It's snow Captain but not as we know it.

Well the snow has arrived. We've had 15cm in the last 3 days and another 5-10cm expected over the next 24 hours. The kids are having a whale of a time and I have to admit so am I. We've made giant snowballs, a family of snowmen and had numerous snowball fights. Temperatures are thankfully still comfortable in the -5 to +2 degrees ballpark. Less exciting is having to regularly clear the driveway of snow. Apparently, if it isn't done regularly it gets compacted, freezes and becomes both hazardous and more difficult to clear thereafter. My neighbours tell me that by the end of winter the piles of cleared snow at the edges of the drive will be as tall as I am. Who needs the gym when you can shovel snow like this? I think I'll probably buckle by the new year and invest in one of those fancy snowblowers. I've also put a winter pack in the boot of my car consisting of a snow brush/ice-scraper, collapsing snow shovel, blanket, torch, drinking water and emergency chocolate rations. If my car gets stuck in the snow I should use my floor mats under the wheels to get traction. How bad can it possibly get? I friend of mine was following another car on his way home out of town though the snow last week. Conditions were slippery and with no street lights out of town the best he could do was stay in the tracks carved by the car in front. He thought he was doing ok until the car in front of him suddenly disappeared into a deep roadside ditch. Thankfully, my friend was able to stop in time and check on the occupant but it was a close call. It all sounds rather frightening but hey, look on the bright side, at least the bears have all gone into hibernation.

Supermarket of the Living Dead

Halloween is pretty big here. Thankfully I could feign ignorance with the "it's not such a big thing in England" argument and hence managed to avoid having to don a costume for work last Friday. "I've come as a grumpy radiologist" I said excusing myself. It's amazing how many ordinary folk, normally well adjusted work colleagues, are willing to transform themselves into their alter ego for the sake of Halloween. It's an opportunity, for one day in the year only, to be someone completely different and a surprising number of people take it! Work carries on regardless, and patients don't flinch a bit which is surprising when you're having your blood taken by a vampire or being nursed by some ugly witch of a sister (no change there some would say). The rest of the community doesn't escape either. The kids and teachers went to school all dressed up and a zombie even rang my groceries through the till at our supermarket checkout.

I had a great time taking the kids out trick or treating on Friday evening with our neighbour and his children. Some people really went to town decorating their homes and gardens with pumpkins etc. Again I was in the minority of parents who hadn't dressed up as well ("it's ok he's from England"). We only went round our area for an hour but we had to curtail the fun early as the children were struggling to carry their haul of sweets from house to house by the end. Some of the other kids, clearly experienced in this matter, had brought their wagons with them. I was unable to see through their costume masks whether these kids still had their own teeth mind you.

Still it was all good fun and the more so for everyone joining in. Maybe next year I'll even brave putting on a costume of my own. Hmmm, better not quote me on that.