2016? How did that happen?

[nineveh_uk]

Apparently it is 8 January 2016 today. I’m not sure how it can be so, but reputable sources say that it is, so I suppose I must believe them. A whole week into the new year! A whole week gone at work. Work has actually been quite good; that is, it has been much the same as usual, but I have had vastly more energy and inclination for it than I did in the last couple of weeks of term before Christmas.

Anyway, I had a thoroughly enjoyable Christmas holiday, including:

• Many delightful presents. I am particularly hoping that the digital radio will get me into radio listening more regularly (not just the cricket). I’ve dropped the habit in recent years, which is silly because I really enjoy it.
• An excellent train journey up, a very trying journey down.
• Much food, including the successful cooking of the hare. You get an enormous quantity of meat for £8.50 on a hare.
• Visible snow twice! A miracle given the weather. We had one actually cold day, on New Year’s Day, which happily involved a walk, although the pace that three year olds walk means that I had to go and run up a nearby hill and then catch up half-way through in order not to freeze.
• Some splendid entertainment, of which reviews to come, and also the karaoke, which was a great success. Middle Sister’s rendition of Dire Straights’ ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is fortunately greatly improved since I last heard it and is now quite impressive.
• No work for a fortnight, and most other people being off for all of that, meaning few emails to return to.
• Surprisingly little reading, including only a tiny bit of Yuletide. I am looking on that as some fanfic treats to look forward to in the rest of winter.
• Some successful sales shopping: after saying I was not getting winter work skirts any more, I bought a new one, also drinking glasses, a warm cardigan, and if I get to the shops this lunchtime, possibly a work jacket. [ETA: I didn't get a jacket, it turns out that the reason it was marked down was that it looked like a sack when worn.]

The train problems were caused by a damaged viaduct on the west coast line and a tree on the east coast one, both caused by the absolutely appalling weather in northern England and southern Scotland. Seeing some of the areas of Leeds and York that flooded was staggering; there were areas that haven’t flooded in many decades looking like rivers. Meanwhile Cameron is claiming that he’s investing new money in a Leeds flood scheme, when it's the same money already announced, much of which the council came up with. I would like to think that this ‘winter’ is a wake-up call to the whole country and its politicians on climate change, but I fear it won’t be.

And speaking of the weather, according to the Independent “the coldest winter in 58 years is expected to hit the country.” I think we can all say “yeah, right” to that one. Still, there was actually frost this morning for only the second time this season, and a bit of moderate chill will be no bad thing. Meanwhile it has been -40C in northern Norway, with some interesting pictures. Though I can’t link to the best ones, because this is the week of the Tour de Ski, so I can’t look at any websites that might have skiing news on until I have got home and caught up with the videos. There is nothing like watching winter sports each night to ease the return to the office routine.

Comments

[clanwilliam]

So how did you cook the hare? And did your mother reveal the what traumatised her so much in the past?

[nineveh_uk]

I used this recipe for the hare (though we froze the saddle because there was clearly Too Much Meat). A fairly straightforward casserole recipe, really. We had it with celeriac mash, potatoes, and broccoli, and it was delicious. I rather wish I'd brought some back frozen on the train for dinner that evening.

My mother's previous experience involved a hare that hadn't been jointed, and I'm not sure whether it was skinned. Having watched the butcher joint it, I definitely wouldn't want to do it with a 1970s domestic carving knife. Even our jointed hare produced a lot of blood, too, jointing it yourself you'd get it everywhere. I suspect that this explains the popularity of jugged hare, because it allowed you to avoid that.

[read2day]

Was also stuck on the trains becalmed by the tree (train itself not radically delayed from Alnmouth, but it got a bit becalmed later), so much sympathy on that one.

I would also like a bit more frost, if snow is not to be had this year.

[nineveh_uk]

I hope that your experience wasn't too grim!

