Armageddon

Is it Armageddon? 10cm's of Snow fell in Charlotte Pass Lookout in the NSW Snowy Mountains as a cold snap hit the Eastern Coast of Australia.

Dublin Airport Closed, flights cancelled across Europe.  Nobody going anywhere in time for Christmas.

The front garden looks like a thick duvet is covering the drive, neither of our cars are home because they are somewhere down the street where we abandoned them.

So is the theory about the Volcanic Eruption that is causing the weather to go screwy true?  I guess I should try and find out.

I found this in The History of British Weather which has some rather remarkable likenesses to what is happening here now:  http://www.netweather.tv/index.cgi?action=other;type=winthist;sess=

1683-84: Now when people think of 'The Big One' in terms of winters, they think of 1947,1963 etc. But there was one winter that easily surpassed both! This winter! Mid December saw the 'great frost' start in the UK and Central Europe. The Thames was frozen all the way up to London Bridge by early January 1684. The frost was claimed to be the longest on record, and probably was. It lasted kept the Thames frozen for 2 months, it froze as deep as 11 inches. Near Manchester, the ground had frozen to 27 inches, and in Somerset, to an astonishing 4 feet! This winter was the coldest in the CET series, at -1.2! (1739-40 was -0.4) This winter was described by R.D. Blackmore, in his book 'Lorna Doone'. In mid February there was a thaw. 

1688-89: Long and severe frosts, Thames froze over. 

1690-99: 6 out of 10 of the winters in this period were described as severe, judging by their CET. Meaning their average temperatures for December, January, February and March were below 3c. 1694-95 heralded deep snow, with falls of continual snow affecting London. This lasted for 5 weeks, along with the freezing of the Thames. This heavy snow and frost theme, continued for a good long while. In fact 1695 is believed to have been one of the coldest years ever recorded, the severe snowy winter ended around mid April, at which time arctic sea ice had extended around the entire coast of Iceland! 1695-96 saw -23c (?) in the UK. A severe winter. The autumn of 1697 was very cold, with snow persisting, and ice forming. The winter of 1697-98 was severe, with a CET of about 1c. Snow and ice built up. Ice on coasts built up to 8 inches in parts. Spring very cold. Generally the late 1600s were very cold, and people probably were affected very badly by this. The cold probably brought famine to the poor, as livestock perished, and crops failed. And without central heating, it must have been unbearable in parts. The 'Little Ice Age' lived up to its name. The final few years weren't as bad, but harvests were still ruined generally as wet weather took over from the cold. 

The 1600s were generally a period of harsh severe winters, and cool/wet springs/summers. At points the Thames was frozen for months, although I think it would have been wider then (?) and shallower (?) so easier to freeze when the temperatures were right. 



1739-40: Severe winter, one of the worst. May have been worse than that of 1715 (?). Late December saw a severely strong Easterly gale set up, brining very cold air over the UK. Ice formed on the Thames, once again. Streets were blocked up with ice and snow, which made travelling hazardous. The Thames remained frozen over for about 8 weeks (?). Some reports said this winter was the most severe on record, with temperatures falling to -24c in early January (1995 beat this and holds the record for the coldest minima in the UK ever). The Easterly gale persisted, with snow and frost becoming an increasing hazard to all. Northerlies also started up, very strong in places, with again snow and ice. This winter can be noted as one of the most severe of all time (since records began). 


AND HERE IS SOMETHING SIMILAR TO WHAT WE HAD THIS YEAR!!!


1783-86: Two succesive severe winters. The Thames froze completely in both, almost continuous frost lasted from early to late winter. Snow remained for as long as 4 months. Attributed to an Icelandic volcanic eruption, although details regarding this are slim. Heavy snow also fell early on in both years, with snow falling as early as October. 1784 was a cold year generally. Sleet was recorded near the coast of the Moray Firth in August! Heavy snow fell in the South in October. The year was ranked in the top 10 coldest years recorded in the CET series. 1785 was very dry and cold, with again early snow in October. 1786 had a very dry summer, and was persistantly cold from September to November. 


813-1814: Not many of the 1800s winters had I heard of before about 3-4 years ago, but this one I had, due to its severe cold. One of the 4/5 coldest winters in the CET series. Colder winters included: 1962-63 (see part 1739-40 (see part 3) and the coldest, 1683-84 (see part 2) 'Lorna Doone'. A memorable winter overall. January to March was very cold. January had a CET of -2.9 (third coldest since records began?) The next comparible year in terms of cold weather being 1962-63. The tidal stretch of the Thames froze for the last time, the old London Bridge was removed, and other factors helped increase the rivers flow, preventing ice forming again. If it was the same now as it was back then, we would still see it being frozen. A frost fair was held on the Thames, possibly the last 'great' one. The frost began in late December, approaching the new year. Thick fog came with the frost, as was common in London at the time. Probably one of the snowiest winters in the last 300 years, although 1947 was likely to have been snowier. Heavy snow fell for 2-3 days in early January, before a temporary thaw of 1 day. Then the frost just returned, possibly more severe than before due to the snow cover, and persisted until early February. A thaw followed later, and ice floating down the river damaged ships. Fog was also a hazard and took a long time to clear, lasting from late December to early January, an unusual occurrence. Visibility was down to 20 yards at times! Traffic hardly moved, and travelling became very dangerous. The fog cleared following a Northerly gale in early January, when heavy snow fell. A severe and very snowy winter.

