Two months too late, the words of those Christmas carols about snow and cold weather are perfectly suited to London. My apologies to those of you who live in places where snow is a regular winter occurrence and who are wondering what all the fuss is about. I live in the south of a country where the climate is temperate, so any extremes mean acres of newsprint and all conversations dominated by talk of the weather. Actually we always talk about the weather, this may be a big island, but it is an island and the weather can change in a matter of hours. A lot of visitors from overseas, even somewhere as close as France, have the misplaced belief that it rains in London everyday, heavily. Er no, it doesn’t. Drizzle is more our style, Rome and Paris have more rain than London. That’s a fact. Yes, I do get irritated by people who seem to think Brits are born with webbed feet. Climate crisis is changing that though, and downpours are becoming the new normal. The snow is probably part of the same pattern.
So my pictures from today start in our garden.
Fuchsia
I woke in the night and knew there had been more snowfall. There was a quality to the light that is peculiar to snow. I looked out of the window and saw everything covered in white.
Purple in the snow
Our poor flowers are suffering. There’s a pale pink hyacinth that’s completely buried.
Laden
Our plants today are bowed down with the weight of the snow.
Garden chair
Hartley was out and about early, but then must have retired inside. His apewprints were everywhere, and I saw him eyeing the bird feeders.
Mosaic with growth
When the snow goes I need to weed this mosaic.
The next stop was the local park, though stop is probably too grand a word. I was walking through it and whipped my pocket camera out and took these pictures. Most primary schools locally closed early as staff travel from a distance, so I was surprised not to see more children outside. Despite the difference in the colour of the sky in these photos they were taken seconds apart, but facing in slightly different directions.
In blue
In grey
My goal was Walworth garden where I had something to leave for one of the gardeners. It was also the reason I took my camera out, as I anticipated it would be looking good. I was right.
Roller
Pergola
Walworth Garden
Butterfly bench
Hint of pink
Pod
Snow table
Planters
For sale
Curve
Give generously
Blue hyacinth
In the garden
Zigzag
Part of the impetus for taking these pictures and posting them is for Celia. She called tonight from Wales where her newest grandchild has been born. Another neighbour sent her a picture of the neighbourhood and she was amazed to see we have more snow in London than in Clywd. I sent her an email showing some amazing bungalows for sale in places I am unlikely ever to live. Still, a little private fantasy is good for the soul, n’est-ce pas?
Isobel (and Cat)'s Blog 
Thank you – lovely to see all the Walworth in the snow photos. Still not much here in north-east Wales, although very cold.
Lots more snow this morning, and cold! The flat is v warm, but I opened the kitchen window while I made my breakfast and was taken aback by how icy the air was. Just remembered that somewhere I have some contraptions to wear on my shoes to give greater traction. Time to dig them out!
What lovely gardens, do yo have a plot there?
We’ve had a lot of snow as you’ve probably heard on the news, I’m hoping it will clear soon.
Really enjoyed those images, thanks Isobel. The old garden roller surprisingly lovely!
And how many people are thinking of weeding their mosaics? Brilliant! 👏
Thanks Jan. I remember garden rollers from my childhood, dire warnings about how dangerous they were. Now they are an inquest. Sometimes I am a surprised at how old I must be. Weeding mosaics is part of the duty of care!
The snow is quite beautiful if you don’t have to drive in it or walk far. but I am so ready for a true Spring. Hard on the branches.
Quite! Fortunately spring is definitely just around the corner.:)
Let’s hope so!