Snow covers the UK (and our cycling routes)

Yours truly in the snow, Friday January 18th 2013.

The snow had been promised by the weathermen and this time they delivered. When I woke up yesterday morning it was clear and I reached work without any hassles, but the snow had started to fall and by the time I reached work it was a blizzard. It didn't stop snowing and by lunchtime it was decided to close the office and we all went home. Despite the snow, I managed to get home without any problems, eating half of my corned beef and mustard sandwiches on the train and the other half on the platform at Purley.

I called Andy and, with some bravado, suggested that unless it was actually snowing, we'd go out on a ride. What I failed to realise was that my bike was in the garage – and so was the car. Not only that, there was snow on the drive and to get the bike out would have meant getting the car on the snowy drive – which might have been problematic – and then having to negotiate slippery road surfaces. Add to that the general unpleasantness of weather like this, which is accentuated while riding a bike, and hey presto! Abort!

Behind that white garage door on the far right is my Kona.

So, here I sit in the conservatory, looking out on the snow. Snow makes everything much brighter, as if there's a full moon. It also makes things much quieter as the snow muffles sound. Yesterday I went out for walk with my daughter around 4pm as the light began to fail and the streetlights were switched on (I know, they come on automatically). There's something quite warming about walking the streets in the snow and noticing lamps on in other people's houses.

There's not much to do in the snow other than relax at home and that's what we did. We'll probably do the same today too. More snow is expected tomorrow (Sunday) so I'm not expecting the bike to come out until next weekend. Andy, if you're reading this, I've still got some slices of cake so worry not! That  and a mug of tea will make next week's ride worth the effort.

The shots accompanying this post were taken while out on the walk.