We hear from family in Aberystwyth that there has been a dusting of snow. My grandsons are very happy as snow is fairly rare in Aber itself (as opposed to the hills around).
A blog featuring whatever I fancy, often on the Christian faith but not exclusively
Showing posts with label Snow. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Snow. Show all posts
Snow in Aber
We hear from family in Aberystwyth that there has been a dusting of snow. My grandsons are very happy as snow is fairly rare in Aber itself (as opposed to the hills around).
Day Off Week 49 2022
There was still snow on the ground come Tuesday but I headed out nevertheless and walked down the road to an art framers, where I ordered a frame for one of the opaintings I did in the summer. I walked on from there to the Costa in Cricklewood and caught the bus back home, where I stayed the rest of the day. I had one or wto things to deal with but mostly was wrapping presents while listening to Christmas music, reading a lovely edition of Dickens' Christmas Carol I was given last Christmas by one of my sons and watching, with Eleri, the last two episodes of the BBC detective drama Strike. I dipped into the football a little bit but Argentina didn't seem to have any trouble against Croatia. Nice day. We also had a nice facetime with one of the boys in Cardiff.
Lord's Day December 10 2017
When I looked out of the window on Sunday, being child at heart, I was pleased to see the snow. of course, the downside was a poor attendance with some away anyway, some unable to make it through the snow and potential visitors clearly discouraged from leaving home. We struggled up to a decent number in the morning but in the evening we were only eight! We did have tea beforehand (only six of us for that). The singing was okay but I chose the less well known songs this week and so with so few that was not easy. I also thought the sermons (on Matthew 1:18 and 1 John 3:5) lacked something. At least the evening one had the merit of being short.
I felt rather down about it the next day and began to plot some sort of escape but rescue came in the unlikely form of the song Santa never brings me a banjo a complaint from a child about a Christmas present that never arrives. I began by sympathising and wallowing in my own unhappiness but soon saw how childish it is. Far better the sentiments of another sing I listened to yesterday that includes the line "Santa knows what I want but Jesus knows what I need".
10 Surprising facts about snow
Radio 4 say It’s cold, it falls from the sky and we love it. But how much do you really know about "white rain"? As Snow – the new Book of the Week by Marcus Sedgwick – comes to Radio 4, we present a few little known facts… (to which I have added one more to make 10 - perhaps the most interesting one)
1. There Was Once an Entire ‘Land of Snow’
Don’t get too excited, it’s just Iceland.
Yes, our favourite country that Björk was born in was initially dubbed Snowland (Snæland) by Naddoddur Ástvaldsson, the snappily named Norseman who discovered the country, accidentally, around 800 AD.
The first Viking to go to Iceland on purpose was Flóki Vilgerðarson, who was dubbed "Raven-Flóki" Vilgerðarson for his unusual practice of taking ravens with him on voyages for navigational purposes.
Despite his pioneering avian directional techniques, in the 9th century he reached the country, nearly died, and quickly left again.
But not before he called it Iceland. The name stuck - the way ice does sometimes.
One organisation who would love the country to return to their previous Snowland moniker is Iceland – the frozen food people. They are currently wrangling with the Icelandic government over use of the name.
2. Cocaine Was Used To Treat Snow Blindness
Everyone knows about the remarkable Ernest Shackleton and his almost disastrous Nimrod Expedition to the South Pole. But what isn’t readily reported are the contents of his medical kit, which reads more like a rambunctious weekend in Ibiza than an esteemed adventurous endeavour.
As well as lashings of whisky given liberally to the crew, suspected diarrhoea was to be combated by a substance containing a mixture of "chalk ground up with opium". Cases of colic were to be treated with a tincture made up of chilli powder and cannabis, while those stricken with snow blindness would have cocaine dripped directly into the eye.
It may not have worked, but it must have been the most convivial antarctic expedition going.
3. Most Snowflakes Aren’t Symmetrical
As we all know, not everything we were taught in school was 100% correct and this is true of snow.
From day one we had it pounded into us that no two snowflakes are alike and that they are all hexagonal and symmetrical. Turns out this was a ruse adopted by lazy primary school teachers who wanted to keep us all busy with pieces of paper and safety scissors.
Destroying all those childhood dreams is Professor Kenneth G Libbrecht who has compiled The Field Guide to Snowflakes, specifically for all the snowflake collectors out there (you will need a fridge). He has surmised that flakes come in all shapes and sizes: pointy ones, triangular ones, 12-sided ones and, mainly, lumpy ones.
4. Snow Isn’t White Either
Because scientists just love messing with our heads, various random eggheads have also declared that snow isn’t actually white. Even though it is called "the white stuff", "white glory" or "cold milky joy".
