16.12.17

Polar bears and snow

My last workshop of the year was scheduled to be Sunday 10th December at Guthrie and Ghani in Birmingham. It was one that I had to be 100% prepared for, as it was a new teaching project and needed a proper written pattern, as well as quite a few extra materials and demo models. However, despite working up until the Friday, I had a nagging feeling that the weather forecast was going to somewhat interfere with my plans. Shropshire was due for an 'awful lot' of snow on Sunday, starting in the early hours. When I learned that taxi companies in town were not running on Friday night, I made a difficult decision and after chatting to the shop owner, we decided to cancel. Which meant letting ten people down and losing this month's income. However on Sunday morning, we woke up  to this.


 Which didn't seem that bad at first, until it carried on...


and on...


 and on.



 The road outside was iced over and only the occasional tractor or SUV went slowly past. The county ground to a halt.


This amount of snow might seem laughable to countries who get it on a regular basis every year. However, over here, on this scale, it is a rare occurrence and we're not usually prepared for it. We had two feet of snow over 24 hours. 


So in the end, I felt I had made the right decision, because even if I could somehow have reached the train station and managed to arrive at Birmingham, I would not have been able to return home, and I'm a bit too old to be sleeping on a station bench overnight. With the temperatures plummeting and the upstairs of the cottage feeling like an ice box, we did the sensible thing and camped in the only warm room, by the wood burner, where we slept each night until the rain came a couple of days later and washed most of the snow away.


6 comments:

Shrimpton and Perfect said...

You did the right thing in cancelling. The 10th was my birthday and the snow scuppered my plans as well. Gretel, I wish you all the best for 2018, happiness, health and wealth. Do have a great Christmas, keep warm and scoff some treats.
Jean

Mac n' Janet said...

You were right to cancel, snow is pretty in pictures, but often scary to deal with. Merry Christmas and hopes for a good New Year.

BumbleVee said...

WOW !! You even topped our last dump of a mere 10 inches a few days ago... that would have been something to see over there. It bet it did bring things to a halt for sure. You can't drive or move about in that much snow and ice without all the proper tires and equipment.. and, the proper clothing too for that matter.

Happy Christmas Gretel ..

big hugs

Veronica

ps.. -20C here right now... little chicken in the oven... house nice and toasty thank goodness....stay warm...

Lin said...

OMG...it is lovely and makes your world look even more magical!! But...you were smart in canceling. Maybe you can reschedule??? I am sure everyone was sad to have missed it.

Wishing you a good year ahead, Gretel.

jerilanders said...

Beautiful to look at, treacherous to be stuck in. I'm sorry you lost that income, but really glad you did not end up camping out in the train station. In our town, when snow is predicted, the stores sell out of food staples, schools close down and the streets are empty. They've no idea how to deal with a big snowstorm, as it is so uncommon here. Your room looks very cozy and warm, thank goodness.

Granny Sue said...

I hate that you lost the income, I know that's a hard hit. But what a lot of snow! We haven't had that much at once in a long time. I hope you and Joe are well and warm. Happy New Year, my friend!