Snowed in

I indicated somewhere that Fern, our springer spaniel, doesn't like the snow. Today she proved me a liar. After breakfast, which is our usual time for a walk to the nearby Withdean Park, she was positively eager to get out and thoroughly enjoyed rushing around in the snow.

The pavements are, for the most part now, trodden-down snow with only a thin layer of ice beneath so it's safe to walk. The roads, however, are a different story. The main roads, by which I mean bus routes (some of the bus routes) have been salted but the temperatures dropped well below freezing during the night and the side roads are little better than sheets of ice or frozen slush. Even if I could get the car up the drive, the road outside is impassable. One car going down the hill just managed to stop before hitting a tree; another coming uphill failed to make it and slid back to be abandoned just at the point where it is likely to be side-swiped by a car going down. All this is rather a pity as it means we will not be going to Chris and Mrs Chris's annual Evening of Christmas. Mrs Chris plays the piano, a friend plays the flute and guitar (although not both at the same time) and a third plays the cello. This makes for an unusual trio, but they get together just before Christmas every year with about thirty or more of us gathered in the room (Chris and Mrs Chris have a large dining room with a sun lounge opening off it) to sing carols and take breaks for mulled wine and mince pies. It always seems to me to be the start of Christmas.

At some time I shall have to put my boots back on to try to find some milk.