Snow Day!

We had our first snow day today.  This picture shows the field behind my house with all the children playing on sleighs and building snow men.  I had to stay home for the day because all of the trains were cancelled.  Luckily, Ste and my brother work outside of London and their colleagues picked them up and took them to Orpington and Dartford respectively.  I was a bit disappointed after sitting around in my work clothes for three hours to learn that apart from there being no trains or buses, our offices were closing at 1pm and those of us that hadn't made it in would have to take a day's annual leave.  I tend to sleep in late and lounge about in pyjamas on my days off - not get up earlier than usual to make a special effort to get in and sit around waiting in my suit and jacket.  Grumpiness aside, once I realised it really was a day off, I made some Milo and watched Demons and Being Human from the weekend.  I also experimented with changing the layout for this blog, as I am a bit tired of this layout, but that didn't go very well.

The most amusing part of the day was observing my pets' differing reactions to the snow.

Cats
Early this morning, Seth was being an incorrigible pain in the neck bold and was meowing and asking to be let out.  So I opened the window thinking he would feel the snow on the window sill and realise that it was to wet and cold to go outside.  He put a tentative paw on the window sill and quickly shook it; but instead of coming back inside, he launched himself out of the window and promptly disappeared!  All I saw then was him shaking his back paws as cats do when their paws get wet and forging a way ahead in the snow.  Before I could do anything he sped off and was gone.  Oh dear.  I had to leave a window open for him then as I went to bath but soon he was back announcing at the top of his lungs something that sounded remarkably like, "Mum! I'm home! And wet! And cold! Close the windows quick!"

Well, his wet and cold experience didn't really leave an impression because a few hours later I was confronted with these friendly faces as I walked into the sitting room:

I promise you! He was giving me a right mouthful!  Summer supports him but won't actually go outside herself.

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Well, as you can see, he got kind of insistent after a while so I hauled on my wellies and went outside the front door with him.  He immediately ran to the shelter of the bay window, complaining about the cold all the way!  Then he ran under the car and sat forlornly under the engine as if he were the most hard-done-by cat on the planet.  Unable to coax him from under the car, I returned inside and he came shooting in at the sound of the door.  Thankfully, that was that and he seems to have accepted that it is too cold and wet to go outside.

Dogs
Considering how terrified our dogs were of our swimming pool in South Africa, I never imagined that they would like snow so much!  I had opened up the back door to see if the dogs needed to pee and they just stood there watching it snow. 

That wasn't so much fun for me so I went inside to make some tea.  Suddenly, I noticed the pair of them prancing about in the snow like two little puppies, and they were even playing about with a rubber toy between them which is something they never do (share, I mean.  They are very possessive over their toys).  It was so funny to watch!

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In the end, it was a pretty fun and exciting snow day!  Now to cook some dinner!

14 comments on "Snow Day!"
  1. Hi Emm,
    Enjoyed your post today in the snow. I knew about it as my brother is London Bus Driver and he had a day of work because of the snow. He says this was the worse they have had over there for 18 years, but he wasn't complaining.

    They say it rains cats and dogs, but your post was snowing cats and dogs. Sorry about the bad humour.

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  2. Turning on the TV this morning, I couldn't believe how much snow you guys got! Everything is just shut down around town?

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  3. Hi Emm looks like I escaped back to the LOS just in time.

    As a Brit it always amazes me how everything grinds to a halt when we have some snow.

    Still you got a day off albeit that you were unprepared!

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  4. I love all your snow day photos! What a fun day it was yesterday, wasn't it? We have another snow day from school today. I am so glad! The sun is out :-)

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  5. how i wish we have snow here in the Philippines too ;)

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  6. I am loving this post. I love the snow!

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  7. Hi Emm :) Thank you for following my blog - it is always such a WOW feeling when you see someone's taken the time to read your blog: like a gold star! lol
    BTW, loved the way you used the strikeout function when talking about Seth!!! Mind if I copy you? Can't wait to read more!!

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  8. @ Martin: That is so cool about your brother being a London Bus Driver. What route does he do? Any humour is good humour, Martin!!

    @ Stefan: Yes it was just shut down. The snow remained untouched on our street for hours as no one even bothered to drive down it for a while. There were no trains and no buses running at all and only one or two people in my office even managed to make it in. (We work near London Bridge which is pretty central). I dream of the weather you guys are having but in my dream we get afternoon showers. Oh wait, I have just described the Johannesburg summer.

    @ Mike: I know! Can you believe how crippled we were by the snow??

    @ Dori: Hiya - thanks for stopping by! You have a great blog!

    @ JaPRA: The sun was gorgeous the past two days wasn't it? Still, I think the rain will actually do more to melt the remaining ice - the sun seems to be colder!

    @ Eric: Hi there - thanks for stopping by! What are your seasons like in Philippines?

    @ Khaye: Hiya! I am glad you liked the snow pics!

    @ Lisa: Of course you can copy me! You have such a cute blog - I love your preggie pictures! And of course you're South African so that always counts!

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  9. Hi!
    My name is Ashwathy... you can call me Ash if you find that's easier to pronounce ;-)
    First time at your blog. I am an Indian... and lived in London for 9 months while I was doing my Masters. I am currently in Delhi, India but might be returning sometime next year.

    It is totally heartwarming to see so many pictures of London and UK that you've put up. I miss the place so much and your photos bring back a wave of nostalgia. Do keep up the good work! :-)

    As for cats n dogs, I have two cats and a dog (here, not London though) and it's an absolute ball having them! So I can very well imagine! :-)

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  10. @ Ash: Well how do you pronounce Ashwathy? It looks easy enough. But then lots of my friends in SA were Indian. Good luck with your visa application!

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  11. thanks..! but I already have it! :-) now it's just a matter of choosing my return date. my visa (work-permit) is valid till mid-2011. I was thinking of waiting a bit more until the recession starts to abate, since the job market is terrible in UK now.

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  12. @ Ash: Yup, the job market is really, really bad here at the moment.

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  13. yep. so maybe i may head by sometime in 2010 instead.
    btw u pronounce Ashwathy as Ash-va-thee :-) told ya Ash is easier :D

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