Winter has appeared with a vengeance. The country as usual has ground to a halt and the media is full of scenic snow photos and videos of skidding and upturned cars.

Jamie has been getting good use out of his snowboard and the Rothwell boys have been busy gathering freezing fingers and toes! I have been having fun on my bike as I now can go off-road, though today I did discover that even my chunky tires wouldn’t grip down an embankment and my passage down it turned into an uncontrolled slalom and a snowy bum at the bottom.

Despite the conditions Sarah managed to drive over to a ‘Camp America’ exhibition in Manchester on Sunday. She travelled by Leeds to avoid the Penine snow and survived what appeared to be a very full and tiring day.

Nan hasn’t left her flat (very wise), buit today on a visit she showed me her finger which was bent at an odd angle. She did it at Josie’s when she fell over, but kept quite about it. It didn’t hurt(she said)  so I bound it up with half a cotton-bud to keep it straight and I will keep an eye on it. I don’t think the Doctor can do anything about it as I think the tendon has been stretched and needs time to shorten by itself. I warned her not to take it off. We shall see.

Our bird table is quite busy with the usual robin and home-grown pigeons, but we are also visited by a cock pheasant who looks very spectacular in his plumage. The freezing condition are forecast to last until next weekend.

Sarah’s snowman in Sheffield

Ellis’s snowman in Rothwell.

Jamie the snowman in Harborough.

My snowman in Harborough (I called him Lucas).