Local weather problems!

Today we woke up to snow. The weathermen had forecast it but, as with forecast sunny spells, you only half believe it. Nonetheless, I looked out this morning onto a white garden - positively Christmas-cardy! As usual the centimetre of snow on the local road caused havoc.

My two middle grandchildren caught a bus at around 7.30, which should have got them to school by 8.00. I have no idea what they need to be there so early since the school does not start until 8.45, but that is another problem. By 8.40 the bus had travelled along about half of its usual route. A little later, my daughter gave her partner and her eldest daughter a lift to the local train station so they could go to work in Manchester and she had similar problems. Getting to the station was not too bad but it took her an hour to do the normally 5-minute journey back home. Even a small amount of snow leads to chaos!

Foolishly I decided to go out running as usual, despite the thin covering of snow on the pavements. It was not actually snowing and I wanted to stop off at the local co-op store for a couple of things. So off I went and, of course, within five minutes it had started to snow. By then, however, I was committed and so long as you keep moving you keep warm. The only problem was my feet. In no time at all they were soaked. Not too cold so long as I keep going but very wet as there were so many unavoidable puddles around. I began to feel that if I had taken my shoes off I could have poured water out of them!

And then I discovered that the local co-op is still closed. They are doing some kind of refurbishment, for the second time in eighteen months, I am sure. So the only food shop in the village is closed for the next two weeks at least. This means that the village centre which used to sport a butcher's shop, a sweet shop/ paper shop, two bakeries and two greengroceries as well as the co-op store, now has three hairdressers, a restaurant, a small cafe, a fish and chip shop (which has always been there) and three pubs (previously four plus the band club and the conservative club) but no food store!

Okay, there is a sort of hut, which they are calling the "Pop-up Co-op", but it really sells little more than milk, bread and newspapers. Fortunately, I managed to find what I was looking for and made my soggy-footed way homeward.

It has snowed intermittently for most of the day. There is something reassuring about sitting safe and warm inside watching the snow fall outside. It's rather like a Disney Christmas or being inside a traditional Christmas card.

I have no intention of going anywhere else today! Tomorrow is another day!