Winter

[Bella Kemp]

Fond memories of coal fires and watching the dancing and colourful flames. If you are lucky enough to live in an area where they are not banned, do light one today: a few home fires won't affect climate change and sitting beside one will surely improve your mental health and sense of well-being. Is it in The Old Curiosity Shop where Dickens lovingly describes a watcher by a coal fire?

[Serial_Apologist]

Terribly tragic news about the lads who perished on that lake after breaking through the ice; however one wonders at such a thing happening. It certainly wouldn't have back in my day - either parents would have been on hand or have given strong prior warnings, and then we would have applied a lump hammer at the very least to the surface to test the ice's strength and depth. It has not been that cold for long enough for it to have been safe.

[Joseph K]

Every year I experience the possibly inexplicable desire to photograph the same Abbey Meadows, usually during more than one season but here we are again. Just the four this time, including a frozen river and a travellers' horse. I got my wish of frost and sun so...

[Serial_Apologist]

Thanks once more, Joseph K.

Three evenings ago someone decided to get out in the snow and and wander through the West End with a camera: here's his recording of the sights, lights and sounds - potentially a valuable document given that it is actually quite hard given our heat leaking buildings and the city's continuous traffic flow for snow to settle in the middle of London. But we'd already had 5 days of sub-zero temperatures to literally prepare the ground. Treat it if you like as an hour or so of "slow TV".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sApvDcSNUkw

[Joseph K]

Thanks once more, Joseph K.

Three evenings ago someone decided to get out in the snow and and wander through the West End with a camera: here's his recording of the sights, lights and sounds - potentially a valuable document given that it is actually quite hard given our heat leaking buildings and the city's continuous traffic flow for snow to settle in the middle of London. But we'd already had 5 days of sub-zero temperatures to literally prepare the ground. Treat it if you like as an hour or so of "slow TV".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sApvDcSNUkw

[Joseph K]

So, not far from us last night it got down to -11! But today is exactly the weather I'd wanted to take some pics, cold but cloudless, though sadly any photos wouldn't pick up the beautiful frost rendered iridescent by the sunlight. Today my walk was around The Lake, and I only uploaded a couple, since if anyone else is like me, they're possibly bored with pictures of the same places I've taken pictures of in previous years...

[Serial_Apologist]

Au contraire. Nowhere is exactly the same when returned to.

[Joseph K]

Au contraire. Nowhere is exactly the same when returned to.

True

Perhaps I'll upload a few more later today...

[teamsaint]

True

Perhaps I'll upload a few more later today...

Please do, I enjoy seeing them.

[Bella Kemp]

Beautiful. Thank you, Joseph.

[Joseph K]

Teamsaint, Bella, you're welcome. Here are the rest of the ones I took yesterday:

[ardcarp]

Great pics, Joseph!

[Joseph K]

Great pics, Joseph!

Thanks!

[Nick Armstrong]

A day or two before the icy blast set in, there was a lovely sunset on one of my rides in Hyde Park:



(Thanks, iPhone)

And then a few days later, the Serpentine was 80% frozen over…



(Note RAH in silhouette behind the trees)

What a winter so far!

[Joseph K]

Great photos, Nick! Especially the first one.