Snow On the Way

Another week zips by and then there was snow.  I hope your morning wasn’t too hazardous. I am writing this the night before in a hotel room in Coventry.

My expectations for tomorrow are high, snow is forecast and chaos is likely.

Immediately the media has started talking about a white Xmas and how likely it is that we will see snow on Xmas day for the first time in ages.

The Met Office describes a white Xmas as ‘one snowflake to be observed falling in the 24 hours of 25 December somewhere in the UK.’ This does sound a bit desperate, but they should know.

The current forecast is that snow is unlikely but possible. We can live in hope!

The last really white Xmas was 2010. Most of the UK saw significant amounts of snow and it stayed for days.

We went away to a hotel for the only time in our married life, which was fantastic. The snow was about 8 inches deep in places and the icicles hung from the roof up to 10 ft long. It was more like a Canadian Xmas rather than a weekend away in Swindon, (well the Cotswold Water Park which is just outside).

We walked for hours and saw many birds all shivering on the water. The notion of flying sounds great, but it is not so glamourous floating about in freezing cold water or tottering about on the ice.

The cats have never really understood snow. Nor do they wish to. As much as they hate pooing in the cat litter tray, snow forces them to do it. They peer out and put a paw on the floor just long enough to rush back in.

I’m amazed the local wildlife survives but it does. Birds still fly and mice still scuttle about. It is just much quieter in the garden as the sounds are muffled.

You can’t believe it was only a few weeks ago I was posting pictures of flowers in bloom.

Look at me - I can even climb on chairs!

Saturday

I’ve now been going out for a week. The novelty has started to wear off and my inability to climb is starting to get on my nerves.

It rained rather a lot today, so I cowered under one of the metal boxes on wheels. This stopped the water from falling on me, but I managed to pick up an unwelcome addition to my ear. It was a black substance that covered my ear and didn’t rub off easily.

That was until I managed to find a nice clean bed to lie on. The humans were already comfortable so I lay next to them. As I slept a nice black stain formed around my head and seeped through the top sheet. It felt good to know that I could share that moment with the rest of the household, although they didn’t know it until they got up the next morning and looked aghast at the new mark on the sheet.

Later, the scrawny one tried to rub my ear off with a wet cloth. Not something I enjoyed at all.

Note to self, make sure you get up earlier next time you get the black substance on your head.

Monday

I have started to get into the routine of going out every day for a morning constitutional.

I get up after the fat human has left the house and when the scrawny one is still snoring behind the closed door. There is no real need for me to get up then but it makes good sport to try to wake the scrawny one up by banging the door and blaming my brother.

After a lap of the garden, and three jimmy riddles, I am quickly back inside the warmth of the house and ready for another nap or three. I put on the odd limp to make sure no one thinks I am completely better, and my shaven back, that is slowly growing hair, is a constant reminder that I need complete sympathy and no hassle, no interruptions and no scary face from the scrawny human – peering at me and smiling that strange smile, whilst letting out the “Ahhh” sound.

I can even get away with spitting in the face of my brother so he hisses at me. The humans then rush over and tell him off for being horrible to his poor brother. If only they knew!

Tuesday

Today we had a visitor.

Not someone I had met before, but he seemed friendly enough.

He came in and laid out his nice jacket just long enough for me to climb onto it and lay down. Sadly, I was lifted up and laid out on a nice new blanket instead.

I tried various limps to see if it would earn me a cuddle but the humans all seemed a bit preoccupied.  So I went outside and practised my best cleaning technique and sharpened my claws on the rubber tyres of the metal box on wheels.

Thursday

Another day of rain, interspersed with the odd ray of sun.

I am still not able to run or jump properly but it will come. My brother still avoids me unless I really stand in his way.

I have started to use a spare box as the launch pad for climbing onto my bed. Someone has kindly sited it in just the right place. Happily, I can make quite a loud thud by landing on the box at the most unexpected time. This allows me to let the other bed occupants know I am coming, just in time to make way for the “poorly kitty”.

The word “snow’ cropped up on the goggle box a few times today. The last time I heard that word was particularly unpleasant, so much so that I have it engrained on my memory.

To be continued …….

Xmas Illuminations

Last year I started an advent calendar style countdown to Xmas at this point on this blog.

I have tried not to repeat myself this year, but it is amazing how popular advent calendars are. The sheer diversity of possibilities is incredible. Everyone seems to have one.

The other thing that is incredibly popular is having lights outside your house. As I drive through the Warwickshire countryside, it seems every house is illuminated with a complete Xmas story. It is incredible to think of the amount of energy that the UK is using at this time, and the impression that the local wildlife must get. Nocturnal creatures no longer have the cover of darkness to operate in and must feel like they have gone to Las Vegas.

The View From Our Seats

We visited the Albert Hall this week. No the proms have not started up again. It was the turn of the tennis to come to town.

In December of each year the Masters Tennis comes to London. A collection of aging tennis stars that can still play fantastic tennis but have now learned to enjoy it too.

It is a really good day out and even my better half enjoyed it.

Also this week, after much excitement – well a brief whimper – the England cricket team has just lost the second ashes test. I am sure most of you are not really that interested, but it is all over the news.

The media have now decided that losing two tests means that England will likely lose all of them and therefore there is no hope for the team. Admittedly, England have not won in Perth since 1978, so it is unlikely they will win there next, but one can live in hope.

As England travel they are followed by the Barmy Army, a contingent of thousands of fans who are fanatical. One of their current vogues is to sing the anthem Jerusalem at the start of play each day when we are batting. Sadly, we had not even got to the second verse when we had already lost our first wicket on the last day.

I never realised quite how fanatical these fans are until I found their web-site, and in particular their complete song sheet. It is a complete industry.

https://www.barmyarmy.com/songs.html

President Trump also managed to get in on the Jerusalem theme this week, by upsetting most of the Islamic world by recognising Jerusalem as the Israeli capital. I have to say, whatever will upset people the most seems to be the wish list of this US president.

So I end this week with a rousing rendition of the classic hymn by the Barmy Army.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mn3VtXv6nlA

Have a great weekend!

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