Heavy Snow In London

On Sunday, the interactive talk at St Giles was about Candlemas.

One of the US derivations is Groundhog Day. The custom goes back to the early German settlers, who said that the groundhog will emerge from hibernation on Candlemas and if it sees its own shadow, the animal will return and hibernate for a further 6 weeks.

On Sunday the sky was blue and the sun bright. There were hard shadows as we came out of the church and headed off for lunch.

As Vicky and I drove down to London later the same evening, there was a flurry of snow. Not much. Certainly no more than we left at Cheddington, and that was barely perceptible. One hour later, after a cup of tea and a chat by the fire we looked out and about 2” had settled.

This morning, we had 10” and it is still snowing on Monday afternoon. We have lived in the centre of London since 1984 and have not seen snow like this before. Of course, we are ill equipped and transport is badly disrupted.

For the local children whose schools are closed it is a winter wonderland of snowmen and snowballs.