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London Snow

36 images Created 12 Jan 2010

Ice Age Amateurs
(From the blog entry at 'England's Pleasant Pastures')

Perhaps with the exception of peoples of the south seas who have never seen a snowflake, it seems as if other members of the genus Homo are like Arctic wolves, howling at our expense.

Meanwhile, British Neanderthals hide in their caves as they did in Pleistocene times, 110,000--10,000 years ago.

With a summer of electioneering on the near horizon, print and TV grab the opportunity to hype up the white stuff as a sort of silly season sport.

...

And just as weatherman Peter Cockcroft was warning of the imminent doom, Sainsburys' shelves resembled a corner shop whose residents have just learned of an invasion of Wellsian tripods. No eggs, Porridge nor potatoes and little bread was to be located.

I trudged over to Dulwich Village on icy pavements instead. A Southwark environmental team were convening opposite the warming glows of the bookshop to discuss how they would distribute the grit. An east European dragged his yellow wheelbarrow down Turney Road but managed just 100 yards before stopping, out of breath. The supervisor was now out of sight and he slumped against a London Plain for a smoke. I wondered how many more feet of paths the grit would reach for the benefit of homeward mums and commuters.

Our sceptered isle is apparently under attack from extreme meteorology and as if these were times of climactic catastrophe we think we are losing our sense of civilisation - like in The Road. When such a crisis looms and precipitation descends, so do media-invented metaphors and alliteration.

As for bloggers, they're on that gritting wagon too.

For the full text, go to this blog entry at England's Pleasant Pastures:
http://bit.ly/8rWrJ0

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  • Rush-hour traffic is stopped at a road junction in Dulwich Village, South London, as pedestrians are helped across the snowy road by a Southwark council lollipop man.
    london_snows15-13-01-2010.jpg
  • Tyre (tire) tread tracks are left as abstract patterns in melting snow after bad weather on London roads.
    london_snows08-11-01-2010.jpg
  • A zig-zag trail of bare grass is left by snowman-builders in fast-disappearing snow after winter snows brought seasonal disruption to London, but a welcome playground for those on school-free days.
    london_colour06-12-01-2010.jpg
  • Peace Garden marker post in quiet corner of Dulwich Park, Southwark, south London during mid-winter snow.
    dulwich_snow07-21-01-2013.jpg
  • Yellow stained snow at the foot of a snowman left by animals in Ruskin Park, Lambeth.
    london_snows08-07-01-2010.jpg
  • An early morning commuter trudges to work along Denmark Hill in South London, after unusually heavy snow falls..
    london_snow28-02-02_2009.jpg
  • A glowing rear car indicator light shines through freshly-fallen snow at dawn in a South London street.
    london_snows04-13-01-2010.jpg
  • As blue dawn light becomes another wintry day in south London, the glow of a car's brake lights shines through a covering of fresh snow. The driver has only swept the vehicle's back window with a rear wiper but with her foot on the brake pedal, she is about to set off on a drive to work this morning on roads that have controversially, not been gritted or salted by council highway workers. The surface is therefore still snowy in this residential area of Herne Hill, SE24, London and is a treacherous surface on which to maintain wheel and tyre (tire) traction and many accidents will result, including the heavy lorry (truck) which is about to climb this hill and which will soon prevent him from going much further.
    london_snows05-13-01-2010 copy.jpg
  • A traditional red telephone box is seen on Denmark Hill, South London covered in fresh snow from overnight snowfall. Pedestrians walk past next to Ruskin Park, SE24.  These K-series kiosks were designed in 1936 by the renowned designer Giles Gilbert Scott. With the increasing use of mobile phones the static phone boxes are still used in remote areas of the UK where mobile service is still patchy and in major towns and cities, their presence is becoming rarer. In rural regions however, the British red phone box is still a delight to see and use.
    london_snow54-02-02_2009.jpg
  • Supermarket signs after unusually heavy snow fall in South London.
    london_snow50-02-02_2009.jpg
  • Motorists drives gingerly along Denmark Hill in South London, after unusually heavy snow falls.
    london_snow24-02-02_2009.jpg
  • A car owner attempts to shovel his way out of snow on a hill in South London. Bending down to remove the fallen snow from the road, he will again try to get a grip and friction of the slippery surface in order to make it up the gradient in Herne Hill. A van behind is already becoming impatient and is about to get past the stranded car and a passer-by looks on from the pavement, bemused. As the capital's infrastructure ground to a halt, with few trains and no buses for commuters to catch, walking and driving remained the only options.
    london_snow60-02-02_2009.jpg
  • A still and snowbound street in Dulwich, South London, the morning after yet another overnight bad weather.
    london_snows11-13-01-2010 copy.jpg
  • A vacated parking space in a South London road has left a bare patch in freshly-fallen snow.
    london_snows01-13-01-2010.jpg
  • Treacherous sheet ice glistens on a South London street during the early 2010 snows that gripped the UK.
    london_snows20-07-01-2010.jpg
  • Bright colours and lines of a closed childrens' play park which lies in freshly-fallen snow.
    london_snows29-13-01-2010.jpg
  • A boy sledges downhill after unusually large amounts of snow fall in South London.
    london_snow52-02-02_2009.jpg
  • A sign that tells parents that the Dulwich Hamlet Junior School is closed for today, during harsh weather in early 2010.
    london_snows07-07-01-2010.jpg
  • A boy plays snowballs at night during heavy snow showers in central London - a rare event for an inner-city. Snowflakes are falling in large amounts settling on this street in Herne Hill, South London. The lad is in his element by going outdoors at night as the showers are falling everywhere about him. He hides behind a parked car at the kerbside, crouching low to avoid detection by his elder sister. Relishing the hide and seek game they're playing and the prospect of landing the snow as a direct hit makes him look mischievous and excited.
    london_snow07-01-02_2009.jpg
  • A family out in the snow enjoy a winter's day with their pet dog in a snowbound south London park.
    ruskin_snow03-20-01-2013.jpg
  • A Polish man leans over to put the finishing touches to two small snowmen that now occupy a park bench on Goose Green in East Dulwich, Southwark, South London, England. This otherwise green space has seen snow falls that have gripped this part of the capital with unsalted road surfaces and commuting nightmares. But this young man is having fun with his diminutive snowy creations who have been dressed up in his and a friend's glasses, their scarves and gloves and with locally-found twigs. The park is relatively quiet with only a hint of the chaos elsewhere but the time spent on pointless pursuits is one way of enjoying adverse weather, rather than the more serious business of getting to work, proving also that snow brings out the childish nature in us all.
    london_snows33-13-01-2010 copy.jpg
  • ruskin_snow04-20-01-2013.jpg
  • william_booth03-17-12-2009.jpg
  • Abstract tyre (tire) tread tracks are left as abstract patterns in melting snow after bad weather in a supermarket car park.
    london_snows25-13-01-2010.jpg
  • Bird and human tracks left in freshly-fallen snow in a South London Park.
    london_snows21-13-01-2010.jpg
  • A dog pauses to listen to its owner during a snow-bound walk in Ruskin Park, Lambeth.
    london_snows13-07-01-2010.jpg
  • Local walkers brave freezing temperatures in a bleak mid-winter landscape. During a prolonged cold spell of bad weather, snow fell continuously on the capital days before, allowing families the chance to enjoy the bleak conditions in Ruskin Park in the borough of Lambeth.
    ruskin_park_snow11-22-01-2013.jpg
  • London homes and bare 100 year-old mature ash trees in Ruskin Park, Lambeth, snow during the early 2010 snows that gripped the UK.
    london_snows03-07-01-2010 copy.jpg
  • London homes and football goal posts set in a few inches of snow during the early 2010 snows that gripped the UK.
    london_snows17-07-01-2010.jpg
  • winter_snows02-21-12-2009.jpg
  • London homes and football goal posts set in a few inches of snow during the early 2010 snows that gripped the UK.
    london_snows29-07-01-2010 copy.jpg
  • Snow showers are falling in a deserted South London street in Herne Hill, London SE24. Snowflakes are falling in large amounts settling on this road and tyre tracks from vehicles have been left in the snow though many parked cars are becoming covered in the snow fall as they sit at the kerbside. Snowflakes are falling in their thousands, settling on this part of London's inner-city - an unusual event - and the  heaviest precipitation for 18 years. It is early morning and still dark and street lights are making the landscape orange before the blue of dawn changes the colour and the atmosphere.
    london_snow13-02-02_2009.jpg
  • Motorists drives gingerly along Denmark Hill in South London, after unusually heavy snow falls.
    london_snow19-02-02_2009.jpg
  • As blue dawn light brightens to become another wintry day in south London  a commuter awaits the arrival of a distant red bus to climb a slippery hill. Standing by the timetable of the bus stop on Red Post Hill  in the borough of Southwark  traffic approaches slowly on a road that controversially  appears not to have been gritted properly for vehicles to maintain a proper grip on this snowy surface. Headlights point uphill and the freshly-fallen snow has started to freeze so wheel and tyre traction will prove ever-difficult for those trying to journey to work.
    london_snows06-13-01-2010 copy.jpg
  • It is 07.45 on a dark, wintry morning and from behind, we follow a lone commuter who walks along a snow-covered path in Ruskin Park, an otherwise green space in the south London borough of Herne Hill, Lambeth. Street lights are still illuminating the road in the background and the blue light of early morning has fast becoming another day of snow showers and chilly temperatures. No grit or salt has been sprinkled on this slippery path and the person walks carefully carrying an umbrella from falling sleet which is soon to turn to rain as the temperature rises. Tall  100 year-old mature ash trees whose trunks form an avenue of cover and the commuter proceeds towards their neighbours to the station beyond. A single 4x4 car makes its way through this still quiet street with lights blazing.
    london_snows02-13-01-2010 copy.jpg
  • A couple walk hand in hand towards housing through snowbound public park in south London.
    ruskin_snow07-20-01-2013.jpg
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