Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow (again!)

So after having been lulled into a false sense of security, we have again been deluged with snow in the south eastern corner of the UK.

Highly localised, the late evening and overnight snowstorms have caused havoc, with motorists stranded for 10 hours and more on the A23 towards Gatwick and Crawley. This morning we have about 5” of snow in the garden and on the way to the station (where unfortunately the trains were running into Victoria and so I had to go to work) there were drifts at the side of the road at least two feet deep.

We seem to have been well prepared for the snow a few weeks ago, but this lot really caught us out. Right up until the last minute, the forecast was for ‘a few flakes’ but what we actually got was a total blanket. At 6pm yesterday the roads had not been gritted and the traffic crawled along in both directions on a white ribbon with two crooked tyre tracks in the middle. Morrison’s car park, where I leave my precious soft top during the day, was pristine white and the slope leading to it particularly hazardous. It took me 30 minutes to do a 10 minute journey, but that was nothing compared to someone I know who took seven hours to get from Guildford to Sevenoaks.

Central London, of course, is totally snow free. It’s as though there is under street heating for all the toffs in town whilst the poor peasants in the countryside wade through drifts and fall into ditches. My work colleagues don’t understand why I turn up in about three jumpers, snow boots, a rather fetching bobble hat and thick coat when the streets are clear of ice and the sun is shining. I have resorted to taking photos of my garden and gate with its icy hat on to convince them that it really is a totally different world just 20 miles as the crow flies south of the big smoke.

You all know, if you read this blog regularly, how much I hate the weather in England. My sinuses block up, I am prone to chest infections and viruses (have been ever since I was a kid) , I am afraid of falling on ice due to a dodgy back and knees and fundamentally, I just hate being cold and hate being wet. It seems like it has been cold and wet since late October, and I don’t think we have seen any sustained period of sunshine all winter. I feel so much better in the summer when the sun shines, and even better in a drier climate.

I read my horoscope the other day and it said that a fundamental change would happen soon in my life which would make me completely rethink my future direction, including my work and well being. Clearly, that means I am about to win a large sum of money which will enable me to stick two fingers up at my employer, retire early and go an live in Crete, occasionally popping back to visit The Hubby, Daughters One and Two, The Dog and The Cats. In fact I will probably take The Dog and The Cats with me. It is highly likely in that scenario that I may not return to the UK from my April holiday and will simply stay there planning our retirement mansion in the sun, getting all the pets shipped out to me.

Of course, we all know that horoscopes are complete bunkum, but it’s nice to dream isn’t it? And the weather has been c**p, so why not?