1816: Known as the year without summer, snow fell very late on, and the summer never recovered. The winter proceeding it was severe. A volcanic eruption (Tambora: East Indies) disrupted wind patterns and temperatures greatly, affecting the track of depressions, which tracked further South than usual, and making the UK very cold an wet for the summer and beyond. Scotland was drier though, an obvious sign that the depressions changed track. In September the Thames had frozen! Snow drifts remained on hills until late July! 

1819-20: Severe winter. -23c was recorded at Tunbridge Wells, although no details of exposure are evident. 


1834-38: Snowy winter in Scotland. Snow lasted well into March, with 8 or 9 feet of snow being reported in parts! This trend continued for a number of winters, with a lot of snow in Scotland. From early winter, December, to late winter, March, snow was a problem. There were considerable accumulations, becoming common throughout the winter. Snow fell widely, but mostly in the North of Scotland, where accumulations were very large, right through until April. 1836-37 was another snowy winter in the series, with heavy falls of snow in January. Blizzards began in late February, and lasted into March. Transport was severely disrupted, and harvest damaged by harsh frosts. This series of winters was severe, and notable, especially for Scotland, but very bad elsewhere also. The most notable of the snowstorms being:

October 1836, snow reached depths of 5-6 inches, very unusual.

25th December 1836, roads impassable, snow depths reached a staggering 5-15 feet in many places, and most astonishingly, drifts of 20-50 feet!!!!!!!!!

1837-38: Murphys winter. Patrick Murphy won fame and a small fortune from the sale of an almanac in which he predicted the severe frost of January 1838 (a 2 month frosty period set in with a light SE wind & fine day with hoar frost on the 7th (or 8th) January) (quoted from a web-page). 20th January saw temperatures as low as -16c in London, accepted as the coldest recorded here of the 19th century. -20 recorded at Blackheath, and -26c at Beckenham, Kent. The temperature at Greenwich was -11c at midday!!!! The Thames froze over.
1838: Snow showers on 13th October, possibly in London and the South. 


1885-1886: Snow fell in October, November, December, January, February, March, April and May! London recorded 1ft of snow in7 hours in early January. In the North a blizzard dumped 2ft of snow widely, and in May the North of England got a heavy fall. Very Snowy

1878-80: 2ft of Snow fell in Oxford in October! A ferocious blizzard raged in the North East in March. 10th June saw snow in Scotland, of 6 inches! 11th July reportedly saw snow in the South and East, Keswick saw snow above 1000ft.

From 1895-99 the UK had 4 consecutive years of little/average snowfall, of which the only noteworthy fall was of 1ft in the Eastern spine of the country. 1899-00 saw general snow of 1ft, 2ft in places. The following year wasn't exceptional either, although 5-7ft of snow was recorded in North Wales and Northern England. Both years were snowy. 


1932-33: Late October, snow fell in Scotland, an early start to the skiing season! Late February there was a Great Blizzard, for Ireland, Wales, South West England, Northern England, and the Midlands. Whipsnade recorded 2ft of snow, Harrogate and Huddersfield 30 inches, Buxton 28 inches! Very Snowy. 


VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS:



LAKI (1783) -- The eastern U.S. recorded the lowest-ever winter average temperature in 1783-84, about 4.8^OC below the 225-year average. Europe also experienced an abnormally severe winter. Benjamin Franklin suggested that these cold conditions resulted from the blocking out of sunlight by dust and gases created by the Iceland Laki eruption in 1783. The Laki eruption was the largest outpouring of basalt lava in historic times. Franklin's hypothesis is consistent with modern scientific theory, which suggests that large volumes of SO2 are the main culprit in haze-effect global cooling.
TAMBORA (1815) -- Thirty years later, in 1815, the eruption of Mt. Tambora, Indonesia, resulted in an extremely cold spring and summer in 1816, which became known as theyear without a summer. The Tambora eruption is believed to be the largest of the last ten thousand years. New England and Europe were hit exceptionally hard. Snowfalls and frost occurred in June, July and August and all but the hardiest grains were destroyed. Destruction of the corn crop forced farmers to slaughter their animals. Soup kitchens were opened to feed the hungry. Sea ice migrated across Atlantic shipping lanes, and alpine glaciers advanced down mountain slopes to exceptionally low elevations.
KRAKATAU (1883) -- Eruption of the Indonesian volcano Krakatau in August 1883 generated twenty times the volume of tephra released by the 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens. Krakatau was the second largest eruption in history, dwarfed only by the eruption of neighboring Tambora in 1815 (see above). For months after the Krakatau eruption, the world experienced unseasonably cool weather, brilliant sunsets, and prolonged twilights due to the spread of aerosols throughout the stratosphere. The brilliant sunsets are typical of atmospheric haze. The unusual and prolonged sunsets generated considerable contemporary debate on their origin.They also provided inspiration for artists who dipicted the vibrant nature of the sunsets in several late 19th-century paintings, two of which are noted her
PINATUBO (1991) -- Mt. Pinatubo erupted in the Philippines on June 15, 1991, and one month later Mt. Hudson in southern Chile also erupted. The Pinatubo eruption produced the largest sulfur oxide cloud this century. The combined aerosol plume of Mt. Pinatubo and Mt. Hudson diffused around the globe in a matter of months. The data collected after these eruptions show that mean world temperatures decreased by about 1 degree Centigrade over the subsequent two years. This cooling effect was welcomed by many scientists who saw it as a counter-balance to global warming.

Success is

The Zombies - A rose for Emily

Sad Lyrics but beautiful tune!

Is this what Christmas has come to

It's Sunday I left home at 11:15 to go down to the local shopping mall to start getting a few bits and pieces together for Christmas, well so did a million other people ... there was a 5km tail back just to get near the place, so I would hate to know what the parking lot looked like, there was just NO way I was going to join the madness, so I turned around.  Em and I enjoyed a bit of mommy, daughter shopping at a local retail outlet and then from there stopped and got a cooked chicken, rolls and ice cream and headed home.  Much safer, wiser choice.  I guess if I am going to do this Christmas thing, I have to time it with military precision, so will either be going in the evening or 8 a.m. Saturday morning.

Hello Christmas where did you spring from?

I haven't had the inclination to write a post lately, probably just too much happening around me and I have not got myself prepared for Christmas at all.  As you know we were snowed in last week and the ice has still not melted, you see we live in a party of the city where we seem to be a bit higher up than everyone else and if you go 10 minutes up the road, there is still 2 feet of snow and ice and the temperature also drops by at least 5 degrees.  Anyway the snow has made people angry and drive like idiots and just generally bring out the worst in everyone.

Because I work from 9:00 to 17:30 all I want is to get to work safely with out skidding on black ice or snow and get home safely, so hence have not been to the shops, and now am becoming desperate.  The house looked like a tip as well from all the snow being sludged through the house, but thank you God for my Angel Inga who visits me once a month and waves her magic wand and everything is clean again.  I think I would rather give up food than give up Inga!  Talking of which, Christmas again, because the house was so nice and bright and clean on Friday when I got home, and the neighbors had put out their 6 foot Santa and snowman on the roof and lit up the entrance to their drive with a million little Christmas lights, I thought it best to get into the swing of things.  So once I had picked up Em and made us eggs on toast for dinner, we put up the Christmas tree.  I was all done by 9 o'clock last night and just the tinsel, lights and of course the stairway banister to be done, which I leave to the expert of the house.  He went to his Christmas party last night while I was in bed early because I had to work today, well I think I broke all speed limits getting to work - I had to be there by 10, left here @ 9:43 and clocked in 28km's later at 10:01 let's hope there are no speed cameras down the M50.

Okay so getting back to food, I am trying to decide what my Christmas Dinner (Lunch) is going to consist of  and I have decided to try totally different things this year.  Tell me what you think of the menu:

Starters

Prawn Cocktail

Main Course

Baked Ham 

(Honey & Mustard side sauce)

Roast Chicken with Thyme and herbs and Gravy

With 

Cauliflower & Broccoli with Cheese Sauce

Honey Roast Carrots and parsnips

Brussels Sprouts 

Roasted Vegetable Medley

Mashed Potatoes 

Desert

Chocolate Mousse

Ice - Cream

Chocolate Fountain with Fresh fruits, biscuits & Marshmallows for dipping

Afters

Kahlua Coffees

Port 
Home Made Christmas Cake

What do you think?  Too much or just too many different varieties? 12 Days ... I have to get my pressies done soon!!!!

Busy Week-End

I'm not sure what it is but although everything Christmasy is happening around me, I just don't feel like it's Christmas, maybe it's because I still need to put our tree up and I don't want to do that till I have cleaned the house, and I haven't done any Christmas shopping either.  However yesterday Em's school had their Christmas fair, so I guess I should start getting into the spirit of things!

Snowy Week - Sunday 28th Nov 2010 - Friday 3rd December 2010

The Big Snow

I decided to search the internet to see when Dublin & Ireland had so much snow before and I came across this article which was really interesting:



AN ACCOUNT OF THE BIG SNOW”
(24TH FEBRUARY 1933)


Monday Night 8.30pm

My Dear M & B,

I hope you are both well and that you did not experience the awful blizzard, which visited us on Friday last. We have just been through the biggest snowstorm in living memory. I believe the last similar one occurred in 1867. I had often pictured in my mind what it would be like to have the roads blocked with snow six to eight feet deep, but now we have the reality.

I believe this storm will rank in the minds of the peasantry with the big wind of 1839 and the lesser one of 1903. It will be a long time until all the episodes of the storm will be narrated and then of course they will all have to be told over and over again.

I should mention of course that we do not know yet how Sissie has faired, but of course we hope for the best.

Now to begin, we were invited down to Brady’s (the shop) for a card game on Thursday evening, but as it commenced to snow about six o’clock Ma and Gretta would not set out. I was glad after that they didn’t as it was snowing heavily at ten o’clock and eleven and we would have got it very hard to get home.
On Friday morning we awoke to find the ground covered with snow, only about an inch, however, and it was not snowing then. When we were eating our breakfast at nine o’clock it commenced to snow again, rather fine snow with a driving north wind.

I started out to school and was overtaken by Mrs. Kelly at Peter Garvey’s Cottage, she was a sight. Her coat and hat being covered with frozen snow. As we proceeded down the exposed portion of the road, we felt the full force of the icy blast and I was forced to cover my ear with my hand as I could not stand the cold.
Fourteen children answered the roll call and I made up my mind that I would dismiss them at 12 o’clock, I expected the priest down then to hear confessions. We could see through the school windows that it was snowing heavily all the time and that the wind had increased but we had no idea it was so awful outside.
At 12 o’clock the children got their cocoa and I went round to the little house to tell Mrs. Kelly and Miss Plunkett that I would let them home. At this time it was impossible to see more that two yards ahead of you on the road and as I was going into the school again I thought I saw a load of fodder or something at the churchyard gate. On closer investigation it proved to be a mound of snow about seven feet high.
I then marshalled the kids and told them how to proceed on the homeward journey. I gave them strict instructions to keep together and to go into the nearest house when they could proceed no further.
Peter Gaynor called in then and said that he got it very hard to get down. He took his own children in tow and also all who were going his way. Sissie Reilly went with him too and as she was to go up to Keogh’s for the milk, I told her to wait for me at Keogh’s gate. 

I then locked up, muffled up and proceeded homewards with two wee cans of water from the pump. The snow was heaping up on the left hand side of the road and even on the right side it was 10 feet deep in places. I was almost winded when I got to Keogh’s gate and was glad of the shelter. I saw that there was a small tree right across the road a few perches ahead.

Since Sissie Reilly was not appearing I had to go up to Keogh’s for her. The yard was filled with Sheep and Cattle all covered with snow, the weirdest thing you ever saw. Sissie Reilly and I then started for home. When we got on to the road we honestly could not see one yard ahead of us with the driving snow, while the icy wind almost took our breath away. I got the wind up in more senses than one and Sissie Reilly became hysterical. I judged it better to stand awhile to draw our breath. Thus fortified we started off again, often floundering through snowdrifts two and three feet deep. 

At last Peter Gaynor’s cottage loomed ahead and I went into see did they all get home safely and what became of the two Mulvany’s from Seymourstown who had also been at school. I found that Peter had them inside and I took them up to our house. I met Paddy Nulty starting out to meet Sissie and when he left Sissie in, he came up after me to tell me how he was going down to tell me not to let out the children until someone called for them.

I then got the wind up about three children who had to go on beyond the little new cottage on the Virginia Rd. Station road. I know that if they were overcome I would be partly to blame. Paddy Nulty volunteered to inquire after them as he had to go down to tell the postman that he could not drive him into Kells.
I could hardly eat my dinner with the excitement of my journey home and my anguish about the children. However, Paddy Nulty reappeared in about an hour and a half with the following story.

He found that the two girls remained in Finnens but that the little fellow had started out on his own! Paddy then started out with the two girls (I should mention that Frances Nulty was with them too). They inquired at Daly’s and found that young Walshe had passed there anyway. They then entered the next collage and found him sitting at the fire. It appears he went on a little farther but getting a bit bogged had the good sense to come back.

The Nulty’s, having collected him, started out again, but on being confronted with a wall of snow ten feet high, they returned and defrosted the children in the last mentioned cottage. They were not removed from there until 9.30 that night although within a quarter of a mile of their own home. This story eased my mind regarding the children and I started to enjoy the comforts of a good fire. I should mention that I gave Paddy Nulty a glass of whisky for his trouble. I had a mouthful when I came home myself as I was shivering like an aspen, not so much with the cold as with fright.

Gretta in the meantime was looking after the needs of our two protégés. Their father arrived about half four, dead beat. It took him three hours to do the journey and he was nearly lost in a snowdrift at Johnny Smiths gate. It appears he began to shout for help on approaching our house but of course was not heard above the howling of the storm. We could not of course allow him face home again and so we had three for the night. 

The back door could not be opened with all the snow that was against it (it opens out you know) and so I went out with a shovel to relieve matters. I found no table, no paraffin tanks, but a big heap of snow up to the latch of the door. I had a nice job to shovel it away while the storm still raged. The open shed was filled almost to the roof with snow while there was about a foot of snow on top of the car in the shed. The house had a peculiar appearance on the outside, every window was completely blocked up with snow and there was a fringe of snow about six inches wide all round the frames of the front door. Mrs. Kelly and Miss Plunkett got as far as Keoghs where they remained for the night. The postman remained in his little tin hut all night. It was very weird to be sitting inside at the fire listening to the howling of the storm, while we could see nothing, as all the windows were blocked up with snow. 

The hens did not put even their beaks out all day. They had to be fed inside in their house and locked up again immediately, they only got one feed. As poor Judy and Pearl would have no place to lie outside they were kept indoors, both that night and the next and I must say they behaved very decorously indeed.
Ma and in fact we all were troubled about Sissie, afraid she would be so foolish as to try and brave the storm in her endeavours to reach Piercetown. As I said before we do not yet know how she fared. The storm eased off about nine o’clock. We heard on the wireless that it was pretty bad in Dublin too. All traffic stopped etc.The Shannon Scheme Wires were broken down, all communication with the provinces was cut off both by road, rail and wire and there were several pathetic S.O.S’s.

Well we slept but on Saturday morning what a sight met our eyes when we ventured forth. I should say here that I was up and out at 8 o’clock and after a preliminary survey I armed myself with a shovel and started to excavate passages from the various doors and sheds etc.

The road from our house to Peter Gaynor’s was pretty clear, there being only about two feet of snow on it, but from the pump right across the road to Nulty’s garden, there was a hill of snow seven feet high at least. I could not look across it. This hill continued up to John Lynch’s shed, here there was a valley and beyond that again the snow was eight feet deep almost to Brennan’s Cottage. The surface of the snow was not level, but in places took on the most fanciful shapes like curling waves or the curved backs of old fashioned furniture. 

On the Chapel side the snow become deep below Gaynor’s Cottage and from that down to Keogh’s was eight feet deep all the way. Neddy Quinn from Barney Hill was the first wayfarer to pass by. He was going to look after Cattle at Condy’s Cross. It took him three hours to reach our house and as he breasted the snowy waves armed with a short shovel, which he plunged in the snow at every step, he looked like an intrepid Polar explorer or a bold Swiss Mountaineer. Mrs. Kelly came next escorted by Johnny Keogh (Miss Plunkett faced home across the fields with another escort), then came the postman, trudging his weary way to Kells. Paddy Nulty and I then faced for Finnens for water and of course cigarettes, I resurrected by leggings for the occasion.

It was comparatively easy to walk on top of the snow and in places we walked into the fields and on to the road again just for the fun of it. From Keoghs to Finners the road was not too bad and on the left side of the road there was a pass all the way only about one foot deep. When we arrived, old Finnen was busy cutting a pass from the shop door to the pump. Here the snow was 2 feet deep.

Tuesday 3.00 pm
The children’s father faced home after breakfast on Saturday morning, but he did not bring them with him so we had them on Saturday night too. After dinner on Saturday Gretta and I faced for the well at Brennan’s. We had quite an exciting journey and while the snow was for the most part hard, we now and again sank down to our knees. Barney called down to see us. He said that the road from his house to Condy’s Cross was even worse than ours.

The question now was how long would the snow remain and how long would the food supply hold out. Well we were lucky to have a good supply of bacon, butter, tea, sugar, flour and some bread, while we could procure fresh mutton from Keoghs.

I had to dispense some bags of coal to the neighbours so as to keep the home fires burning. On Sunday morning we were up betimes, but the snow had abated very little. We were not sure whether the priest could come or not and we were in and out watching him.

We could see the people walking across the snow clad fields from Balgree and Ballyhist and then a lot of people appeared in the field beyond Nulty’s garden (it was easier to go by the fields). Then Father Drake appeared breasting Mt. Blanc at John Lynch’s shed and behind him in single file came 15 or 20 others. 
Gretta and I went down to mass which was short and sweet. We met Mickie after mass and he told us that both Matt and Alick were again confined to bed and that Alicks breathing was a bit short. Matt too is very feeble and has to be helped in and out of bed. They have a hard job nursing them both. Unfortunately I cannot go over to see them until the snows clear. We sent the two Mulvany’s home with their friends after mass on Sunday. I went down to school on Monday, but only a few scholars turned up so I packed them home again. I did the same to-day (Tuesday). It is much harder to travel to-day as the snow is soft and treacherous and I’m thinking it will be even worse to-morrow.

Some Items of the Storm:
The children set “elephant” traps in the snow and were well rewarded to see some travellers plunge into them.

Gaynor’s white goat did not become visible until Monday, she was covered up in a drift alongside our field. She is going strong.

Keogh’s had a goat, which only thawed out yesterday also they had been walking across her for two days in a big drift. She also is alive.

A few fields over beyond Nulty’s a bullock was smothered in a huge snowdrift. Several people had to dig sheep and lambs out of the snowdrifts.

I don’t know how the poor birds survived the storm but anyway they turned up quite perky on Saturday morning and gladly availed themselves of the crumbs we put in the window sills. 

We have, or rather the Nulty’s have, rediscovered a new well down a bit from John Lynches shed. It may turn out useful now that the pump is undrinkable. 

All roads from Dublin are passable to-day, except the Dublin to Kells road. The postman walked out from Kells to-day, but I hadn’t my letter ready for him. In any case it would get no farther than Kells as the Dublin road is blocked and the trains are not running on account of the railway strike. 

In front of our door the snow was level with the window sill. Some of the fields were hardly covered with snow while all the roads were blocked. It is raining heavy now (3.30pm Tuesday) so that will cause the snow to melt much faster. 

Katie Keogh was to have been married in Dublin this morning to a man called Fallon, a native of Multyfarnham. He has a garage in Clare Street, Dublin. Father Lynam was to go up to marry them and Mrs. Keogh, Johnny, young Seán and Miss Plunkett were to be there too. I suppose the wedding had to be postponed. Katie herself is in Dublin and may, however, have been married. 

Father Drake was saying mass in Johnny Tully’s on Friday morning. He had to leave his car there on the road and walk home. Several cars were snowed up between here and Oldcastle. Lynch’s big Lorry was the last car to pass on Friday morning. We shall anxiously await its return from Oldcastle, as it will be the dove with the olive branch, which will show us that the snow has abated from the face of the roads.

I hope Jimmie has by this time recovered from the flu. I suppose he is in the continent by this time. You cannot say at any rate that this is a short letter or an uninteresting one. I hope it will absolve me from writing again until after Easter in any case. Am not posting until tomorrow, Wednesday.


Your affectionate brother
Patsy


Late News:
The postman has just arrived with your weekly bulletin. We were glad to note that you all got over the storm ok. No word has arrived from Sissie yet. I am dropping her a line now as postal communication has been restored.

G and I were at mass this morning. We brought some ashes home to Ma. No school today either. We heard there were 9 or 10 lives lost in the storm. It is reported that 5 children were lost in the storm but the report is not confirmed. It appears Dr. Mulvany, our bishop, was on his way from Navan to Athboy on Friday last. He was forced to take refuge in a little shop outside Athboy (it must be near Moyaugher) and stayed there all night. He is still held up in Athboy. We heard to-day that K. Keogh may have been married as Fr. Drake walked into Kells and wired instructions to proceed with the marriage.


So long
Patsy


There is still 3 feet of snow on the road to chapel.


Courtesy of Ballinlough-Kilskyre Historical Society

Two Feet of Snow

Zapiro on Herschelle Gibbs and Cricket ...

The Christmas Season ...

This 
Xmas, 
I would 
like to put 
up a tree in my 
heart, and instead 
of hanging presents, 
I would like to put the 
names of all my friends. 
Close friends and not so close 
friends. The old friends, the new 
friends. Those that I see every day 
and the ones that I rarely see. The ones 
that I always remember and the ones that 
I sometimes forget. The ones that are always 
there and the ones that seldom are. The friends of 
difficult times and the ones of happy times. Friends 
who, without meaning to, I have hurt, or without meaning 
to have hurt me. Those that I know well and those I only know 
by name. Those that owe me little and those that I owe so much. 
My humble friends and my important friends. The names of all those 
that have passed through my life no matter how fleetingly. A tree with 
very deep roots and very long 
and strong branches so that 
their names may never be 
plucked from my heart. So 
that new names from all 
over may join the existing ones. A tree with a very 
pleasant shade so that our friendship may take a 
moment of rest from the battles of life. "May the 
happy moments of Xmas brighten every day of 
the new year". These are my sincere wishes.

Another Early Christmas Present

We decided to give Em her Christmas present early seeing as we had heavy snowfall on Saturday night, and who knows if we get any more this year.  She had great fun being pulled around on her new red sled. 

SNOW, SNOW, SNOW and MORE SNOW

Last night I had to leave my car at the bottom of the hill as it just would not make it up, I phoned Derrick and I think he tried for about 2 hours to move it but eventually decided to just park it at the bottom of the hill.

Tonight after being stuck on the motorway for ages I eventually arrived into our estate and once again could not make it up the hill, but there were about 8 or 9 guys shoveling snow in the road making the road more accessible for the neighbors, Emily was helping too and doing a sterling job - she was also helping push cars up the road.  But this whole snow ordeal has reminded me about that email that went around a few years ago, and luckily someone sent it to me tonight, so I thought I would share it with you all.

The following is a diary of a South African who emigrated to the United Kingdom to escape the crime, corruption, inefficiency and Bee.

December 31st

Started snowing the first of the season and the first real snow we have ever seen. The wife and I took our buttered buns and sat by the window watching the snow flakes drift down, clinging to the trees and covering the ground, it was beautiful.

January 1^st

Happy New Year what a wonderful start to the year

We woke to a lovely blanket of crystal white snow covering the landscape and what a fantastic sight every tree and shrub covered with a beautiful white mantle. I shovelled snow for the first time and loved it. I did both our driveway and pavement. Later the snow plough came along and accidentally covered up our driveway and compacted snow from the street but the driver smiled and I waved back and continued shovelling.

January 2nd

It snowed an additional 5inches last night and the temperature has dropped to around eleven degrees, several branches on the trees and shrubs have snapped due to the weight of the snow. I shovelled our driveway again. Shortly afterwards the snowplough came and did the trick again. The snow is turning brownish grey.

January 3rd

Warmed up enough to create some slush, which soon became ice again when the temperature dropped. I bought snow tyres for the car. Slipped and fell on my arse on the driveway. £145 for the chiropractor but nothing broken. More snow expected tonight. 

January 4^th

Still bitter cold, sold wife’s car and bought a 4X4 in order to get to work. Slid into the guard rail and some considerable damage to the rear bumper and right rear panel. Had another 6 inches of white shit last night. Car covered in salt and sh*t, more shovelling in store for today. The f*cking snow plough came past twice today.

January 5^th

7 degrees outside more f*cking snow. Not a tree or shrub on our property that has nor been damaged. Power was off most of the night, tried to stop from freezing to death with candles and paraffin heater which tipped over and nearly burnt the f*cking house down. I managed to put out the flames but suffered second degree burns on my hands and lost all of my eyebrows and eyelashes. The car skidded on the ice on the way to the hospital and it looks like it is a write-off.

January 6^th

Fucking white sh*t keeps falling day and night. I have to put on all my clothes just to go outside. If I ever catch that f*cking bastard that drives the snow plough I will pull his f*cking arms and legs off. I think he hides around the corner and waits for me to finish shovelling, and then he comes down the road at a 100 mph and buries the driveway and pavement again. Power still off, toilet froze and the roof has started to cave in with the weight of the snow.

January 7^th

Oh God, 6 more inches of snow and f*cking ice and who knows what other kind of sh*t fell last night. I wounded the f*cking snowplough driver with an ice pick but he got away. The wife has left me to join her mother in Spain. The car won’t start and I think I am going snow blind. I cannot move my toes anymore and haven’t seen the sun in weeks. More snow predicted, wind chill is 22 f*cking degrees below.

F*ck this I am moving back to South Africa.

The Best Present Ever

This winter I have been feeling a lot colder than normal, and for the last 10 years I have been threatening to get an electric blanket.  So last Thursday I emailed hubby at work and asked him please to go and purchase one, sent him the link and everything, but of course he had already taken his lunch and couldn't go out again, but Friday I reminded him again and lone behold he brought home my New "Monogram Tranquility fitted blanket", he even put it on the bed before going out in the elements.  So of course Em and I climbed into the nice warm bed, I was still going to go down after she fell asleep and do some stuff on the computer, but after being in that nice warm bed, nothing was going to get me out.

Then of course it started snowing on Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and the temperatures have been sub zero for a while, but having my new blanket has made all the difference and even hubby is enjoying climbing into a nice warm bed.  Guess we will have to re-evaluate how often it comes on once the electricity bill comes.

When I tell everyone here about my blanket, they just can't believe it is the first time we have purchased one and we have been here now for our 10th Winter.

Now do they make electric pillow warmers and electric toilet seat warmers?

SNOWVEMBER

Thought for today!

I cannot change the way I am, I never really try, God made me different and unique, I never ask him why. If I appear peculiar, There's nothing I can do, You must accept me as I am, As I've accepted you. God made a casting of each life, Then threw the Mold away, Each child is different from the rest, Unlike as night from day. So often we will criticize, The things that others do, But, do you know, they do not think, The same as me and you. So God in all his wisdom, Who knows us all by name, He didn't want us to be bored, That's why we're not the same ~Author Unknown~

One Month to Christmas ....

Where does the time go???  I can't believe that it is only one month to Christmas, I have not bought a single Christmas present and I haven't finished making the special one for hubby from Em, so I had better get my A into G and do it.  I also don't have too much time, because week-ends are taken up from now until Christmas, so it will probably be late night shopping nights to get everything done.  And then of course the big question is what to buy, good thing I don't have too many to buy for.

Faryl Smith - Britains Got Talent first audition - 2008

Preparation for Snow ...

So the forecast is for snow tomorrow,  it is very early this year and it is very cold this early ... anyway to make sure I am well prepared for any eventuality I am going to prepare a travel kid for my car just in case.  But firstly need to ensure the car is filled with petrol in case of tailbacks in the traffic, water, fruit, energy bar and a blanket (car heater is contemplating going on the blink at the moment).  And hopefully if I am prepared for a blizzard we will just get a light dusting of the white stuff and nothing else, and the real snow will wait for the Christmas week-end like it is supposed to and not arrive on the 24th of November ... I ask you!

It get's Worse ... 

Santa Visit & Skating Sunday

Just a Family Sunday!

A Prayer for Dad

"Dear God, 

This year please send clothes for all those poor ladies on
Daddy's computer. 

Amen."

Will & Kate

I was thrilled to see the Prince William had become engaged to Kate Middleton, but quite taken aback when I saw that he had given Kate, Princess Diana’s engagement ring – I actually thought it was a bit tacky and also a bit expectant, I know that William did it for the memory and love of his mother, however he should have stopped to think.

As it is all the world’s eyes will be on Kate expecting her to live up to Princess Dianna, and by giving her that ring it would have more expectations of her to be more like Princess Dianna.  I felt so sorry for the poor girl last night when they interviewed her, she was obviously very much unprepared for the questions that they threw at her, she stumbled and fumbled and did not really answer the question and William had to step in and help.  I think she just wanted to crawl under the carpet.

Even William at one stage said he can’t wait for the interview to be over!  Surely someone in Buckingham palace should have coached Kate before going on Live Television in front of the world, and especially because of the fact that William had given her Diana’s ring, they should have known that she would have been bombarded with questions about comparisons with her and Dianne – the poor girl!  I blame the people in charge of the royal family – heads should roll! J

To be honest I was hoping he would have given her a beautiful 6 carat pear shaped Diamond knuckle duster that would have created frenzy with people wanting a knock off, just like when Dianne got engaged.  

I feel sorry for Kate as I think the more and more she is in the public eye and doing public engagements she is going to be compared to Princess Dianna, and however much she tries to create her own identity she will more than likely be criticised.   So as much as being the king’s wife and a princess sound so appealing, I would not like to walk in her shoes for a day.

I do however look forward to watching the wedding on TV as I did 30 years ago watching Dianne & Charles get married, I think it is probably high time there was a wedding.  We all know that Harry will be best man and I don’t think it will be long before Harry and Chelsea take the same step.

Blogs

One of my favourite blogs at the moment is the Jo'burg photo Blog, the old saying "A picture paints a thousand words" is so true in this case, the author of the blog hardly says anything, but he tries to put a photo of Jo'burg up every day and words are not necessary.  I often reminisce of the place if I have been there, or try and picture it in my minds eye when something has changed so much that it is unrecognisable - I spent 37 years living in my birth country and being brought up on the South side of Johannesburg, we spent a lot of time in Jo'burg city going to movies, discos, ice skating, Hillbrow - I knew Jo'burg by night, I worked there in the day ... but so much has changed and I am glad to see that things are starting to improve.

There is an ad on TV in Ireland that is shot in the middle of Jo'burg but for the life of me I can't think what ad it is now, but I always feel proud - that is where I worked I say to Emily when they show a shot of commissioner street.  Miss the old country.

Another interesting Jo'burg site is: http://www.gautengfilm.co.za/live/content.php?Item_ID=409

Wednesday Joke

THE JEWS SANK THE TITANIC ????

The plane leaves Heathrow Airport under the control of a Jewish captain. His co-pilot is Chinese. It's the first time they've flown together and an awkward silence between the two seems to indicate a
mutual dislike.

Once they reach cruising altitude, the Jewish captain activates the auto-pilot, leans back in his seat, and mutters, 'I don't like Chinese..'

'No rike Chinese?' asks the co-pilot, ... 'why not?'

'You people bombed Pearl Harbor , that's why!'

'No, no', the co-pilot protests, 'Chinese not bomb Peahl Hahbah! That Japanese, not Chinese.'

'Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese... .doesn't matter, you're all alike!'

There's a few minutes of silence..

'I no rike Jews!' the co-pilot suddenly announces.

'Oh yeah, why not?' asks the captain.

'Jews sink Titanic!' says the co-pilot.

'What? You're insane! Jews didn't sink the Titanic!' exclaims the captain, 'It was an iceberg!'

Iceberg, Goldberg, Greenberg, Rosenberg , ....nomattah...all same ! ! !

Update

My blog seriously needs an update, but it is 23:38 and the wind is howling outside, so will have to wait for another time, but just to let you know, I am still alive. x

Dancing at the Movies - Music Video

A compilation of 40 movies - Brilliant!

Skinny Mamma: Vajazzle - would you/have you??

Skinny Mamma: Vajazzle - would you/have you??: "I came accross the funniest thing today - ok I am sure that most of you already know about this 'latest' trend, but it was a shock to me!! ..."

"Every little thing's gonna be alright"

Why Worry?

I received an email last night which was a Power Point slide which really touched me and made me think.

Is it just human nature that makes us worry?  And the more worldly possessions we have, does that make us worry more?

I have been in the situation where I have lost my favourite worldly possessions on more than one occasion, and it taught me a serious lesson, never to have a favourite possession because as soon as you favour something you end up losing it or it breaks or something happens to it.

With Ireland being in the throes of a recession / depression, with taxes going up, you wonder how you are able to cope and most of us will worry about how we are going to pay the bills, but I guess we do manage. 

Lately I have been thinking about my childhood and growing up, I remember my parents constantly worrying about the bills, it was the 70’s in South Africa and we lived in a middle class suburb on the “poorer” side of town.  I don’t ever remember getting shop bought clothes, they were always made by the dress maker out of crimplene – but how times have changed.  Dress makers are sort after skills and these days it would cost more to have a dress custom made than to buy it in a shop.

We never had luxury holidays, I remember in Standard 2 one of the guys in my class his father was a doctor and when we got back from our summer holidays we all had a turn to tell the class what we had done over the summer holidays, and he had been on a family holiday to Mauritius and gone on a glass bottom boat, wow that was back in 1973 – I only managed to do the Mauritius trip in 1994, but I still got to do it.

Times were hard but my mother and father had both been through the war, so not having was not unusual for them, however they would have been in the situation where they would have been wealthy and then lost it all and had to cope with that, in that case you would think what could you have done differently to prevent it happening.   Had my father not made the decisions he did regarding his construction company and had he not been swindled out of thousands of pounds in the 60’s where would I be today?

But as the saying from the 1800’s goes “if ifs and ands were pots and pans, there'd be no work for tinkers' hands”, so we deal with our situation as it is – worrying creates Stress, which can lead to heart attacks and stroke and of course medical costs.  So how does one stop stressing about the costs and the bills and everything else in life? 

It’s easy to say “why are you worried at least you have a roof over your head and food and clothes” etc.  Yes there are people worse off than me, why look at all those property investors who are now millions in debt, but the tax payer is bailing them out and the banks who loaned them the money.  If I can’t pay my bills, who is going to bail me out?  

I have decided though for my health I am going to stop worrying because it isn’t doing my health any good and I can’t control the future so I just have to live each day at a time and come what may!  "!Que sera sera"

I went totally off the subject of the power point slide, but it basically has pictures of people from 3^rd world countries and us comparing what we don’t have and looking at their strife, for instance showing how children in modern countries won’t eat their vegetables’ and then showing a starving child somewhere in Africa, and so it goes on showing the sad plight of others and how lucky we are to have what we have. 

Water the Essence of Life ...

“Your Body’s Many Cries for Water” by F. Batmanghelidj, M.D. The theory that Dr. Batmanghelidj proposes is that almost all bodily ailments, no matter where and how they manifest in the body, are usually caused by our body cells being chronically dehydrated, and that the cure for almost all illness is simply to get our cells properly hydrated again.

Dr. Batmanghelidj had been a medical doctor living in Iran when he was arrested and thrown into jail on trumped up political charges. He was scheduled to be executed.

One night a prisoner in the same jail was brought to him for treatment. This prisoner was suffering terribly from an acute ulcer, and Dr. Batmanghelidj had nothing to give the man for his pain except water. To his great surprise, after a few glasses of water, the pain went away.

Over the course of treating other prisoners with nothing but glasses of water, Dr. Batmanghelidj found that he was able to help many serious conditions using water as therapy. When he was eventually released from prison, he conducted many experiments and found many conditions improved with this treatment.

He came to the conclusion that many physical ailments are simply a result of dehydration.

Among the many ailments that Dr. Batmanghelidj believes are really a result of the body being dehydrated are such varied conditions as allergies, asthma, lupus, arthritis, back pain, ulcers, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

The book is somewhat hard to read because Dr. Batmanghelidj is not very skilled in writing in English, and he uses a lot of medical terminology, so it can be difficult for a lay person to understand some of it.

According to Dr. Batmanghelidj, only water counts as a hydrating beverage. Other drinks such as juices, milk, coffee, and soft drinks do not have this miraculous ability to reverse disease.

Dr. Batmanghelidj has developed a formula to figure out how much water a person should be drinking each day. According to him, a person should drink one fluid ounce of water for every two pounds of body weight.

Here is a quick summary of his proposed schedule:

About two glasses of water taken upon waking.

Then, one to two glasses of water taken half an hour before meals.

A glass of water two and a half hours after a meal.

Other glasses of water as needed.

Dr. Batmanghelidj also recommends adding a pinch of unrefined sea salt to each glass of water to help the body cells absorb the liquid.

Of course, not all people agree with Dr. Batmanghelidj’s recommendations, especially not all other medical doctors. Some people think he is a medical quack, while others think his theory about dehydration being the cause of many ailments is not only simple, but correct.

It is very fascinating to read the letters to Dr. Batmanghelidj from people who say that following his regimen helped cure them of all sorts of longstanding medical problems.

The book “Your Body’s Many Cries for Water” is available at various on-line sellers, as well as in some bookstores.

If you wish to try Dr. Batmanghelidj’s recommendations, please keep in mind that he says that it takes months for the body’s cells to become dehydrated to the point of illness, and it can take months for the cells to become properly hydrated again.

Extracted from http://deepfitness.com/3637/Could-Drinking-Water-Cure-Your-Ailments.aspx