the cold wind doth blow

Well, it did..and the rhyme was right - we did get snow. Some of it is still around as the temperature has hovered around or below freezing, despite the December sun being out.

Will it still be white at Christmas or will it just be the frost? We'll see.

Some years ago, trains in the UK were bothered by what was called "the wrong type of snow". Eskimos and electrical or mechanical engineers will probably understand that. The rest of us just remember it as a good example of how a sound bite gets to be part of the humour of a nation.

I wonder how the Eurostar engineers will explain away what happened this weekend? Apparently 4 or 5 trains had crossed a frozen northern France and entered the safe haven of the Channel Tunnel - only to break down in the tunnel due to "warm and humid air". It being a Friday night and no-one expecting such a problem, it took a long time to rescue the passengers. The service has not yet restarted while the engineers try to work out what went wrong.

Meanwhile, I'm trying to work out what brings on a nasty cough I've had since Wednesday. As a result I've missed the last two carol concerts given by the Knights of Harmony for this year's festive season. Gives me the chance to recover before Christmas (as opposed to over Christmas, as happened to me last year when flu got hold of me). Oh well, at least I'm saving money on petrol and food...