Snow Story Saturday

[UPDATED - I added the pictures]
Ok, so I've finally got round to telling you about my day the day it snowed (which is now over a week ago). Unfortunately the other computer doesn't want to play, so I can't load up ay of my pictures which are saved there.

We don't get snow much in London, and when we do it never really seems to come to much. Just before the warmroof guys started on our roof it did snow, but not a huge amount, and it went pretty quickly. Last week (thankfully after the roof was finished) we were forecast not just snow, but heavy snow. On the Wednesday I went to my church small group, and didn't get home until quite late and the only parking space was at the end of the road, on the 'waiting limited' spaces (where between 8am and 6.30 pm people can stop for half an hour, but not longer). Since it was 11pm at night that wasn't an issue for me, and I'd be going out before 8.30 the next morning, so all was well and good.

Until, it snowed and snowed in the night (see my back garden here). And my car was all alone at the end of the road, with a lovely big snowdrift all around it. I did attempt to move some of the snow out of the way and try to move my car, but it was just too slippery, and I had to get my mum to reverse it back into the bay for me cos it was actually a bit scary. I left a note inside to any traffic wardens that might venture out, in the hope they would have pity on me and not give me a ticket for being there longer that I ought to be. At the end of the day though, I'd rather get a parking ticket than try to move the car and put myself in danger.

So I was off to catch the bus. Walking up our road I was able to walk on fresh snow as not many people had been walked up there already, but when I got to the main road at the top it was a different story - it was so slipperly and slushy and generally yuck. Many of you will know I am the most accident prone person in the world, and at that point I figured it wouldbe madness for me to try to walk all the way to work as I'd be sure to do damage to myself. However after waiting for three quarters of an hour for the bus to come I wasn't so sure! By that point though you don't want to move in case the bus comes along at that moment, and as I said already, the pavements were just horrible to walk on.The bus finally came, and then crawled along the road, taking about half an hour to travel what would probably take 5-10 minutes. Then, when we got to Homebase (for those of you who know my local area you'll appreciate just how far we hadn't gone) the driver said he wasn't able to go down the hill where I needed to go, and would just continue up the road rejoining his proper route later on. So I got off the bus into the snow that was rapidly beginning to fall again. I rang into school at this point to see if it was really worth me going in, or whether I should just turn back anf go home. And got back the cheery reply from the headmistress "yes, come on it, buisness as usual". So on I trudged, down a steep and very slippery road and on towards school, telling people I passed who were waiting at bus stops that the bus would not be coming along this road as it had made the decision to divert its route.

I was almost at school, and actually on the wrong side of the road talking to a group of people at a bus stop that it was unlikely a bus would be coming for them either, when a bus going in my direction came along. I was really annoyed, having been chucked off a bus and told they wouldn't be going my way, I was now on the wrong side of the road and nowhere near a useful bus stop. I thought 'what the heck' and stuck out my arm anyway. Luckily the bus driver stopped. She confirmed to the people at the stop that buses wouldn't be coming along for them, and graciously let me on. I told her what had happened and she even let me on without paying. What a lovely lady :-)

I then travelled the last couple of stops to work and then having got off the bus, managed to put my foot in a pool of slush whilst walking the last little bit of the journey, and totally soaked one of my shoes. I finally arrived at around 10.45, having spent over 2 hours on a journey that ought to take around 10 minutes by car. My coat and gloves were soaking, as were my trousers up to the knees and my shoes. Having sorted myself out as best I could I went into class for the last 10 minutes of the lesson. Then it was breaktime, and during the next lesson I was meant to be having planning time anyway (so not with the kids, but getting things sorted out!). Neither of the two children I work one-to-one with had made it into school, so in a way I actually had about 10 minutes in class being useful, having spent all that time to get there.

However, the headteacher did ask me if I would be willing to work in the nursery for the afternoon, and I agreed. My Mum works at the same school and she had a slightly less eventful journey (she only works afternoons) and had brought me some dry things to wear, so I was feeling a lot better. I actually had a lovely time in the nursery, only a handful of children made it in, and a couple of Mums stayed too, so we had 9 children cared for by 4 adults!

By the time we (My Mum and I) were ready to go home again, they had got the buses running again, and we caught one after a fairly short wait, and it was much more like the normal amount of time that it ought to take. Needless to say, I was absolutely shattered (and I was coming down with a coldy thing) so I never really got a chance to go out and play in the snow, and by the next day it was all slushy and horrid.
Oh well, it had looked pretty in the morning when I first woke up, and before I started trying to get to work!