Snow is actually translucent, with the light reflecting off it making it appear white. The many (often lumpy) sides of the snowflake scatters the light in many directions, diffusing the whole colour spectrum.
Though dust or cryophilic fresh-water algae can colour it pink, orange or blue. Pink snow can be found at high altitude and was referred to as Watermelon Snow in the early writings of Aristotle.
5. Blizzards Are More Complicated Than You Think
When there’s a mild coating of sleet on the bonnet of the Mondeo, most people will understandably start impulsively hoarding dry goods, dust off the generator and begin to scream "BLIZZARD, BLIZZARD!" at all and sundry.
But chances are it’s not actually a blizzard. Technically snowfalls have to adhere to a strict set of stipulations to qualify. Wind speeds have to reach a healthy 30 mph or more, and visibility must be reduced to 200 metres or less. Anything less than 30 mph or with visibility over 200 metres just WISHES it was a blizzard.
6. One City Tried To Outlaw Snow
After frequent mounted attacks from the white stuff every winter, the city of Syracuse in New York finally decided that enough was enough. During the winter of 1991/1992, they suffered a record snow deluge of more than 162.5 inches which, we can all agree, is a lot.
Thoroughly sick of the tyranny of ploughs and gritting, the local council decreed: "Be it resolved, on behalf of the snow-weary citizens of the city of Syracuse, any further snowfall is expressly outlawed in the city of Syracuse until December 24, 1992."
Mother Nature, who appears to have a sense of humour after all, then deposited EVEN MORE snow during the next winter with a whopping 192.2 inches cursing the beleaguered town. The moral? Snow knows no laws and laughs in the face of legislation.
7. Some People are Scared of Snow
Turns out that Chionophobia is not a fear of chins. It is in fact a fear of snow. The fact that this is an article about snow might have tipped you off.
It’s claimed that famous explorer Scott of the Antarctic almost certainly didn’t suffer from this condition.
8. For the First Eight Years of Charles Dickens' Life, Every Christmas Was a White Christmas
As a nation we are obsessed with the notion of a White Christmas, in part because of that song. But also due to the ongoing ubiquitousness
9. There’s a Reason It Seems Quieter After Snow
Fresh, lovely, fluffy ducking-like snow that has freshly fallen absorbs sound waves, giving everything a seemingly hushed and delightful ambience. Perfect for ice-based horror movies such as The Shining, Murder at the Ice Hotel or The Unwrappening.
But be warned. If the snow melts and then refreezes as ice, it can reflect sound waves making sound travel further and clearer. So snow can make things both quieter and louder. You don’t get these problems with hail.
10. Snowflakes can be alike
A commonly heard statement about snow is that no two snowflakes are ever alike. However, in 1988 Nancy Knight (USA), a scientist at the National Centre for Atmosphere Research in Boulder, Colorado, USA, found two identical examples while studying snow crystals from a storm in Wisconsin, using a microscope.
Radio 4 Book of the week
I don't keep up with Radio 4's Book of the week but I happened to hear it announced this morning and it is a book I have actually read already, the brilliant book on Snow by Marcus Sedgwick. The page for it is here.
Snow
I recently saw the book Snow by Marcus Sedgwick (not a name I knew though he is a fairly well known author) and fell in love with it. It is only just over a hundred pages so I had it read in no time. It just talks about snow which might not seem very appealing to some but for me it was brilliant. To read Sedgwick giving the etymology of the word snow sent me into a minor ecstasy I must admit. That first of six brief chapters (Snow talk) I enjoyed the most but the whole little hardback is lovely, especially for this time of year. I have another little book called Snow. That one is by Maxence Fermine and is a piece of fiction. I must read it again.
A-Z of Christmas icons 19 Star/Snowflake
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| Glkvs2, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons |
That make the landscape lonelier
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| George Henry Durrie, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons |
"Beyond the orchard lay a field or two, their boundaries lost under drifts; and
above the fields, huddled against the white immensities of land and sky, one of
those lonely New England farm-houses that make the landscape lonelier." (Edith Wharton, Ethan Frome)
Dyn Eira Arall
The boys had to make a snowman, of course (not the ones in the picture as it turns out)
Snowgates
I'm sure they've mentioned them before but there seems to be a lot on the weather news this winter about the closing of snow gates. I'm not entirely sure what these are though I suppose they are designed to keep people from putting themselves in danger.
VSP1 Winter wise
I've had a series of short poems in the past. I came across a book of Very short poems recently. See here.
I thought we could reproduce some of these here.
First, a seasonal one, a bit of traditional advice.
Walk fast in snow, in frost walk slow
And still as you go, tread on your toe.
When frost and snow are both together
Sit by the fire and spare shoe leather.Picture this
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| All I want is a room with a view ... Picture this a day in December Picture this freezing cold weather |
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