:: cold in winter shock

Yes, after a nice little mild spell it's gone all Arctic again. Or what passes for Arctic here in Blighty. The papers say things like "snow causes chaos in Highlands", when in fact they closed one or two roads (which are closed by snow so often they have snow gates and special poles so the snow ploughs know where to go) and Mrs McPherson's sister Agnes slipped and sprained her ankle on her way down to the shop for a pint of milk and a loaf. Arctic is permafrost, people. Arctic is 50 below zero plus windchill, it's frostbite and hypothermia.

I still get a big thrill from snow, though. My first winter here there was a cracking snowfall one day, so I jumped in my car and drove out to the countryside to get some photos. Driving down through the Borders, visibility started to fall as the wind piled driving snow up in drifts against the fences. How exciting! Then, in the next village, a policeman flagged me down. "Where are you heading?" he asked. Heading? Errrr.... "Jedburgh," I said, having seen that on a sign somewhere. He looked concerned. "You'll not get to Jedburgh this way, the road's closed," he said. "I'm not sure how you'll get there, let's see..." "That's ok, I can stay with friends," I babbled. I turned the car round and went straight home, chastened. I didn't even have a coat on, never mind a thermos flask of coffee, a shovel, sacks for traction, blankets, a torch .... Tsk tsk.

Today I confined myself to a nice walk with the dog - who very much enjoyed the snow.

On Monday we went to Dollar Glen -- it was a good walk, but hell on my knees, despite my walking stick (sorry, Adventure Pole). It was fiercely cold up on the tops, although the sun was shining.

Here's Bertie striking a striking pose (he held it for four shots, while I messed about with exposures and flash!).



And another one, dog walkers on Blackford Hill: