My office is freezing! I work in a converted garage with one radiator and no insulation in either the walls or the roof. The door opens onto a utility room with a clear plastic roof with a door to the outside world that has a taped-up cat flap. It gets very cold out there, and the snow laying on the roof plunges the room into perpetual twilight. On the plus side, the fridge and freezer won't be using up much electricity. On the debit side... my hands are chilled to the bone!
To counter the cold, I'm wrapped up in about five layers — t-shirt, shirt, jumper, jumper and coat — and wearing a hat so my ears don't get frostbite. It is as comical as you're imagining, and no there won't be any photos. Instead, the photos above were taken on the first day of snow, one around 8.30 in the morning not long after it started, and the second a couple of hours later when we had almost total coverage. That first day (Sunday), we had an almost full day of snow, and we've had lighter snow showers on Monday and Tuesday which keep the levels topped-up.
I had to go down to the post office on Tuesday and, even at 9 o'clock, there was fresh snow to walk on. Thankfully, there was also almost no traffic, so I actually walked down the middle of the road where cars and trucks had cleared the snow, occasionally veering into the slush at the roadside when someone drove by. I'm expecting a record number of pot holes when the snow clears. Mind you, the paths are no better around here.
The pot holes have become so prevalent that a local began highlighting them in a way that the local council couldn't ignore... I should add that this is the bridge over the railway line, and the hole is so deep you can see the structure holding it up!
Despite the cold hands, I've managed to write one and half articles that will earn me a bit of cash and should hopefully have the second half finished by the time you read this. Then its back to an article that I'm writing for the horribly delayed launch of BAM! — I'm still aiming for March to tie-in with the celebrations of Bear Alley Books' 10th Anniversary.
Other than that, I've had a week of running to stand still as far as my e-mail is concerned. Every time I think I'm catching up, a whole new batch of questions arrive. Snow days are helping tho' because we're being very lazy about our walks. Not going out means we're a bit cut off from weird news, which is what makes visiting local shops so interesting. For instance, on my one trip out this week — to the post office — I discovered that the price of flowers has sky rocketed and morgues are filling up with bodies. Apparently, we import a lot of coffins and caskets and they're arriving in much reduced numbers. And if you think this is an unforeseen consequence of Brexit, think again... these guys foresaw problems and have been preparing since 2018.
That's my lot. It's getting chilly in here and my nice warm bed is calling. That's not right — time to Google "Does cold cause hallucinations"...
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