January has begun in Britain as 2006 ended - unseasonally mildly. Those new year blizzards of yesteryear seem like a dream, at least in southern Britain.
It was very different in the late seventies and early eighties. A quarter of a century ago this week, it started to snow - and didn't stop for 44 hours. According to my 1982 diary, it started on Thursday night and didn't stop until 5pm on the Saturday.
The photo shows our then home in Winnipeg Drive, Lakeside, Cardiff after it had stopped snowing. Schools stayed closed after the Christmas holidays - just as my A level year began. We were due to go by train from Cardiff to London for a schools history event - but had to go by coach as British Rail ground to a halt. I miss those days of white beauty, when cities were silent through road closures and getting anywhere was an adventure.
And we children of all ages would love to go tobogganning again!
Posted by: Chris | January 12, 2007 at 03:36 PM
Amen to that, Chris!
Posted by: Rob Skinner | January 13, 2007 at 11:19 PM