More snow in Whitebushes...

...it's been coming down pretty steadily since 0700hrs (when Thomas decided it was time to get up and watch his new Peppa Pig episodes on his laptop - zzzz), so from 50% clear last night everything is starting to get a hearty dusting again...thought we had seen the back of all this! Oh well, it's a good excuse to post a couple more pictures from Friday I didn't pop up at the time-

Whitebushes Snow...

Well, we had quite a bit of snow last night, certainly not a patch on last time, only about an inch overnight, but enough to make everything look very festive (shame it's over a month too late)...

Anyway, cars seem to be getting in and out of the estate okay, and the recycling truck just rumbled past the back fence, so Thomas has been all dressed up ready for pre-school and we are heading off in a little while, wish us luck!

Whitebushes Snow

A Happy and prosperous New Year to everyone! Just realised I forgot to post any pictures from home from the snow from the start of December, this little lot all settled in the space of about 3 hours (it ended up roughly a foot and a half deep in the back garden)!

Thomas had great fun on our borrowed sledge, keeping snug and warm in his snow suit -

- despite the odd mishap... ;)

Brrr...still, it's all melted now, and to be honest I'm not missing it much...thoughts can now turn to warmer times and warmer climes, southern Spain is looking tempting (and unless I am very much mistaken our last holiday abroad was back in 2008, so it's long overdue) - according to my boss, who was there over Christmas, it's 19 degrees at the moment, leave it a month or two (Thomas travels free until he is two years old, so we can't leave it too long) and it's mid twenties, which suits me just fine! ;)

Canary Wharf Snow!

...the view out the window right now...it's settling fast! Wish me luck with my long journey home (at least I'm setting off in a few minutes rather than at 5pm)!

West India Quay Snowman

Spotted this the other day on a little walk around West India Quay, not sure *what* the he'd done to deserve being locked up, but it was obviously *very* naughty...seriously though, it does sort of ruin the Christmas spirit whoever it was that thought vandals would leap upon it and cover it with graffiti if it weren't secured behind a six foot fence...I'd like to think that most residents of the Wharf are normally quite well behaved! ;)

Something to warm the cockles...

...is definitely required today, what with a new cold snap on the way on Thursday, and betting shops refusing to take any punts on whether it's going to be a white Christmas or not (as it definitely is according to the MET office)...so how about taking a little trip back in time with me to remember how hot it was when we went to visit the Mayan ruins of Tulum in Mexico? If that didn't warm you up a little bit, then there is plenty more about our adventures in South America here, you might want to read it from the bottom up though...

Ahhh...good times... ;)

Oxted - Big Freeze Pictures

Just found a whole load more pictures on my mobile of the snow, I popped all of them on Flickr (over here, if you like this sort of thing, along with the ones from Earlswood from earlier in the year), but here are a selection (these give you a much better idea how deep the snow actually got) -

- this was Morrisons car park (a JCB was running *continuously* for all three days to try and clear the parking spaces - making these huge piles) -

- one of the 4x4 cars that managed to make it into town (complete with radiator icicles) -

- speaking of icicles, these were the ones gradually growing from the roof of my folk's house -



- and a few shots of the garden (absolutely buried - two feet deep in places)...

Pictures of Snow - Oxted

- the only commuting taking place was by sledge, to the shops where there wasn't any bread -

- (apart from French sticks being baked in Waitrose) tractors and 4x4s could just about limp around (no buses at all) -

- and the tracks they made meant you didn't have to wade through foot-deep snow -

- make it as far as the station and the signs weren't very encouraging-

- all the "ghost trains" being diverted to trying to keep the lines between Brighton, Gatwick (which was closed) and London...the broken down train stuck for days at Lingfield didn't help much either... ;)

...and we've still got loads of snow at home, heaps of it, mostly now turned to ice...Brrr! I put the hood back on my snow coat this morning, put on a jumper *and* wore a hat...most unusual for me... ;)

Snow update...

...just quickly (as very busy), I made it home on Friday afternoon in a Land rover (my dad sorted me out a lift back!) and we went out and all played in the snow together, and (despite a rubbish journey in) have made it back to my desk in Canary Wharf successfully this morning...more snow is on the way (apparently), but it shouldn't make it as far as London (thank goodness)...!

Surrey Snow...

...just a quick update, I never made it home from London, thanks to *four* broken down trains on the Brighton line my only choice was to head to Oxted (to my folks) where I am still stranded...we've got (no joke) about two feet of snow outside the house, all Southern trains are suspended and even the satellite service here has packed up (so no TV), I'm just about to head back down to the station now to see if there is any news, but this is *proper* winter and we are properly snowed in! Brrr!

Wish me luck!

Let it snow!

Well, let it snow - IF - the trains can manage to all run on time, which of course they *can't*...it didn't work out *too* bad I suppose - roads were clear by the time we got off the estate, train five minutes late to Earlswood and only twenty minutes late into London Bridge (they weren't even using the snow as an excuse either, today it was a "broken rail at Redhill") - I got on a Dartford train that was supposed to have run at 7am (just over an hour late departing), and oh boy was the DLR busy, but despite it all I still managed to get to work before 9am...

