We knew it was coming. Last night's national weather report on both the BBC and ITN ended with the words "And it will be particularly bad in the Medway Towns".
To some degree, the Medway Towns is weather-girl code for London. National weather forecasters are not allowed to mention London. It just provokes letters in green ink from pedantic autists in the provinces along the lines of:
Dear Sir
You always focus on London in your weather forecasts and you never mention my own village of Lower Fumbling in the Wold. We have been an important centre for sheep dung distribution since the times of Ethelread the Unready.........
Well you get the idea but I digress.
They said it was coming and it has. The car is snowed in. A nasty east wind is giving us a wind chill of minus twenty five centigrade and I have had to put a blow heater in the rabbit's hutch.
No 2 daughter has set off on a trek through the snow to get her hair done, the risk of freezing to death in a snowdrift somewhere being infinately preferable to a bad hair day. I am supposed to run her back around the M25, London's Magic Roundabout, on Sunday so she can get back to Uny in time for her lecture on the depiction of nude women on Greek urns.
Mind you, it's not all bad. I am averaging 1,000 words a day on my novel.
My novelette (novela? long short story?) Storming Venus, the sequel to Storming Hell, is up on eArc at Baen's Universe.
You can read it for free here:
http://www.baens-universe.com/articles/Storming_Venus
If you like it please leave a donation.
John
PS the first person to ask how much a Greek urns will get attacked by flying monkeys.
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12 comments:
John,
it is nearly 9pm at night here and over 30 degrees with 80% humidity.
Very hard to feel mentally creative when you are melting.
As I sit here, under the fan I envy you your snow!
we're at minus five Farenheit and our weathermen are now wearing cheese patties on their heads and brocolli on their socks, as we watch their mental disintegration in growing wonder. "It will be warm, we swear" they say, but it is only a lie.
And writing isn't happening because I'm cabin fevered, but I refuse to flash-freeze by going outside.
Dear Rowena
30C sounds quite attractive at the mo. I am less keen on the humidity. :)
John
Dear sarah
I got the car out and up to the shopping centre during a lull this morning. We are snowed in again now.
John
John,
They urn enough to satisfy those nude women, so the exact figures don't matter. Except to the Greeks.
Houston spends most of it's collective time pretending it isn't located in the semi tropics. Something to do with fashions and when it is proper to wear white shoes. I never have understood why Houston High Society Women would want to be in the fashion zone as NY and London, rather than Aruba and Rio, but . . .
We are now - for the second time this section of the orbit - bemoaning the fact that we are actually cold enough for multi-day freezes. Pity the local builders didn't understand that, when installing waterpipes and such into barely insulated attic spaces.
You who had decent construction, rejoice and enjoy winter. I'll keep the pipes dripping.
Dear Pam
I warned you. The flying monkeys are on the way.
Our houses here in N Europe are well suited to our climate with insulated cavity walls, double or treble glazing, insulated lofts etc. and all pipes are internal or lagged.
J.
It has been right around 24 degrees Farenheit here and I'm almost tempted to taunt the demon Murphy. Barely a snow storm to be had, cold but yet I can go out with just a light pullover on... and I'm not getting any writing done. This winter has been wimpy so far.
Brrrr. Let's hope the North Atlantic Current keep running.
Cheers & good luck on the novel.
Dear Chris
Did you know that the Demon Murphy is worshipped in England as the Demon Sod, and the demon l'emmerdement maximum in France.
John
Dear Chris M
Dear God, yes. The last time it failed precipitated an ice age.
John
Regardless of what we call that horrible old Murphy, I think I ticked him off. It was ten degrees F here this morning and there's the possibility of a snow storm this coming weekend. Maybe I'll get some writing done. ;)
Dear Chris
You obviously offended the great god in the sky, weather division. Try touching wood.
John
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