coldest in 50 years

[roiphil]

down south according to news man last night, yesterday i did 180 degree spin on black ice, was going round an s bend and met the black ice half way round, bull bar hit into a raised soil boudary then my rockslider slid along the raised soil and i ended up going where i just came from    thought to my self bound to have some panel damage now but no all it did was to push my foglight up on its bracket a bit and that was it,

wrap around bullbars protected the front and rocksliders protected the side, rocksliders are like side steps you see on some 4x4s

Today we have no water frozen up somewhere, could be the spring, luckily the water pipe splits up and goes into the attic tank seperately so we have a tankfull of hot water and a tankfull cold water for now any way

[NightHawk]

Glad to hear you avoided what could have been a potentially nasty situation there Phil.

Temperatures here had dropped dramatically overnight, causing the melting snow to turn to solid ice, making conditions like a skating rink. 

We had to go out today for essential supplies but, although the main roads were fairly clear and had been gritted, the side roads were treacherous - as were the access roads and surrounding areas to the shops we were going to.  Walking about was extremely scary, hanging onto each other for dear life.  Fortunately we managed to keep our footing.  We feel sorry for anyone elderly, or normally unsteady on their feet, having to go out in these conditions.  I expect there are going to be many injuries and broken bones from these adverse weather conditions. 

At about lunchtime today the snow started falling again and has given a light ground covering.

Best place to be now is safely tucked up inside a nice warm house wherever possible.

Take care out there people.

Laurie.

[roiphil]

aaarrgh got no water    have had to go and get a couple of barrels from a neighbour up the lane, i think i will be taking a walk up the fields tomorrow to see if the inlet from the spring is frozen, and i was gonna have a bath tonight aswell, have not had one since last year     

[ideasguy]

I know what you mean Laurie!
We went for our usual family walk around Hillsborough Park today.
The lake was frozen over and covered with snow, except for a small area near the edge. Very beautiful.
That little "pond" was full of ducks, swans, seagulls moorhens etc, looking for tidbits from the visitors.
The paths around the lake and through the forest (our normal route) was extremely dangerous as Laurie has described.
I was very relieved to get all back to the car without incident.

Perhaps your pond is "airlocked" Phil. Take an iron bar up there and smash the ice. BUT! be careful you don't fall in or slip! Much too cold for a bath outdoors!

[roiphil]

the main inlet up the field was not frozen, surprisingly, we found the pipe where it goes across a ditch, the main water pipe is inside a larger pipe and could here ice cracking inside it when moved so we warmed this pipe up and 3 hours later water, phew thank god for that, it does travel a along way way down hilll to us about quater of a mile

[NightHawk]

Glad you got your water supply running again Phil.  A great feat of ingenuity there.

For those of us living in less 'wilderness' areas  (ourselves included), just turning on a tap and having instant uninterrupted water is taken for granted.  I don't think we could cope with having to de-ice water supply pipes great distances from the house - especially in the depths of winter.  I suppose it's something you get used to though. 

We like rural settings, but at the same time we would go for areas with connections to a mains water service. 

Laurie.

[ideasguy]

Well done Phil! That really was a clever bit of detective work Standing in a ditch heating a frozen pipe was not a fun day!
Hope it was warm enough for a bath when it arrived 

[roiphil]

For those of us living in less 'wilderness' areas  (ourselves included), just turning on a tap and having instant uninterrupted water is taken for granted.  I don't think we could cope with having to de-ice water supply pipes great distances from the house - especially in the depths of winter.  I suppose it's something you get used to though. 

We like rural settings, but at the same time we would go for areas with connections to a mains water service. 

Laurie.

you get used to it and it was not that cold really standing in a running stream holding a blowtorch  . unfortunately there is no mains water up our lane but on the plus side no water rates   

[roiphil]

Well done Phil! That really was a clever bit of detective work Standing in a ditch heating a frozen pipe was not a fun day!
Hope it was warm enough for a bath when it arrived 

my bath was bliss thank you, the cold is meant to be around for about another week yet 

[Lyn and Malcolm]

Something should be falling from the sky near Belfast in the next hour if you look outside.
It is minus 6.8 here at the moment (midnight), and if the forecasts are right we are going to get a ton or more of snow from 4pm tommorrow.

Malcolm

Tropical Doset

[ideasguy]

Yip, its on cue and falling right now, Malcolm.
My grandson is here and hoping we get snowed in  - he's back to school tomorrow after the Christmas holidays.

How are you coping with this cold winter? I'm sure you are really worried about your tropical plants, even though you have them wrapped up with protection.

[Lyn and Malcolm]

As last year the heating for the plants will be costing a fortune, but it is not as cold as last year yet, minus 10.3c coldest last year.

We have done all we can to protect the tender plants, so will have to see how they fare.

The electronic thermostats with a very small hysterysis (spelling) that I made last year are working well in the banana houses with the 2- 60watt lamps in each house. As soon as the temperature drops to plus 1c they cut in.

Notice how we are being told it is now Climate change NOT Global Warming.

Malcolm

[ideasguy]

Good to see Mr Gadget has come up with yet another clever invention
Are the 2 x 60 watt lamps all thats needed to keep the plants protected in the banana house?

[Eric Hardy]

I have just been reading Phil's exploits getting his water running! Very well done, I would have had to call for help!!
Having been cut off by snow for 7 days just before Christmas here we are again!!  it is about 6 inches deep now and still falling. On Monday we had a 14 hour power cut and we have no open fires! brrrrrr    We spent a lot of time in bed keeping warm and the candlelight reminded me of my youth! Yesterday they put the 26 houses on this side of the common on emergency generators while they try to trace the fault. Now it looks as though we will remain on a temporary supply until we get a thaw, they surely can't work in this.  Luckily our greenhouse is not heated and we have no tender plants in there, any that need loving care are on our window sills.

Mind you, we don't get winters like we used to when I were a lad !!! 

I remember this winter in Barnard Castle in Teesdale because our garden lean to shed collapsed under the weight of snow! I was in the kitchen at the time and there was this this sudden roar and the roof collapsed under my very eyes. That was our loo under the lean to on the right. My father obviously had to make sure we had access 



I also found this photo in an album of my father's. It is of High Force frozen and was taken in 1929, when I was three years old. I do not know who took the shot. I like the lady standing on the ice who is obviously taking a photo at the time.



Keep warm everybody!

[ideasguy]

Great photos Eric.
I guess we are lucky in that the snow is not as deep as in those older days.
I recall one winter when I was at primary school (mid 50's?) when the snow was very deep - 3ft and much more in drifts.
I recall actually trying to walk to school. School was about 2 miles from our very rural home.
Not many 6 to 10 year old kids walk to school nowadays!

[Lyn and Malcolm]

You had me worried there Eric
I thought the first picture of the snow was going to be of your house now 

We missed the dumping yesterday, seemed to be in a hole in the middle of the small low pressure that developed.
I did extra jobs yesterday in case it snowed overnight, which it didn't. Been out on 2 more jobs this morning, and it is snowing fairly hard now since 10am.

Not that I repair boilers, but 2 customers I have been to this week have broken central heating boilers. Again much more complex with circuit boards controlling them, as is the modern way with everything these days. Fortunatley ours is the older type.

Keep warm and don't venture out too far.

Malcolm

[Lyn and Malcolm]

George wrote

Are the 2 x 60 watt lamps all thats needed to keep the plants protected in the banana house

Well the bananas survived the minus 10.3c of last winter ok.

Remember the bananas are cut down to leave bare trunks which are about 8 foot tall, and then enclosed in a double layer of bubble insulation which is fixed to frames. The frames are about 6 to 9 inches away from the outermost trunks. The trunks are then wrapped around with horticultural fleece from top to bottom, which makes a cone shape, wide at the bottom, narrow at the top. The 2x 60w lamps are inside the fleece cone on the ground in terracotta pots. The heat rises from the lamps inside the cone. The thermostat sensor is set to plus 1c and is located just outside the fleece cone about halfway up.

Malcolm

[Eric Hardy]

I recall one winter when I was at primary school (mid 50's?) when the snow was very deep - 3ft and much more in drifts.I recall actually trying to walk to school. School was about 2 miles from our very rural home.Not many 6 to 10 year old kids walk to school nowadays!

No they don't, and the slightest sign of snow they close the school!

[Eric Hardy]

Still snowing. Top step at back door has 8 1/2 inches but the ground below the step has 12 inches.

Our bird table is groaning under the weight of snow and looks a bit distorted.

[NightHawk]

We're escaping the worst of the snow here at the moment Eric. (Phew!  Touch wood  )

Just getting lightish dustings every now and then.  Not laying to the extent that you are experiencing though.

I think the Robin in your bird table photo should be on the alert in case that roof collapses under the weight of all that snow.

You and Anthea take care down there, and don't go out unless absolutely necessary.  It's just not worth risking your physical well-being in these adverse weather conditions.

Laurie.

[roiphil]

great photos eric, i hope no one was sitting on the loo when the roof came in  , the kids were meant to start school tomorrow but closed until monday now, what we are experiencing round these parts is nothing to what we (me) have known or used to in the UK, this is just a walk in the park, the only difference is the rural setting where you need transport to go anywhere, i appreciate that the buses wont run due to roads and the childreans safety, still my son is happy 2 more days off school

[Eric Hardy]

I think the Robin in your bird table photo should be on the alert in case that roof collapses under the weight of all that snow

The whole thing looked so precarious that I took a broom and removed the snow from the roof soon after taking that picture.

You and Anthea take care down there, and don't go out unless absolutely necessary.  It's just not worth risking your physical well-being in these adverse weather conditions.

Thank you Laurie. My only venture outside today was to clear the bird table roof as I said.
Our neighbours came in for tea and I watched them crossing the lawn from the side gate. The snow almost reached the top of their wellies and they were having quite a  hard time lifting their feet as high as the top of the snow 

i hope no one was sitting on the loo when the roof came in

  Luckily it wasn't the loo roof that collapsed, Phil

[Eric Hardy]

Are there any bee keepers among us? I was talking to one of my neighbours who has several hives. He told me that when we had that heavy snow all his hives were being attacked by green woodpeckers who were working furiously to get to the potential food inside. He had to wrap all the hives in small mesh wire netting to deter them. Has anyone else experienced this?

[Lyn and Malcolm]

Thanks for teling us about that Eric

I have never heard of that before.
We get Great Spotted Woodpecker here, they dissapeared from our feeders during the very cold weather, but have returned now.
Perhaps they had been to some bee hives ?

Malcolm

[Lyn and Malcolm]

And here is a picture of one of them on the trunk of our "Lollipop" tree



Malcolm