Winter Wonderland!

Living in England, particularly in the south as i do, snow is not too common. It usually snows a few times during the winter, settling probably only a couple of times and is almost always gone after a couple of days. This year we have had heavy snowfalls and frozen temperatures that have now been with us for almost two weeks. As usual the snow caused traffic chaos with many people, including myself, unable to get into work. The snow was so dense i couldn't even get out of my cul-de-sac.The authorities gritted the main roads which immediately got clogged up with traffic as nobody could use the side roads. Absolute gridlock!

The scene from my front door. Notice the uncollected refuse bins!

The upside to all the mayhem was stunning scenery along my usual walks and a welcome silence with fewer vehicles on the roads. It was also nice to see loads of children outside playing in the snow and listening to their laughter, when usually they are all indoors using the playstation or watching television.

Snow and blue sky along the canal towpath near to where i live.

Today the temperatures have gone above freezing and a big thaw has begun. There is slush on all the roads and huge puddles everywhere. No doubt there will be floods as a result bringing more mayhem to parts of the country. That's the trouble with our climate - one extreme to the other and difficult to predict.

The frozen canal. Notice the trees on the opposite bank weighted with snow drooping into the ice.

A slippery walk up to one of the locks.

 

A snowy treescape.

Test cricket at Lords

Queuing to get into the ground. The match was a sell out as always.

As previously mentioned I went on my annual visit to Lords cricket ground to watch the first days play of the Test match between England and Australia. To the uninitiated a Test Match is an international cricket match which lasts five days. The Test series of matches (usually five or sometimes six matches) between England and Australia are collectively known as "The Ashes" and are passionately fought for.

The term "Ashes" was first used after England lost to Australia - for the first time on home soil - at The Oval (another London cricket ground) on 29th August 1882. A day later, the Sporting Times carried a mock obituary to English cricket which concluded that: "The body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia".

The concept caught the imagination of the sporting public. A few weeks later, an English team, captained by Ivo Bligh [later Lord Darnley], set off to tour Australia, with Bligh vowing to return with "the ashes"; his Australian counterpart, E. Murdock, similarly vowed to defend them. During that tour a small terrecotta urn was presented to the England captain by a group of Melbourne women. The contents of the urn are reputed to be the ashes of an item of cricket equipment, possibly a bail, ball or stump. Whichever side holds the Ashes, the urn normally remains in the Museum at Lords.

The packed stands eagerly await proceedings.

Lord's in my opinion is a truly magical place and has long been seen as the 'Home of Cricket' and the game's spiritual 'headquarters'. Cricket has been played here since 1814. But its importance is not merely historical. In practice it remains, to this day, perhaps the most important single place in world cricket. Lord's is the setting for some of the best cricket in the world. It hosts npower Test matches and NatWest-sponsored one-day internationals plus most of Middlesex's home games, some historic fixtures (such as Oxford v Cambridge universities) and the village and club finals.

The hallowed earth that is Lords cricket ground.

The slip fielders hoping for a catch.

This is the media centre at Lords-known as "the Cherie" a reference to Cherie Blair's unflattering smile! Very unfair.....not!

The imposing pavillion.

Andrew Strauss celebrates his century.

The postscript to this post is that England defeated Australia in this Test to take a 1-0 lead in the Ashes series. It was the first time that England had beaten Australia at Lords since 1934!

Snow and more snow (or don't kids do the funniest things!)

Waking up to snow

Snowbound at home

Last Monday morning we woke up to a heavy snowfall which to the rest of Europe would have been regarded as a mere smattering, but bought havoc to the usually snow free South of England. No snow ploughs, no grit on the roads, absolute chaos. The authorities said that if your journey was not really necessary then do not travel and stay at home. The schools were closed so the children were at home so (very reluctantly of course!) i decided to take a day off work and stay at home too (who am i to go against the authority's wishes).

Anyway, snow always brings out the child in me, so within a few minutes me and the thirteen year old were outside throwing snowballs and taking photographs. Believe it or not this was the deepest snow that the thirteen year old had seen so for him it was quite an experience. For me it was wonderful just watching him enjoy himself so much.

Snow glorious snow!

After a while i began to feel the cold and went indoors for a hot drink and some warmth and was replaced by my wife and daughter who set about building a snowman (as you do) on the front lawn. I have to admit that they made a pretty good job of it.
The daughter and the snowman

The youngest son, who was still outside then declared that he wanted to strip off and run in the snow, presumedly to prove his manliness (is that a word?) or to perform some ancient rite that thirteen year olds have to do.
Stripped for action.

Later during the morning the snow stopped and the daughter's boyfriend arrived. Upon hearing of the youngest son's exploits they decided to get in on the act and take photographs of themselves so they could show their friends. Personally i think Facebook has a lot to answer for!
Cool dudes in the snow

Cooling off!

We become London tourists

I've recently taken my annual holiday and having to watch the pennies decided that we would spend it at home and take the odd day out. Although i only live just outside London i had never been to Tower Bridge or the Tower of London. So, we caught the train into Waterloo station and decided to walk to Tower Bridge. We went to the London Eye (heaving with people, organised chaos!) and walked over Westminster bridge to The Embankment. When you go on foot you see so many interesting and different things. Off the embankment just after the tube station we stumbled across a small park. We went in and were amazed to find a lovely secluded area with a bandstand, statues, trees and lawns. Very restful and well used by the locals. Further along we bought some fruit to eat on our journey from a stall. Very nice and tasty!

We continued along the Embankment taking in the lovely Thames views and the "Eye" on the opposite bank. We walked as far as the Millenium bridge and wandered across to the south bank and the Tate Modern. I was really impressed with the Millenium bridge. What a structure and again superb views looking up to St. Paul's cathedral, (which i have promised myself to see on another visit). We spent about an hour looking around Tate Modern. Not really enough time but it gave us a good taster for another visit. We left the Tate and continued on the south bank surprised to find plenty of newish restaurants and shops that we didn't know existed. There were lots of people there, a nice mix of Londoners and tourists. Very vibrant and buzzing. We stopped and got a snack and a drink here before continuing on with our walk. We just sat for an hour and people watched as they passed our table. I expect that this area is very popular in the evenings for people looking for a good night out.

When we had finished we wandered along the river past converted warehouses, the new London council offices (wow!) and even an open air theatre until all of a sudden we were at Tower Bridge. It lived up to my expectations. What a lovely sight it was. We climbed the stairs and walked slowly over the bridge. There was a Tower Bridge exhibition which was in the upper part of the bridge. I would have loved to have gone up but time was pressing as we had to be home by the early evening.

Over the bridge we went to be opposite the Tower of London. We couldn't see much of course because of the high walls. The place was teeming with tourists of all nationalities queuing to get in. One day i'll take a tour of the Tower when it's less busy.

We were getting tired by now.and didn't fancy the long walk back to Waterloo so on a whim we bought tickets for the "Clipper" which stopped at a wharf just along from the Tower. The trip back to the London Eye on the Thames was an unexpected delight and capped off a wonderful day. The Clipper experience has given us a novel new and easy way to travel when we go to London. We now plan to become "tourists" again as soon as possible and explore the City of London area. I'll let you know how we get on so watch this space.