8 February 2020

Winter

Higger Tor seen from Totley Moor
I know that one should not tempt fate and one certainly should not count one's chickens before they are hatched but I am going to come out and say it anyway - Where has our English winter gone? 

The past few weeks have been unusually mild. There has been hardly any overnight frost, no snow on the ground and as the days begin to lengthen we see spring bulbs pushing through the earth. We are eight days into February and one cannot help wondering - Will proper winter ever appear?

Tomorrow we are scheduled to feel the full blast of an Atlantic storm that the Irish have already named Storm Ciara. Damage is likely and roof slates will rattle as trees are shaken as if by invisible giants. But big storms are not necessarily the preserve of winter and even during this storm temperatures will remain moderate and "unwinterly" - a meteorological term that I have just invented. 
Of course harsh winter weather can strike as late as April and March can certainly be a crazy month for weather but as time goes on I have the feeling that this will essentially be what I call a "green winter" as opposed to a "white winter". Another saying has suddenly echoed inside my skull - Don't speak too soon!

Thursday was a beautiful, diamond day. I had to get outside. Not too far away. Just up onto Totley Moor and Totley Moss. A big circular walk was in order, passing the air shaft that descends to the Victorian railway tunnel below. I noticed that some maintenance work is in progress there though the team were nowhere to be seen.

I have often been tempted to spray words on that remote structure. Perhaps "The Big Black Button" or "Entrance to Brexitland" but I don't suppose I will ever do it. I admit that I am prone to such flights of fancy. The pictures accompanying this blogpost were taken on Thursday when winter seemed so far away.

38 comments:

  1. We've had ten days of very cold winter weather. After that it's been nice winter weather.

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    1. Have you built a snowman for The Micro Manageress?

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    2. Well, snow has to be a bit soft to make a snow man so no, no snow man.

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  2. In the words of John Denver..."Some days are diamonds...some days are stone..."

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    1. He was a hell of a songwriter wasn't he Lee?

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    2. He sure was, Yorkie. My late brother and I saw Denver live in concert at the Townsville Entertainment Centre...Townsville, North Queensland on 21st November, 1994.

      It was a brilliant concert. Denver's voice was so clear...so strong. Graham and I were fortunate enough to meet him at the end of the concert and have a brief conversation with him. It was a nigh to remember. Graham was a huge fan of Denver...he loved his music.

      I remember the moment - the day - I heard about Denver's tragic, untimely death..where I was. I immediately rang Graham to tell him. It was a sad time.

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    3. How wonderful to have met a legend. Here in Sheffield we have a big football club called Sheffield United and the crowd always sing their club song to the tune of "Annie's Song" - but not the same lyrics.

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    4. John Denver did a wonderful job on that song, but he didn't write it. The author was Dick Feller, and he recorded it but it didn't catch on.

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    5. Jenny...."Annie's Song" was written by John Denver for his wife, Annie.

      It was a favourite song of my brother's...and he made me promise that when he died I would play "Annie's Song" not hymns. It was a promise I kept.

      I have read Denver's autobiography - "Take Me Home"...published in 1994 a couple of times....as did my brother...I read it to him at his bedside when he lay dying in hospital. I still have the book...plus the photo Denver autographed the night of his concert, which I later had laminated.

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    6. I should have put the name of the song in my comment, Lee - I was referring to "Some Days Are Diamonds".

      LOVE Annie's Song. Knowing how things ended up for them it has shades of melancholy for me, but it's a beautiful song and one of my favourites of his.

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    7. Sorry, Jenny...I misunderstood. :)

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  3. I always want to pull fire alarms whenever I pass them.

    We've had a strange winter too, warm days in January. It's nice but disconcerting.

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    1. Once I did smash a fire alarm - deliberately. It was 45 years ago but I still regret it. Drunkenness is no excuse.

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    2. I imagine that when I am a confused old lady, I will go round pulling all the fire alarms. The thought makes me smile.

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  4. Our winter has been a series of snowstorms separated by melts and mildness. It's "unwinterly" here too. Your scenery looks very much like early spring. The grass is even green in some of those pictures.

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    1. Nice to see that my new word is already catching on.

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  5. I hope Storm Ciara does not cause any damage for your beautiful country. The past several winters here have been milder than usual as well. Your photos are very good as usual. I particularly like the black and white picture. It speaks without words.

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    1. It is saying, "Hurry up Bonnie! You are lagging behind,"

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  6. It has been equally sunny here all week, but I've been working from home since Wednesday, as a big fat cold did not allow for me going to the office (maybe it was the flu, as I felt extraordinarily weak until yesterday, when some of my energy came back).
    The big storm is supposed to arrive here on Sunday afternoon, hopefully not upsetting our long trip back from Northern Germany where we will be off to this morning to celebrate a friend's 50th birthday. We'll be on four different trains today, and another four tomorrow - if all goes well.
    Temperatures were cold enough for my liking this week, with frosty mornings and nights, and a drop is forecast after the storm.

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    1. I hope you have a great trip to Northern Germany and that the storm doesn't cause travel disruption.

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  7. You have captured the desolation of the moors perfectly. How "out of place" the air shaft appears.
    No, Neil, you would never deface anything. You are far too law biding a citizen. 😉
    I worry about our non winters. I always think some frost kills the bugs off!

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    1. I agree with that. Garden slugs and their eggs deserve to be frozen to death.

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  8. I will watch the Look North weather forecasts carefully and let you know immediately Paul the Weatherman or Keeley steals your newly coined term "unwinterly".

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    1. You might be waiting a while. Keeley has been "poorly". I hope the unborn child is okay.

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  9. The quality of the light in those photos speak to me of winter and I shiver, even if you say it is still mild.
    By the way, there is a good review of the Bosh Boys in today's Daily Telegraph food section.

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    1. Thanks for that tip JayCee. We tend to read "The Sun" as we are not as posh as you.

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  10. Considering it was 65F (18c) in the Antarctic yesterday--highest temp ever recorded there--guess we shouldn't be surprised at unwinterly (great word) weather behavior. Started yesterday around 17c and this morning it is -2c. We had a storm blow through with four tornadoes 50 miles north and west of us--another record for a winter day here. Lots of tree down locally, but we were fortunate that the high winds and sideways rain only flooded the yard a bit and rearranged everything on our deck without any damage. Good luck with Storm Ciara.

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    1. Where are you Mary?...As I write Storm Ciara is grumbling down the chimney and rattling the windows.

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  11. You don't miss your winter?

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    1. Not really. I bet there'll be a white winter next year.

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  12. If drystone walls could talk. Smashing photos.

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    1. I am glad that you also admire drystone walls No Cider!

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  13. We've had no winter here either, but there's still plenty of time. White Easters aren't unknown.

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    1. Are you in London? You are right about the possibility of white Easters but they never last long.

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  14. On a very superficial level, it's been quite pleasant, though, hasn't it? I've been enjoying the warmth and sunshine, even if there's a creepier subtext related to climate change.

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    1. Throughout my life in England there have occasionally been "green winters" and I don't mind them at all. I hate driving in ice and snow.

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