Sunday 6 April 2008

Freak weather

Yesterday, I was rowing in short kit and sorely regretting not having my sunglasses with me. Several women had decided it was time for crop tops, and a few chaps were rowing bare-chested. The river was full of small boats and scullers. It was an idyllic spring/summer scene.

It was therefore with some disgruntledness that I saw the snow this morning had reduced visibility on the river to dangerous levels. The water was beautifully flat, but if anyone was out on the river enjoying the smooth ride, we couldn't see them. It was a peaceful and picturesque walk to the club, where I found some of the squad cursing the lack of visibility. As we couldn't get out on the water, a session in the gym awaited.


A disgruntled duck

When I emerged to head home a couple of hours later, the snow had already been shared by others, and it was no longer the charming, undisturbed scene that had greeted me earlier. The snow had been defiled, trampled underfoot, its crispness turning to slush and discoloured by the London grime. A few hundred metres further on, I found these chappies: 





I no longer minded the evidence of other people enjoying the snow...

4 comments:

Casdok said...

Lol! They are great!
They snow is disappearing fast here too.

Kahless said...

It is humour like that, which makes me just love us Brits.

Reading the Signs said...

Disgruntled she may be, but that is one fabulous duck, But Why. And rather dishy snowmen(persons), come to that. You have made me feel a bit brighter about the snow, which usually I appreciate but today felt just, somehow, wrong.

But Why? said...

Casdok,
Aren't they? They were attracting much admiration from the Furnival Gardens foot traffic - the unknown artist could have made a small killing by charging for pictures!

Kahless,
They were rather special, and as a bonus extra, the sculptor seems to have collected up some of the Saturday night detritus which is normally strewn along the Thames path! I suspect it may have been a Womble...

Signs,
Why, thankyou. I'm sure it comes as wecome consolation to Mrs D. Duck (her gentleduck counterpart appeared equally dsgruntled, out of shot) to be admired from far and wide.

Today's snow was wrong, Signs, and we shouldn't forget it. It is April. The clocks have gone forwards. Easer has been and gone. Therefore it must be summer. But it has snowed. Something is not entirely right...