it's not snowing, it's a snow event

so sayeth the bbc.

also this:

"...and with wind chill, we could be looking at temperatures as low as -1 so be careful..."

i awoke to the cacophony of no trains - we live beside the trainline and the rumble of trains is quite comforting, not quite noticeable and always in the deep background. this morning was ominously quiet, which woke me up.

no trains. the greatest snowfall in 20 years said the bbc. i listened to this as i drank my coffee looking out onto the centimeter or so of frozen snow that made up faversham's contribution to the "snow event". it seems the snow missed our corner of east kent - not that it made any difference - when you work in london, you rather need trains going there, and buses when you arrive, neither of which were forthcoming today.

"are you warm and safe?" my boss rang my mobile to ask me this morning. "yes," i replied, looking down at my slippers."well, then - stay put," he instructed.

good grief.

when my parents were here at christmas, they left winnipeg in -35 c.
on one of our many walks, crossing the kent salt marshes with a nasty north wind whipping our scarves and taking our breath, I complained about the cold. "cold?" my father yelled through the wind, "COLD???? what kind of canadian are you?" and, never one to miss an opportunity for comedic effect, clutched at his chest, proclaiming, "you break your father's heart..."

i can hear him laughing from here.

but hey, why look a snow day on the mouth? we decamped to the pub with the papers and proceeded to "keep warm" with bells on.

i do feel though like i may have revoked some sort of canadian citizenship test...