...and this is the view out over east London that greeted me...total white out... ;)

Sick of Snow

Damn it....I am officially, properly sick of snow...sure, it's all fun and games to start with, running giggling through that fresh, crisp winter wonderland (and perhaps I am officially being "old" about it), but I've just had enough now...enough of being freezing cold (especially as I can't find my gloves), enough of slippery conditions, enough of trains and buses being delayed and cancelled at the first glimpse of a flake...

Just Enough...!

As I write this, it's snowing outside and people who don't have to be in an office are zooming around on the ice rink below the tower (probably laughing and blinking snowflakes from their eyelashes), but I'm just grinding my teeth and willing it (and the gloomy forecast for tomorrow and Friday) to please go away and come again another day (preferably next year)... ;)

Whitebushes Big Freeze

I know, I know, I've been very naughty with the blogging...promise I'll get back into the swing of things soon, it's just been a super chaotic re-boot to the annus (if you will forgive my Latin)... ;)

Last few days we have been completely snowed in, had over a foot of snow, just a couple of shots here, this was at about 8pm on Tuesday when it all started -

- basically, this level of snow didn't stop for 24 hours, when we got up the next morning it was to hear that Surrey and Sussex had run out of grit (not that they ever get as far as our estate anyway) -

- and that all buses, yes -*all* buses were cancelled in both counties-, Gatwick airport was closed (14 inches of snow) and East Surrey Hospital had cancelled all appointments and non-essential operations, so it's been a couple of days working from home -

- as official advice from Surrey police had come on the radio saying not to leave the house unless it was "a matter of life and death"...

...still, on our one little walk out yesterday lunchtime to assess conditions it does appear that *someone* has been making good use of all the snow... ;)

Wish me luck with getting home tonight! Brrr!

Oh and more pictures here if you like this sort of thing... ;)

Made it to the office!

Even made it just about on time! Had to watch a Victoria train go (bravely) and pray that the following Redhill service wouldn't also be cancelled (it wasn't), got on it and it was (as I had hoped) actually the late London Bridge service and was quite empty to boot (as everyone else had piled on the Victoria train)...result...!

You can see East London above, still carpeted in snow, as the train sped through Merstham, Purley, etc. I cursed myself for leaving my proper camera at home, it was an absolute winter wonderland, really beautiful...Canary Wharf obviously have invested in New York style snow clearing machines, as all the concourses were clear apart from enormous piles of snow dotted around the place...so they, at least, seem to have things completely under control (unlike the rest of the country)...why doesn't that surprise me? ;)

Oh and according to the Met Office, this isn't the end, just a short break before "phase 2"...more snow on the way! 

England Blizzard - Failed Commute

Well, we thought we would give it a *try*, despite getting up and seeing that there had been even more snow overnight -

- we swept Poppy the Beetle off with a broom, followed by the scrapers, as much of it had indeed turned to ice -

- and then made our way *extremely* carefully (no gritting *again*) to the main road, where we found evidence of what the kids had been up to yesterday-


- got caught in the enormous traffic jam up the hill, absolutely crept up, almost stationary the whole way -

- finally reaching the sign for the station -

- (it started to snow again on the way, well not so much snow as pelt down with ice pellets), spotting casualties, not sure if they were abandoned or just crashed, but this one was in the middle of what normally qualifies as pavement(and there must have been more ahead, judging by the speed of the traffic) -

- crept along the un-gritted roads and pulled into a parking space at the station (there are normally zero) -


- and slid our way down to the door, which looked like this -

- not a good sign -

- so we snuck in the back way, and the platform looked like it had been abandoned for some time - the sign sort of said it all -

- not a long wait, just nothing...THIS STATION IS CLOSED - the radio had hinted it was the case, and all the websites one normally uses to check these things were down (again), but this just confirmed it...it wasn't going to happen today either...guess we are just too rural to be a priority...

Still, the ice has largely melted in the garden now, so hopefully the railway get it together for tomorrow morning...fingers crossed!

Stuck at home!

Wow, so for the first time in ages, we are *stranded* by snow! Took a quick walk outside at about 8am, during a brief letup in the blizzard and took a few shots of the fields, it's coming down steadily again now, I guess it's currently about 5 inches deep in most places, but where it has drifted it starts to get really quite treacherous, according to the BBC when the snow clouds disappear we are going to be treated to completely clear skies, so not only will all of the white stuff stay, it will end up being frozen solid, so tomorrow could be even more exciting than today from a transport point of view...!

Blizzard in Earlswood

Now, I would normally attempt to stay calm (or get excited, depending on the occasion) about a snow storm of this magnitude, but having been out 6 times now to try and clear the steps with broom and salt (and each time being utterly defeated), it's looking increasingly like we are going to be completely buried...even the grit lorries (who are normally fairly reliable in emergency conditions) seem to have been diverted to other priorities, and so we sit, gradually sinking deeper and deeper beneath the snow...and there is no end in sight! First flake was at about 1230hrs, and the breaks have been rather few and far between...