The first snow of winter

My catarrh and blocked sinuses result in an interrupted night's sleep, I get up around two to use the loo and outside snow is gently falling, so I sit in the Garden Room and watch the fluffy, cotton wool, flakes drift down for a while, before returning to my warm bed and pulling the duvet over my ears. This morning there is only a light covering of snow outside, so I must have caught what little that fell, when I got up. After our fry up, Norman and I venture forth, he in his fleece lined blue coat and I wrapped in several layers. The temperature gauge on my car says it is freezing outside, but it doesn't feel particularly cold, as we get out of the car on Newbald Road, in fact the ground is still slippery and muddy, a few more degrees of frost would have made it better underfoot. The sky is a uniform grey and what little wind there is, blows gently from the southwest. The landscape has been drained of colour, other than the grey of the sky, white snow and a hint of dark green from clumps of grass and the bark of trees. A solitary grey squirrel hurries for the sanctuary of a horse chestnut tree, as Teddy approaches with sinister intent, and other dog walkers are few and far between. Nevertheless, the common has an austere winter beauty and whilst it lacks the pristine whiteness of a proper snowfall, it still marks it's presence on my soul. A bare tree is silhouetted against black mill, it's tracery of branches dusted with snow as it claws gauntly at the grey sky. Dolly comes back to the lead unprompted, but Normy preempts any ideas of a longer walk, by running full pelt back down the hill towards the car. Once he is sure that we are following and committed to the same destination, he slows down and waits for us. We drop Dolly and Teddy back in Cherry for eleven and call at Tesco, in order to kill time, before my blood test at the doctors at eleven forty. I only buy Italian ground coffee and dried peas, which are intended to accompany my smoked pork loin in the slow cooker tomorrow. The Phlebotomist is a black woman, who sounds English, so that is two that I have now met in Beverley, the other being Thelma. Like me, she loves the snow and takes the blood for my PSA test, quickly and efficiently. Afterwards we drive home, Norman has some biscuits and I have a pot of tea and crusty baguette with pork dripping and salt, before knocking out another batch of sultana oaties. After my lunch, I clean the kitchen and the four pairs of boots and shoes that have accumulated on a piece of newspaper by the door. It has started snowing again, this time with serious intent, and an inch or so has fallen within half an hour. I am scheduled to collect Louis from Saint Mary's at three fifteen, and in view of the snow, allow myself an extra fifteen minutes travelling time and leave the house at a quarter to three. Progress is unimpeded until I leave the village and take the main road into Beverley, then the traffic is nose to tail and travelling at ten miles per hour through heavy snow. I decide to park by the Girl's High School, at the bottom of Norwood and walk the quarter mile to collect Louis, as the traffic has gridlocked at the lights before the junction of Norwood and New Walkergate. Louis is waiting for me with his teacher, Mrs Wildboar, when I arrive and is much excited by the snowfall. We walk back to the car together in a blizzard and review our plans for the afternoon. Normally we drive to Tickton, where Louis has his ante pasta, before driving to the leisure centre for his swimming lesson, but the traffic is horrendous, due to the snow, so we collect Alice and then spend twenty minutes weaving our way through back streets in order to return to Sarah's house in North Bar Without. Louis and I walk Norman round Seven Corners Lane and engage in a snowball fight, before deciding to cancel the swimming trip. When we return indoors, I make drinking chocolate for us both, and then chat to Alice about the arrangements for our Orange Wednesday film, Les Miserables. Suddenly Louis decides that he wants to swim after all, so we put on our winter gear again and walk the mile to the leisure centre, through town. We have to walk quickly, as it is already twenty to five and his lesson starts at five. No point trying to drive, as the traffic outside the house is almost stationary. In town, the snow has turned to slush and our trouser bottoms and socks are soaked when we eventually enter the changing rooms at the pool. Louis is two minutes late and is one of only three who have braved the conditions to get here. After his swim I dress him and then Sarah picks us up, on her way home from work, in response to my text. It has taken her an hour and a half, for a journey that usually takes twenty minutes. The school run and rush hour is subsiding and we return to North Bar in less than ten minutes, Louis says he doesn't feel well, and Sarah says she is having an early night too, as soon as they have eaten dinner. Norman and I drive home and I serve him a tin of dog food, as soon as we get in, and notice that I have a voice mail. It is from Felicity, she has come down with a cold and when I call her back she sounds dreadful. Apparently Melissa had a cold yesterday and it appears to have spread, let's hope it misses me. Dinner tonight is a reprise of the chile con carne from Saturday, not a bad choice, in view of the weather, so I open a can of San Miguel lager and eat salsa and chips, while I wait for the rice to cook. I had planned to iron tonight, but all the running around has tired me, so it will have to wait until tomorrow. Hull are away to Leyton Orient in the FA cup tomorrow night, but La Boheme is also being beamed from Covent Garden to Cineworld. What a choice, ironing and footy on the radio, or "conspicuous consumption", from the Royal Opera. Lets see how I feel in the morning!