Spring is in the Air

We awoke to snow, wind and sleet this morning.  This of course had been foretold by the weathermen, supported by the screaming headlines in the tabloid press.  The vile tabloids are the reason we see the weathermen exaggerating the forecast.  In times past there have been storms, snow, floods heavy rain and bad weather which have caused difficulties across the land.  Screaming headlines demanding action, which quickly disappear when the sun shines once again, force the forecasters to make clear that winter weather can bring snow, rain, fog, and even a storm or two.  Such weather conditions appear not to have come to the knowledge of the vile people at the tabloids.  

My favourite is the 'Daily Mail.'  A couple of years ago screaming headlines warned of three months of approaching bad weather.  The indications were terrible, we might suffer and die if we did not take careful action.

The comments below were wonderful.

"It's called 'winter' DM."

"Three months, December, January and February, DM?'  

"How old is the writer?"

And so on.

Each year the same story appears, slightly different and with worse grammar and spelling than what you see on here.  It typifies the tabloid approach to anything, not just weather.  A screaming half truth, exaggerated out of all proportion, large headlines, pictures of storm damage (often with misleading scrawl underneath), and occasionally an outright lie.  

It is no wonder such papers are dying.

Anyway, we have this for a few more days.  I will be reluctant to venture out, and endure the comments from way up north where the sun is shining brightly!  

How unfair!

Thursday Twittering

Freezing February and I am almost feeling normal at last.  No need at the moment to spend vast amounts of expensive Honey (sure to cure), nor is there another Brandy bottle sitting calling on me (the Viking single malt will do), nor indeed am I going through paracetamol like chocolate.  The toilet rolls have gone down a bit mind, no 'Man Size' tissues here.  All a con and only women use them.  So I await the arrival of a new virus, probably from China, and look to the future...

However the idea of going outside into the bright sunshine and freezing to death does not entice me.  Wandering round the corner to Tesco I note several men wearing little, the sun shining fools them into thinking it is warm, and I await the sight of them next week, if they are allowed out!  
The media is making a big thing of the next storm to arrive, these days they all have a name don't they, the idea that it will bring 80 mph winds, snow and bad weather is something of a surprise to the media.  I suppose few of the unpaid trainees writing this guff have noticed we suffer this way most December, January and February's, it used to be called 'Winter.'  I myself enjoy the sun rising earlier each morning, shining brightly in the back window, even if still somewhat low in the sky, and notice the Blue Tits in the trees opposite and the Daffodils about to bud in the area beneath.

  
Yesterday, having trudged down to the Post Office to post a packet, I  came home via Park that once was given to the town for sporting activities.  The large dressing rooms have been recently demolished, no-one could be found willing to pay a million to renovate them, and the tennis courts were dead and gone long before I graced the ground.  Football is still played, mostly young kids in organised games these days, few kick a ball around like we used to, and there is a feeling that more could be done if someone clever enough could work out what to do with the land.  
These Crows were happily wheeling around.  I wondered at first if they were a couple fighting of a stranger but I think they are just 'friends' bothering one another.  The third hung back letting them get on with it until they settled in the trees, always 'Cawing' as loud as they could.
I am told that Rooks and Jackdaws often share a roost together, Crows prefer to be at a distance from others.   A 'Rookery' in the Netherlands was seen to hold 40,000 birds at one time!  Imagine the noise!  Also some of these nesting spots have been used for generations.  One at least in England is mentioned in the 'Domesday Book' and is still in use.  I cannot remember which one.  These birds like to return to their 'home' and will continue to remain in one place until some joker cuts the trees down.  

Boris said...  No, let's not spoil the evening...

Sunday Sabbath, Full of Joy

The Sabbath night draws to a close.  
I set my face this morning to avoid mirth, put on my darkest outfit, my black frock coat, clenched a black bible firmly in my hand and unsmilingly went forth to celebrate the joy of the Lord.  How terrible I thought to see people smiling and rejoicing in the sunshine, at least the sunshine between rain that is.  Women wore bright colours, though on occasion not as bright as some young men were wearing, dogs were being walked and children were heard laughing in the park opposite, cars were being driven and shops were open.  It appears some people were turning the Lords day into a day of joy, surely that should be stopped?

Actually it was not quite like that.  
The sun and rain was correct however, with added wind chill.  The church was full of happy people even though I was called upon to do the reading which featured men being circumcised with flint knives.  Instead of saying 'This is the word of the Lord,' all I could say after reading that bit was 'Amen!'  A glance around the congregation revealed men in uncomfortable positions.  No-one questioned the mistake I made, showing how knowledgeable this lot are, nor the use of flint knives. Knives made of flint are probable sharper than those in most kitchens and around 1200 BC they were used to making them so they would be precision tools.  It was all about getting ready to serve Gods purpose and preparing to be one nation together and all of one heart or something along that line.  We were all rather happy afterwards, relief I suppose!  

All week my knees have been irking me and today was no exception, for much of the week I have done little and been out only occasionally.  Having Saturday indoors was boring, no football, so I forced myself out twice the second time to see the fancy exciting market.  It was not that exciting. 
As Christmas shopping demands increase more market stalls will appear as entrepreneurs set up to make a killing with their home made delights.  My delight is finishing the shopping, writing the cards and having all lined up waiting to go.  Just one or two odds and ends to finish off nearer the time.  
I am preparing the smug grin for when people inform me how difficult shopping at Christmas can be. I am happy to be ignored and despised, I'm used to it.

What a difference winter makes when it arrives.  Curtains drawn, heater on, electric light instead of natural window light, the atmosphere changes completely.  Only a few decades ago candles and oil lamps were prevalent in so many dwellings, especially those far from big cities.  This town still had gas street lighting someone claimed until 1956 a claim I have yet to confirm.  It does seem unlikely but it is possible.  Some people find this atmosphere 'cosy' others find it like a prison.  Either way it is different and already I am looking forward to December 21st when the nights begin to get shorter.
The season also offers one advantage that of the clocks changing by going back one hour, a very good idea but spoiled by my body clock not being aware of this and waking me at the usual and now wrong time.  Few people appear to have been caught out and it is early in the year when the clocks change that mistakes are made, as I once found out.  Now we endure the ghastly needless Halloween followed by total Christmas shop desperation until financial suicide and Brexit sorry Christmas arrive.  Hopefully the second referendum on that arrives soon after Christmas, although I would be happy to have one now, well at least in the legal six weeks time.  That would be fun!

Tuesday Twaddle

Another day of joy and fun has ended peacefully.
Nobody got injured, no fights broke out, no war ensued.
A quiet day at the museum.
Visitors there were, few today but asking awkward questions and not spending any money, that type we get irked by.  This does not include the small school of around a dozen lovely wee kids who arrived to study the Stone Age.  Some came dressed appropriately but the others thought the weather was too cold to dress up.  All enjoyed their day as you would expect, they enjoyed the shop better however!

 
It is funny the books that people buy.  This is the only copy left of 'Buses in Essex,' a slow seller but one that will go.  That said I have a book on Edinburgh buses that I found fascinating therefore I see this as an acceptable and understandable volume.  You can suggest the most unlikely subject but it is clear someone somewhere will have written a book about it and many will keep a volume on their shelves.  Why is it that such subjects fascinate us?  We seem for 'heritage' or 'nostalgic' reasons to like such books but there are always 'anoraks' who have a subject knowledge that would win the 'Mastermind' if questioned on their hobby.  What makes us so interested in obscure things?  An escape from the world, possibly, maybe just something out of the ordinary that tickles us by the obscurity?  At least it keeps us off the streets.

As noted elsewhere Spring is in the air!  This is great, the daffodils begin to sprout, the days last longer, the early mornings are filled with the sound of Robins and Blackbirds announce the dawn and on occasions the sun itself can be seen mounting slowly into the sky.

Naturally the rain has returned and they are threatening us with Siberian snow this weekend well into March.  Nothing unusual in this as it happens often as this is winter.  The kids will love the snow, the whole nation will come to a standstill, outrage will fill the media and nothing will change and within a day or two all will be forgotten.
Meanwhile 'Brexit' continues and as yet nobody actually knows what is going on!  Maybe the cold weather will freeze the whole operation?

Friday

Another day where clouds cover the earth,  Does winter ever end?  No wonder those living in the far north suffer depression and commit suicide!  Imagine six months of darkness!  A couple of months of cold, rain and cloud depress enough quite how they manage up in Lapland beats me.  They do drink a lot it must be said and that cannot be good for them.  No wonder the Vikings long ago loved to move to Scotland as the weather was more acceptable!  That tells you something! 
Yesterday the sun shone brightly as you can see, cheering everyone and allowing the pigeons to think that Spring was on the way and they began to chase the girls through the trees.  This morning they were sitting in the branches of the same trees digesting their breakfast and looking for woolly hats to wear.
Of course this week has been mild and the gutter press are screaming that next week it will be "warmer than Greece."  This does not say much as Greece gets cold in winter also of course and there is much snow on them thar hills.  Hopefully this will actually happen but the press are never reliable sources.
Interestingly the other day I read that Wiki, the source of all knowledge, has banned the use of the 'Daily Mail' as a source grumbling that the 'Mail' is "..not a reliable source."  How right they are!  Will the 'Daily Express' and the 'Sun' follow I wonder?

You can tell nothing else happened here.  
Trapped indoors by housework, trapped indoors by weather, trapped indoors by stiff knees and trapped indoors by laziness!  Not actually in that order.  
I am not getting out and about at the moment, there is little worth reading in the news, little exciting happens and I am not yet finished any of my books. 
My memory is so poor these days I am unsure if i went out this morning or just imagined it.  I think I need a matron here to look after me.  I am beginning to wonder if I should go to bed or just wait until someone phones and tells me what to do next.
Life can be so exciting....

Snow!

Today I found myself to brain dead to do anything of worth.  This was just as well as the temperature descended gradually as an Arctic blast has come across the nation offering freezing rain and this has turned to snow here.  It may last 48 hours but for many making their way home through the rush hour, especially those on bikes, it is an unwelcome visit.
I am sitting amongst the heat it should be said.  I offer them my sympathy!  Tee Hee! Once in Edinburgh, and only once, I left work in such a sleet come snow storm and had to cycle miles up a straight and very long road with this in my face.  It was not what I would call a delight!
Tomorrow morn as I make my way to Sainsburys I note they expect more snow with 20-40 mph winds in my face!  I might go hungry instead!

And for those who do not know what snow is...

Winter Solstice

At long last the winter solstice is upon us.  It seems like six months since the last solstice.  At last it has arrived and from now on we look forward to Spring!  Ah Spring, that favourite time of year when lambs go a-leaping, little flowers erupt throughout the countryside, blue skies and warm sun appear in the sky in between the rain storms and all around see the world in a better light.  Or is that see the world in day light?  
For now we suffer winter itself.  Indeed Winter begins today, in spite of what has gone on since late October, and we know that storms, all given stupid childish names for no good reason, will lash the coasts and send rain from the Atlantic on our heads.  Snow that awful substance will fall making the roads and pavements slippery, blinding travellers, freezing our hands and feet, causing accidents to man and beast, plus cars of course, and no doubt allow kids to throw snowballs at their betters, or folks like me.  Ban snow, I would vote 'Brexit' if they promised to keep it away and bring sunshine instead.
The darkness arrived as I returned from buying another new bell for the door.  The last one rang with such a resounding ring I could not hear it while standing next to it.  Resounding?  I hit it and it doesn't resound.  Bah!  This one might be better but I suspect it too will be quiet, possibly some PC lout has ensured bells must not ring loudly in case someone is offended?  We will see, eventually.  The darkness arrived but had not really gone away, cloud covering the land all day.  Dreich and yuck all day, a bit like me I suggest.

Just how dark can it get around here...?

I am spending much time listening to the Classical music resounding properly on Radio 3.  Even R3 lightens up at this time and the Christmas around Europe music is good.  I suspect if I was one of the millions travelling around in these Xmas days I expect I would be desperate to listen to such as this while on a crowded train, bus, platform.  The joys of train travel are a delight but not when crowded. One screaming child, two women nattering loudly about nothing, a drunk, a long wait for no reason in the middle of nowhere, all these make folks wonder why they travel at this time.
O course Christmas ought to be in March rather than December, and not just because the shops are crowded.  I am sure Jesus entered the world at the end of that month rather than December.  Of course life begins at conceptions so possibly July would be a better time?  It would be warmer then even if  some wished to go on holiday at that time.  
This would mean rewriting Carols of course, 'In the bleak midwinter' would become 'In the much to hot for us summer' and 'Silent Night' might become 'Turn the noise down!'  The landing in a manger, where hay was dumped as donkey feed, would not change.  Jesus taking the lowest place never ends, and for us too!

  

The Wireless, Daffodils and Books!

BBC Radio 3

I am very much enjoying the 15 minute programmes found on the wireless these days.  Both Radio 4 and Radio 3 have a good selection of these all well worth a browse.  Above we have a picture of Andrew Martin the writer (what do we mean 'the writer?  Especially when we have never heard of him until today?).  He offered us five 15 minute programmes on Radio 3s 'The Essay,' and although time is running out to hear the first one I found these very interesting and thought provoking, almost as if I had written them myself, they were that good, what?...oh!

These five programmes come under 'England Ejects' heading, ignoring the fact they cover all the UK rather than just one small portion thereof!   'Boasting,' 'Eating too much,' 'Rules, gentility,' 'Manual work,' and 'Sunday church going,' are the headings, each one very enjoyable little talks. His voice is good for radio, unlike far too many these days, and his honesty is welcome.  You will probably enjoy these, if you are quick!

The advantage of 15 minute programmes is that of they are not too good they soon end, if they are worth a listen there is often the promise of more to follow. Nothing worse than finding Radio 4 is filling all such slots with mediocre or uninteresting rubbish.  I feel robbed when I note this, and it does happen. Finding Radio 3 also doing such offerings was brilliant.  I wonder what else is hiding on radio stations world wide, hidden behind hours of music blasting around the world and found only by looking in dark corners of the wireless?    

The lack of real winter has seen the daffodils rise early this year.  All these bulbs that ought to be welcoming Easter a month or so away are poking through now.  These will bloom in the next few days and while welcome they do indicate how mild the winter has been so far.  I expect the electric and gas directors and most put out by this and attempting to discover ways to increase prices because of the mildness in the air.  The million pound bonus's may not be quite so good at Christmas and a trip to their bank in the British Virgin Islands may be on the cards for these struggling men.  I however am quite happy not to have the heat full blast most days, and look forward to Spring bouncing in as soon as possible!

I should tell you I am almost finished with two more books, and have started another.  This means I may refer to them sometime soon.  Are you waiting for this?......oh!

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I Want Spring!

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Jack Frost

At just before 12 noon on the 12th day of the 12th month of the 2012th year of our Lord I took this picture of our frozen landmass.  The sun was at its zenith and having had my hair cut shortly before I can tell you the suns batteries had run out!  The novelty of 12 noon on 12/12/12 did not occur to me at the time.  I was merely attempting to record the front covered country around us.

This sight as I woke explained why the air had been so cold during the night.  This sort of thing is fine up north, Inverness played Ross County where the temperature was -5 at 7:45 kick off last night, these folks expect such horrors, I don't.  However there is something fabulous about a frost bitten land when the sun shines upon it.  Another 24 hours and all this will turn to our more usual rain.  Oh joy!

Oh Spring, wherefore art thou pal? 

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The Nights are Drawing in!

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This was the scene about 8:45 last night.  It would have been brighter had it not taken me so long to get a place to get a shot without buildings being in the way.  However I returned to a dark room, and others already had lights on, and it was just after nine O'clock!  Darkness means a small light to type by, more expense, and pains in the eye from straining at the screen.  Now as you know complaining is not my forte but surely I ought to have won the lottery by now?  This would enable me to move to a country where the light hangs around a lot longer.  I am sure there will be a Greek island on the market cheap enough for a small lottery winner to purchase?  Darkening nights, leaves are turning yellow, falling and littering the streets,  daft folks are already talking about Christmas, and as soon as the school holidays are over the gifts will start to appear in the shops. Makes you glad to be alive!

Now pardon me for asking, but is this how the American woman of yesteryear prepared for the winter? While some bemoan snow drifts ten feet deep this proto-feminist is shivering in her swimsuit (and shoes) acclimatising to the cold. Are you sure she was about to prepare 'Mom's apple pie?'  The ladies of Edinburgh knew better than she, and they did not throw 'motor oil' onto their coal fires in a somewhat thrilling method of heating the house.  Is she related to any of my readers perhaps.....?

The 'Tea Party,' taking literalism a step too far!

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SNOW!

SNOW! It's disgusting! I knew it was a clod north wind blowing. I knew the freezing blast coming through the gaps in the windows contained some rain. But I remained surprised when I awoke this morning to see the field covered in this white stuff and more daintily falling!

It's horrible! The government should do something about this! Snow should remain up north and far from me! How could they let this happen - and in April at that! The traffic is stuttering along on the motorways, except when it is slithering off them. Runways are closed at Heathrow - more bags to be lost then? The entire world is covered in clouds bearing more of this horrid stuff. The suits at the gas board are jumping up and down at the prospect of everyone switching on their heating. Council employees are grumbling at having to start up the gritting lorries and earn their triple overtime - poor dears!

I want to move to the Mediterranean! I want a place in Cyprus, or Malta or Crete! I was born to be warm! Now I have to dig out my granddads 'long johns' and sit here wrapped around a hot water bottle just to make it through the day.

I want to hear the blue tits and green finches at the nut holders. I want blue sky and sunshine. I want to see daffodils and bluebells breaking through and folks tending the gardens once again. I don't want to see whitened fields and gray clouds. I don't want cold wind from the north pole travelling through Norway and Iceland and ending up my trouser leg. I don't want to see kiddies laughing and joking as they play in the snow - throwing snowballs (Full of stones!) at innocent passers by.

I WANT SUNSHINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!