Stephen narrowly beat me to the mark, but I am honored to be published back-to-back with such an august professor.
Enjoy your commute, one and all!
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Mind the Gap by Jennifer Rohn
Adventures in the London sci-lit-art scene...and occasionally beyond
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In which London simply cannot *do* snow
- Date:
- Monday, 02 Feb ruary 2009 - 09:16 UTC
Last updated: Monday, 02 Feb 2009 - 09:16 UTC
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Comments
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So, you going into work today, folks?
Alas, yes. Lab meeting awaits: plus we have Fiction Lab this evening. I am not sure if anyone else will show up, but feel duty-bound to be there just in case (unless the RI tells me otherwise).
You poor dears.
In fairness to you, it’s well known in Helsinki that the buses are late when the first snow comes, because the drivers aren’t used to driving a bus in it. But they learn quickly. And then go on to find a better job before the next winter.
Not feeling too August this morning – it’s freeeezing!
Alas, Fiction Lab looking v. unlikely for me – unless there’s a Web2.0 version…?
Ha! At least you folks have the sauna situation well sorted out. What I wouldn’t give for a decent one right now — followed by a roll in the snow!
Stephen, it’s our morning for posts crossing.
If it’s canceled, we’ll just do the same book next month. I’ll keep you posted.
Not feeling too August this morning – it’s freeeezing!
you and your damned hemispherical imperialism.
I awoke, as I usually do, at 5 o’lock, ante meridian, in the morning. Very little calcium released from intracellular stores. Snow lay on the ground, hardly deep and crisp and even – more like a polar bear with mange. The website for National Express East Stranglia said that a lot of trains were in trouble, but none of theirs, yet. Which seemed extraordinarily helpful. I hung on for 15 minutes on the national rail helpline. Gave up. Emailed work to say I’d be at home today.
Went back to bed.
Told to stop snoring by Mrs Gee, who wanted to hear the lengthening list of schools closed, broadcast every 15 minutes on BBC Radio Norfolk. Was pleased to see those wusses in Sheringham had closed their, but Cromer hadn’t. We’re obviously made of sterner stuff, here in Cromer.
Later
Walked the 100 metres from the Maison Des Girrafes to Cromer Junior School. Came back. Repeated the procedure, this time having remembered Gees Minor and Minima.
On return discovered that Mrs Gee had let the chickens into the conservatory.
Got on to work email – found that many other people had decided to work from home, as commuting in to London from points as far apart as Cambridge and Brighton was likely to be a non-starter.
Had coffee.
Mrs Gee and I heaved the four (4) guinea-pig hutches, one of them huge, into one of our sheds, out of the wind.
Had more coffee.
Start work: at least the intertubes are working… except that the remote access system to my work outlook box has died from system overload. Must be all those people working from home, I guess.
Not feeling too February this morning – it’s freeeezing!
Hmm, no, that’s not quite right…
Well, I attempted to get to work but was turned away at the first checkpoint: Canada Water tube station. There were a few Jubilee Line trains running as far as London Bridge, in theory — about 2 or 3 an hour according to one cheerful member of staff (why do LU staff always seem to be more cheerful the worse it looks?) — but they were too full for anyone at CW to get on. Although CW is also a major SE London bus terminus, there wasn’t a large, red object in sight.
I gave up gracefully. Meanwhile Russia Dock Woodland has more people — and snowmen — in it than I have ever seen, and Stave Hill, our only point of relief, is swarming with children off school and shaved to a smooth cone of ice by impromptu sledgers on cardboard boxes and baking sheets.
I’m making porridge oats and defrosting the soup.
My commute, from my bedroom to the beanbag in the front room, went without a hitch.
So how many inches have you got?
Maybe 8? But drifting to much more.
p.s. In my comment above, it’s the Hill that is shaved to a smooth cone, not the children. (Except those that keep going down head first.)
wow. I am envious! Must be lovely to beable to see white snow everywhere!!! When was the last time London saw snow?!?!
Actually, Memphis have been having a slight bit of snow, like 1 inch or so…. but not 8 :) Hope it doesn’t turn into ice right away but either stays or goes really fast.
We got about a day of snow last year, and none for a few years before that. This has definitely been the coldest winter we’ve had for a long time — and I’m hoping it will finally trim down the slug and snail population.
Our snow melted yesterday. Not all of it, just the top layer, but now everything that’s left is frozen. Big frozen mountains of snow on all the sidewalks.
I’m hoping it will finally trim down the slug and snail population
… as well as giving all the plants that decent dose of vernalization they’ve missed for the past couple of years, without which they’ve been all weak, floppy and mistimed as a drug-addled cuckoo falling out of a cuckoo clock.
What a nice image.
I’ve just heard that UCL is effectively closed, so I don’t feel quite so guilty. They are also predicting worse weather to come, so tomorrow will be much the same. I wonder if I can culture cells in my bread machine?
Pah. I laugh at you and your snow. We were supposed to get another 10-15 cm overnight tonight (translates to about two-foot drifts in my driveway) and now it’s been canceled. How disappointing.
Well, I attempted to get to work but was turned away at the first checkpoint: Canada Water tube station
Did anyone else see the irony in that statement?
Oh, and Jenny – are you talking about yeast cells? I’d say “probably yes”. ;)
goes off mumbling in a hoity-toity, "the rest of the world doesn’t know what *snow means" kinda way
Damn, got the tags wrong. That last line wasn’t meant to be so shouty.
Peace, brother: I was born and raised in Ohio. And am old enough to remember my Dad tunneling out of the living room windows in the Blizzard of ’77.
p.s. What irony?
Or do you mean the ‘tube’ bit? Unfortunately, almost all of the London Underground lines originate as overland trains, so are victims of the weather. The Jubilee line starts at Stratford Rail Station and has to brave the elements up to West Ham.
I live in Soho and the snow has already turned to brown slush. Only the cold remains…
Well warm yourself up by Marching into work.
Never fear, Angela: they say it will all melt a bit more and then re-freeze overnight! Frappuchinos, anyone?
I assumed the irony was something to do with the Canada Water? I understand that all water in Canada is in fact ice at this time of year.
I was tickled by the tube announcer reciting his litany of lines closed, part suspended and suffering delays. He then said “Apart from that…” and abruptly stopped. Normally they go on to say “Apart from that all other lines are running normally”.
And Mill Hill did look very beautiful in the snow too, but I didn’t take any photos I’m afraid.
I’ll bet it did, Frank. I’ve placed my novel-in-progress in Mill Hill, you might be happy to hear. Not at the NIMR specifically, but at a fictional institute very close by…
And I can report that a lot of the water in Canada Water is indeed currently frozen solid. Not the Thames, and not the main reservoir, but certainly all of the canals and ponds. I saw a moorhen ice-fishing today, sitting on the edge of a little hole and bobbing for who-knows-what just under the surface.
Anything suitable for skating?
Not quite yet! But my blades are sharpened and I’m ready to twirl at a moment’s notice.
We want to see that. Do you skate with a Dutch accent?
Do you skate with a Dutch accent?
Synchroblognicity?
Oh gosh, Stephen, fancy that.
“Do you skate with a Dutch accent?”
That would not involve “twirling”, just clapping
Sorry, folks. I"m afraid I figure skate with an Ohioan accent.
Enough for today – what will tomorrow bring?
Unpleasantly wet snow, it looks like: and only a few lines suspended (not mine…yet!).
Unpleasantly wet snow, it looks like: and only a few lines suspended (not mine…yet!).
But twice?
Well, tomorrow is here, and Norfolk is sunny and snow-free. However, I decided not to go into London, as a precaution – after yesterday the trains will all be in the wrong places, and even my poignantly optimistic train ompany, National Distress Eat Stranglers, admit that they won’t be able to ascend to their usual nadir of service provision.
Sounds sensible. I am here safe and sound and with warm feet after a change of socks and footware. Lots of other hiking boots on the tubes this morning.
I’ve placed my novel-in-progress in Mill Hill
Oh, that sounds interesting. Let me know if you need to do any research to add local colour. We really should have an NN get-together up here sometime.
I’ve been a few times — worked out how long to get to West Hampstead station vs Mill Hill East on foot (a part of the plot hinges on it) — but would really help is knowing about any local cafés or bars. I didn’t see much around there. Also, are there any other local places that might crop up?
And on a clear day, can you see London?
but would really help is knowing about any local cafés or bars
sounds like my sort of book.
Hm. My dad spent a lot of time in Mill Hill at one point, but I rather suspect that his knowledge would not be so useful. Unless your book is set in the 50’s.
Nope! Present day. Although…mind you…there is an elderly gardener as a minor character who’s been attached to the institute for as long as anyone can remember. If your father could remember something colorful about the area’s history that this character might be able to trot out at some point, that would be incredibly cool.
Finally, here is a photo of a snowy Mill Hill
and another of the trees in front
warm feet after a change of socks and footware
I guess you need the appropriate footware when handling delicate glasswear.
Not much in the way of local cafes I’m afraid but we do have bars, well pubs. The Adam and Eve is number one (i.e. closest to the Institute). Friday lunchtimes you can usually find most of the customers are from NIMR. We should suggest they change the name next week to The Charles Darwin.
Then there is The Three Hammers, at the top of Hammers Lane; The Rising Sun at the top of Highwood Hill (a bus went out of control a few years back and demolished part of the pub); The Railway Engineer (used to be the Royal Engineer – just opposite the barracks – but after an IRA bomb in the 1980s they renamed it. Has now been renamed again to the Angel and Crown). A bit further you have the Orange Tree on Totteridge Lane and further still The Gate at Arkley. Some of these have the feel of country pubs.
Yes, you can see London on a clear day or even a hazy day but only from the 5th or 6th floor. From the Library (4th floor) you can see the tops of the highest towers, and also get a good view of Wembley Stadium. Also a nice view of the Mole Gap, on a clear day.
West Hampstead to Mill Hill sounds like quite a long walk!
There are plenty of much nice walks near by the Institute – a very nice nature reserve and lake, for example.
Talk of elderly gardeners sounds a bit like Zhores Medvedev. He is a retired scientist and keen gardener. I believe he used to write a regular column for a Russian newspaper about his allotment in Finchley. Famous for various other things too of course (though that Wikipedia article is not very detailed or up-to-date).
Oh, this is fantastic stuff. Thanks, Frank! I shall squirrel it all away. Is the top photo east-facing? And interesting news about the nature reserve. I must work that in somewhere. Could it be a sinister place, in the right light?
I managed the walk from WH to NIMR in about thirty minutes, if I recall correctly. Our heroine is in a bit more of a hurry, though. Maybe she’d take a cab, come to that…though our fictional institute is not exactly the NIMR and might be a bit further downhill.
That photo of the trees is very pretty, Frank. Nicely caught.
Jenny – I will ask the source and see if he comes up with anything suitably crusty and eccentric.
The top photo is basically looking north, and slightly west. It’s the valley of the Folly Brook I think.
Yes, I think in the dark the reserve could be sinister. It’s so far from any road that you don’t hear any sound except natural sounds.
Should also mention the Jehovah’s Witnesses centre just down the road. I think it’s some kind of training place. You often see groups of smart-looking people walking along the road from one bit to another. It’s disturbing because they smile at you for no reason. Most unnatural.
There are also other religious establishments further along the Ridgeway and along Totteridge Lane. And of course the big Mill Hill public school.
But are there any elephants in Mill Hill?
Perhaps Hugh Laurie can make a cameo appearance…
Excuse me madam, but was this the delayed bus to your station ???
AGH!!!!!
(You know what I mean)
But are there any elephants in Mill Hill?
No. They’ve all gone to Hamspead Heath.
Definately?
Pribably.
As in, there pribably is no gad
Egad.
Excuse me, I must now book a ticket to the UK. Does anyone know where I can find a can of spraypaint?
Eats, Shoots, Leaves
My favorite grammatical snafu is an English T-shirt slogan I saw in Kyoto:
“Half a loaf is better than none a loaf.”
Sigh. Completely off-topic, but: