understanding of the area in which they operated so confidently and allowed such a situation to develop.  Now ISIS have been forced out of Iraq we will see them rising, possibly for only a short time, here there and everywhere for the next few years.  The west has failed the middle east and we will feel the effects.

 
Zimbabwe now has a new president informing them of the need to 'engage the world' (That is 'borrow money') and 'remove corruption' (Not counting his) and 'create jobs' for the young (Fat chance).  We look to see whether a politicians promises will bring about a better nation or whether the usual suspects continue to line their pockets and leave the people to suffer.  It s to be hoped the people this time make a stand and find changes that benefit them all and not just a few.  Interesting to see most of those in charge are well aged and the nation mostly young, how will that work?

Panic they say in Oxford Street as claims of gunshots are heard.  The brave Londoners run for cover!
"No shots" say the police.
Could it be the brave Londoners are panicking?  Tsk!

Autumn

From my window, as I glance out through the dingy glass, I see the colours of Autumn resplendent in the park across the road.   After the rain began with night crashing down the streets were covered once again with golden rusting leaves.  I doubt many amongst those hobbling along the pavement or slowly driving through rush hour really considered the leaves, tiredness, stress and hunger being higher priorities for the work slave.  
When I first left work I took time to wander through the Public Gardens then run by an aged gardener.  It surprised me somewhat as I had not in previous lives had such time to dwell on the foliage around me and much less time to take it in.  Early morn as the sun had risen I sat in the hidden Bowery reading a worthy book and listening to the birds above me learning how to fly by bouncing of the branches nearby.  I suspect reading such books today, elsewhere as vandals destroyed the seating, such reading would be devoid of young birds and leave me with a touch of frostbite.  How I long for Spring already!  

 As one who never complains i will not mention the Mozilla Firefox update which has changed things once again to no-ones advantage as far as I can see.  'The fastest yet' they claim but not on my laptop mate!  Either no difference or actually slower as they have added so much.  I think I may have to go through all the 'apps' added by both updates and remove much to speed up the machine.  
Just imagine, me wishing to speed up?  I have been slowing down for the last ten years in everything bar laptop speed, waiting a millisecond longer than I wish gets me annoyed, yet someone wishing me to speed up on the pavement means I just stand aside and let them pass, I will be along soon enough.

 
Brexit, Mugabe, earthquakes, cold, heat, ...

life goes on but I am ignoring it tonight, as long as football is available I'm happy.

Autumn Mists

Autumn, the season of 'Mists and mellow fruitfulness' said he poet, I'm not sure about the mellow fruitfulness but last night there was plenty of mist.  This contrasted sharply with the warmth found in the middle of the day today where people walked about shirt sleeved, they must be mad!  

  
The aged bandstand in the gardens has been in attendance at almost 140 such seasons.  The trees around have cheerfully deposited their leaves for someone else to gather over a similar time.  The gardens once were the sole property of one of the Courtauld's, George I think, who had the big hoose over the road.  He also had a huge area of fields there also which now form the park l and in a spirit of generosity donated the gardens to the town.  This was received with much pomp and display.  The townspeople marched through the town in celebration and a picnic in a local field was held at the end with a bonfire and carousing no doubt at night.  People made their own fun in the late 19th century.  The gardens are now run by a trust and a Courtauld is one of the leading men attempting to keep the gardens running.

        
Apparently the Labour party have been having a conference this week, only listening to the news headlines means I miss out many tales and yet miss out nothing important.  It appears Jeremy Corbyn thinks he could win an election but there are two problems here: we are not having one and stopping Brexit is more important.  The election one is fun as this is three years away I guess and the Tories will have gone through about three Prime Ministers by then and while it is possible Jeremy might be acceptable to many by then I suspect he also may have followed them into the abyss.
If however Brexit is not stopped, and Jeremy is all for it, then in three years time Scotland will be independent, England broke taking Wales and Northern Ireland with them and the world will be a different place.  In the meantime we struggle on with the worst government we have ever had, sometimes I wish David Cameron would come back at least you knew where you were with the ignorant toff.

        
There has been much cheering in the realms of the easily led by the radical news from Saudi Arabia that from next June women will be allowed to drive cars in that country.  Cue much cheering from feminists, media women and others with little intellect.  Women being allowed to drive gets a round of applause yet not one word is asked re stopping the crucifixion of 16 year olds, the decapitation of offenders nor the chopping off of hands and other bits and the stoning for adultery, these are less important than a woman driving!
Questions must be asked why this decision has been made?  Could this reflect the new young rulers intention to 'modernise' his nation?  Could it be a lessening of the influence of the Wahhabi imams? Or could it be a distraction taking our minds of the proxy wars on Yemen and Syria?  Or is this to hide something else we are not being informed off?  We wait and see.

The Autumn sun peeked out between the large misty cloud formations time and again today indicating that more such weather awaits us.  Rain clouds form as we speak, the residue from those US hurricanes make their way east and affect our nation, typical Yankees!  Not only do their money loving Boeing attempt to kill of 4000 jobs in Northern Ireland they dump their old storms on us also.  We can hit back concerning the aero companies but sending our weather to them is not so easy.
I expect Mrs May, when not taking the knives out of her back, will call that nice Donal Trump and inform him handbag style what she thinks of it all.  He can attempt to hold her hand but I suspect this will not work again.  Not sure it worked last time right enough.  
Mrs May is still PM but there are rumours of a coup approaching.  However all rumours are just that, rumours.  Who plants them?  The Russians, The Tories, a Tory bigwig unsettling other bigwigs, the CIA or 77 Brigade?  Who knows?  So many false items on Twitter and Facebook and so little truth among the whole thing.  I am cutting down on both social media and lessening my search for information to more reliable informants, who are possible lying I must admit.  
Just imagine, a British government with a divided cabinet, backstabbing ministers and no opposition, no matter what Jeremy says, is this possible? 

The Morning Shines Brightly

Amazingly the morning has shone brightly several days running now.  Today I trundled the rusty bike with my rusty knees along the way to see if I could catch it somewhere.  Indeed this old path with aged oak trees to one side (an aged map shows them there over a hundred years ago, how long can an oak tree last I wonder) offered a pleasant view at the top.  Beside me birds sang in the trees, young squirrels frantically looked for the way home and a proper forest, six foot wide, ran alongside the path.  This contrasts to the huge school field the other side of the fence justly hidden behind a stout fence and much vegetation. 

Only one early morning dog walker met my greeting and he was more concerned with his mobile phone and the many secrets therein to notice me.  The fact that he knows me and was too occupied to recognise me I let slide and passed on.  I suspect if we were able to read the messages contained on his phone we would not in the least find them interesting yet he stood head down ignoring the bored dog that wanted something to sniff while he perused his phone, he might still be there.

  
When they laid out the housing estate the clever people allowed much of the copse that existed to remain.  If you choose to ignore the old crisp packets and plastic bottles lying around from the scruffy unkempt types who wander through it does give a brief indication of a wood.  The more we build houses the more we require such small glimpses of green to enable us to breathe freely.  The mind can only comprehend so much stone and brick, it requires trees and green grass with areas of sky to let the mind relax.  The Victorians knew this only too well.  The rise in suburbs expanding out from town and city centres, slums all too often left behind, caused a longing for a romantic and unrealistic country life.  The song lines 'You could see to 'ackney Marshes, if it wasn't for the 'ouses in between' comes to mind.  The romantic vision ignored the damp country shacks, the poor life of the villagers, hard toil in fields and the disease that was just as prevalent as in town.  However from a crowded slum tenement after a 96 hour week it could be made to look attractive. 
Life is always better over there.   

This strange colour has been hanging all over the country today.  
I think the sky is broken!

Weeks Work Finished

Yes indeed my weeks work is over.  10 in the morning till one is work enogh for me I say.  In fact the girls at work made it abundantly clear that such hours were indeed sufficent for them also.   I see this as concern for my welfare.  
The second week of Half Term saw another thousand kids cram into the hall, each paying £2 a go, mums also staying paying only £3 to keep them company.  Cheap enough when considered against the prices charged at more commercial ventures.  Having stuffed the till with slippy new £5 notes and almost run out of one pound coins, both old ones and some of the shiny new ones, I sat back to drink my tepid tea and found myself confronted with the middle classes coming to see the last week of the art exhibition.

Saturday will be the last chance to see the 'Skinny Dippers' as the show ends and the girls prepare for the textile exhibition that follows.  I am not sure I wish to look at knitting, crochet, or textile stuff  yself but this is how we survive.  The present exhibition has brought in the crowds and at times so will the next one but I longfor a proper HISTORY exhibition!

       
A glance at the tree opposite the other day saw the wood pigeon settling down on an almost bare branch for the night.  Today the same tree is awash with green!   Spring takes so long in arriving and suddenly breaks out all over the place.  Marvellous!  Naturally I have been inside missing it.

Now I have time and if I find energy I must get out and take pictures of something different, I wonder what?   Anywhere interesting is stuffed full of kids, anywhere else isn't or is too far off beam and what is left?  Hopefully I will find out sometime this week.

'Bricking it'

To some that may look like a badly taken picture of a brick up against a door, to me however it is a revelation!   You see that door never shuts properly, the slightest breeze and it is open, and when I came here I mentioned this to the landlords man who shrugged and muttered and left it alone.  The indication was he was a busy man and this was not important.
Since then I have sat here constantly pushing the door shut in winter or leaving it wide open in summer to avoid the draught that hurtles through attacking my back.  I have been here over twenty years and only this morning it came to me that I could place a brick (we all have them lying around in case we feel the need to throw them at someone) against the door and force the brute to stay shut.  Therefore I placed a brick against the door and the door has happily obeyed in spite of the wind whistling though here and there and refused to open.
There is however still a draught!

There is something about the starkness of trees standing against what light there is in the evenings.  My bleary eyes found myself staring at the trees over yonder as the darkness began to creep in and the trees became silhouetted against the cloudy sky.  

 
The sky being what it is changes colour of you look around ever so slightly.  This is the tree next door and the sky is slightly different yet the starkness remains as does a slight tinge of the colour of dying leaves.  This always catches my attention, the stark outline of the branches and the hues behind.
I could of course just be daft...

I came across this coin the other day at the museum and was taken aback as I did not know such as this existed.  In my day coins were coins of the realm worth a vast amount of cash, well things were cheaper then, and today they appear to have all sorts of crazy drawings all over them, sometimes only parts of a drawing!  It's all very strange to me.  Mind you after several attempts to photograph it the coin is even stranger, I must try again to morrow and get it right this time.

Wander in the Mist

After a hard days work yesterday, I began at 9:30 and didn't finish till 1:30, I then spent the rest of the day getting over it!  Life would have been easier had people not kept coming in to the museum, I considered locking the door at one point as I could not finish the page of the book I was trying to read for people asking questions.  

One delightful couple arrived from Idaho to seek out the town's history and wander about for a while enjoying the type of sights they do not see in the wide open spaces of home.  Such make life worthwhile in the museum.  The ratty ones grumbling because the afternoon talk had to be postponed as the speaker was sick did annoy, especially as they demanded to know why no-one phoned them as they could have taken the speakers place.  Not having booked we did not know their number but that apparently was not a good enough reason!  She was female...

    
This morning I woke just before seven.  A glance through the stained glass window, stained with dirt that is, showed the morning mist was hanging around.  This I thought was a gift from Jesus this morning so throwing on some rags, grabbed the camera and began wandering the streets.  
The mist took a while to dissipate and I took a while to wander so we got on well.  Passing people speak easily at that time of the day, at least in this small town, and snatches of conversation broke out as people wondered why a madman was taking pictures before the shops opened.  One man was eager to get his daughter out for pictures as she was studying photo journalism, a good job I say, but as all 17 year old's do she was glued to her bed, probably until midday!   

The windscreens reflected the changing temperatures.  One man grumbled that this was the first time he had been out scraping his windows before moving off.  Just wait a month and it will be frozen in the mornings, time then for old newspapers across the screen.  The good days have passed us by and Autumn is at it's normal temperatures now, little cause for those expensive sunglasses until winter has passed.

     
'Twas on a Monday morning that the gas man came to call.'
Since that morning several months have passed and the gas mains in this street have not yet all been reconnected.  Changing the gas pipes from the old lead ones to long yellow plastic ones has not been an easy task for the workers.  Each house requires amendments and not all householders are around at the right time.  The changes to the traffic caused by closing the road has been great for those of us who walk a short distance down here, people have however been going round in circles attempting to find their way in to the street.  It will all be over by Christmas.

Where are people going this early in the morning I wonder?  Some are rushing to get to work, others taking the dog out, or in one case the dogs with cat attempting to follow.  Still others pass by engrossed in their thoughts strolling who knows where from nowhere it appears.  It is surprising how many people in this small town are unknown to me.  Many pass by daily and can be recognised, others pass as if in the night and are never seen again.  I could see a short story writer sitting on the bench finding material for a story here.  The young, the old, the lonely, the troubled, all pass this way their stories untold and disappear into the mist.

    
It never ceases to amaze me how spiders create such wonderful feats of engineering without spending seven years at Mechanical University.  These tiny beasts, this one clearly hiding from the chill, has managed to build his web without referring to the instructions.  It appears near perfect with the dew hanging from it yet if it breaks he (or is it she) will soon be out repairing and mending ensuring that sooner or later lunch will be served.  
And they say there is no God...