Tuesday 3 February 2009

Eerie

I can't believe what an effect the weather is having on us here. Yesterday we went out to our local Spar and it was closed, so we ventured further afield and there was no milk or bread to be had for love nor money, we got no post or milk delivery yesterday and the shops had no deliveries either.
Today I woke thinking it would be bound to change today, but the snow was still lying exactly as it had been yesterday and it was even still snowing. I had to venture out due to lack of food and the streets were eerie like something out of a post-apocalyptic film. Cars were few and far between and going *really* slowly. People were walking along the roads as the pavements are still impassable to anyone without the properties of a mountain goat. There are strange still statues watching you go past everywhere - snowmen! Loads of them, many of them six foot and more, and even one snow fort compkete with turrets and flags. But not many people.
In the centre of town, over half the shops in the shopping centre were shut - not just small independent but large ones too like Marks and Spencer and House of Fraser. The shelves of Waitrose were strangely bare, especially of milk, organic produce and fresh stuff. People are chatting to each other in a much more friendly way than normal, exchanging snow stories. And a strange hush all the way back.
It's so strange how everything comes to a halt, but kind of nice really. There are more important things than the wheels of commerce and people seem cautiously cheerful, unused to being out and about during the day on a weekday. Mother Nature has given us a time out of time. I'm trying hard to appreciate it.

1 comment:

bethnoir said...

That does sound a bit creepy, except the people chatting bit. