What's all this white stuff?

Dave in the snow by the Thames

Britain finally got a touch of winter the other week.  For about two weeks we've had temperatures below 10 degrees, we're back to much warmer temperatures now, but for a short while it actually felt like winter.  We also got our first touch of snow, again it was much milder in the UK than in the rest of Europe.  This cold snap came across from Russia, and managed to kill a lot of people in eastern Europe before making it to London.

Dave and I had been off to the National Theatre to see Juno and the Paycock, we had been promised snow all week and yet every day it was clear blue skies.  On Saturday the same forecast was made, and once again it was clear blue skies when we woke up.  I'd thought that was it for Saturday, I'd have to wait for Sunday and see what the skies looked like.  I had thought too soon though, as come the afternoon the temperature started dropping and the skies were clouding over.  We set off for dinner, which was at this awesome Polish place, Baltic, they specialise in Vodka cocktails.  When we came out the snow had just started falling.  It was super exciting, it wasn't yet really settling yet, but the hopes were raised.

Snow falling around the National Theatre

Everything was covered

At intermission we saw that London had been transformed.  Everything is so much brighter when there's snow around.  It was already maybe 5cm deep and was falling heavily.  I was almost looking forward to the end of the play so we could get out there.

It was at times like these that I find out again how lucky we are to be living where we do.  If there's one thing Britain can't handle it's any extremes of conditions, and snow is pretty extreme around here.  But luckily we are living on the Northern line, which runs through the bowels of the earth.  Meaning that there was no snow on our line, at least up until our stop anyway.  The other lines were really struggling, and had intermittent cancellations for the next two weeks.

Dave playing in the snow outside our flat

Snow in Hyde Park

It's funny that once the snow had fallen it hung around for at least another week, it must really insulate itself.  Though the one snow drift outside my work building lasted for at least an extra week, proving what I had always known, that my building is one of the coldest spots in London.

The next weekend we were out in the city and the snow was still thick in Hyde Park.  Though the snow in the streets had started to take on a distinctly black tinge.

The ducks don't mind the snow