It was when I read a tweet to the effect of "people at Berwick-upon-Tweed who have come from Edinburgh should not travel back to Edinburgh to await a later train" that I really sympathised with the east coast brigade. Mine was actually smooth in terms of the actual transport (allowing that it included a coach), just utterly dire in terms of communication. I had turned down a lift to Carlisle only to find myself on a coach to Carlisle...

[perennialanna]

Of course, sometimes three year old walking is so fast that adults are forced to sprint. Often yelling "No, not the puddle, you're not wearing your WELLIES!"

[nineveh_uk]

There did manage to be a puddle incident, but fortunately it was just below wellie height. The meltdown occurred over asking his mother to hold his chocolate snowman and her pretending to bite it, something that is normally hilarious, but of course on this occasion was considered not to be.

[alitheapipkin.livejournal.com]

I love 'Romeo & Juliet', I'm glad you didn't have to listen to it being murdered :)

Much sympathy for the trying train journey! I was so glad we travelled on the Monday after Christmas, the weather has been consistently foul up here from the Tuesday until today, whereas we sailed home with remarkably little weather in sight.

[nineveh-uk.livejournal.com]

I was rather impressed this time round. Last time - no.

The weather was definitely not one of the finer points of the holiday. I hear it's now being horrendous around Aberdeen. Your drive sounds like a lucky break given what has followed.

[alitheapipkin.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's been pretty bad around Tayside and Angus too, I'm glad I haven't needed to leave Dundee. Just hope it clears up later in the month as I'm planning on visiting the parentals again and I'm going to need to take the train.

Can't imagine what a hideous holiday all the poor folks who have been flooded out of their homes have had :( Very glad that Dundee is so hilly and we are well above anywhere likely to flood.

[nineveh-uk.livejournal.com]

Apparently the west coast main line is closed for a month, I'm afraid.

The terrible timing just adds to the industry. When I was a child we were flooded due to a flash flood, but it was clean water, because it was just rain running down the road to our house which was at the bottom, and not on saturated ground, so it drained pretty soon, and it was the middle of summer. It still meant new carpets and decorating the walls, but the sofas could be cleaned, the place remained habitable, and there was no long-term insurance issue. So different from what people have been dealing with.

[alitheapipkin.livejournal.com]

So I have discovered; apparently there's a rail replacement bus service between Edinburgh and Lockerbie and my journey would go up to 7 1/2 hours plus taxi/bus from the station. Looks like I'm not going anywhere unless it's urgent enough to require the Boy taking time off to drive me...

Yeah, water is bad enough but contaminated water must be so awful.

[sonetka.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you had a good Christmas and even got glimpses of snow! We did too, if you really stretch the definition -- the Olympics and Mt. Rainier are 50 miles away at a minimum but hey, they had snow it top, it'll do. And now I'm tempted to seek out some hare, albeit hare prepared by somebody else. Our own weather predictions keep swinging between "El Nino will lead to one of the wettest, coldest winters on record!" to "El Nino will lead to one of the driest, sunniest winters on record!" I suspect that El Nino is being used a scapegoat to cover for the fact that the weather predictors have no idea what will happen.

[nineveh-uk.livejournal.com]

Any visible snow counts!

I suspect that El Nino is being used a scapegoat to cover for the fact that the weather predictors have no idea what will happen.

Same here. It isn't El Nino, folks, it's climate change.

[stevie-carroll.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't worry too much about the cold. I've ordered a fleece-lined rug for Albert, so any cold snap is bound to be over by the time it gets delivered next week.

[nineveh-uk.livejournal.com]

But I like the cold! Though not the heating bill.

[stevie-carroll.livejournal.com]

I don't mind the cold, but I'm paranoid about how the beasties will cope after their move north.

[wellinghall.livejournal.com]

That's more the sort of weather story I'd expect from the Express.

[nineveh-uk.livejournal.com]

I strongly suspect that the unnamed "experts" are indeed Exacta, who the Express get their rubbish from.

[wellinghall.livejournal.com]

You are very probably right.