A Light Dusting

Nowhere near as much as the East coast of America, and a bit less than most of Britain, but we have had snow. A light icing-sugar dusting but it still snowed. And it is cold. So cold. But after all it is December, so what else should we expect? We may even get a white Christmas. That would be magical.

A Foggy Day In Cheltenham Town

Well, the outskirts of Cheltenham town! After what seems like weeks of rain we had a few cold, fine days and then this. Fog and frost. December is here! It is my favourite kind of weather. All cold and crisp. Love it.

I'll not be around much this weekend, working tomorrow and then our works Christmas party in the evening. Needless to say I'll be hungover on Sunday! Catch up with you all soon.

Two Things Challenge - Hot / Cold

Its Sunday, in case you didn't know(!), and its time for Two Things Challenge. My photos today are of the same place in Cheltenham - the Long Gardens in front of the Municipal Offices. The first one shows some red hot tulips which were in full flower last spring. And the second one shows a wider view of the gardens covered in cold snow, which has been the case all week.

If you want to join in with the Two Things Challenge, or to see what other people have come up with this week, head over here.
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Winter Garden

The "big freeze" continues. The temperature fell to -10c the other night, the snow is still on the ground and the roads are icy. We really aren't used to this here, a cold day or two is the norm. Though it is nice to get home in the evening and get warm. I've had to have several glasses of Port to keep my temperature up!

Today's photo shows a snowy Imperial Gardens, just behind the Town Hall. The area used to be the site of the Winter Gardens. The glass roofed building was used for concerts, exhibitions and housed a cinema. The building opened in 1878 and was demolished between 1940 and 1944, partly because its glass roof may have been a target for bombers in the Second World War, but mainly because it was in a poor state of repair. It would be a great if a similar building could be reinstated on the Gardens. I think it would make a fine addition to Cheltenham.

I'm getting cold again. Where's the Port?

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Frosty The...hic...Snowman (& Friends)

The winter arrived with full force over night on Sunday. Cheltenham woke to a winter wonderland yesterday, and very pretty it was too. We don't get snow here very often, only a couple of days each winter, and the recent snowfall wasn't predicted so it was a pleasant surprise. As I walked about yesterday kids were off school (why do UK schools close after an inch of snow?!) and they were enjoying the wintry weather, having snowball fights and building snowmen. The snowman in the top photo looked like he had been on the booze overnight! He was in the small front garden of what I assume was a student house, surrounded by rubbish bins and empty beer cans. They had given him wine bottle top buttons, a beer bottle top smile, eyes made of two pence coins, a Guinness hat, and a traditional carrot nose. Notice the beer can on his stick arm! The mini-snowmen below were a bit more civilised and were doing some Cheltenham sight seeing in Imperial Gardens.

The cold snap is set to continue through the weekend, plenty more opportunities for building snowmen!

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Mini Icicles

Brrrr...it's cold. Well, not as cold as some of your winters but cold for us. The temperature has been as low as -6c at night, we've had frost on the ground for almost a week and icicles have started forming. OK, they are only a few inches long but it's the best I could come up with! These ones were hanging on one of the bins at work. I like all the little air bubbles in them. They look like little pieces of blown glass.

How cold is it where you are?
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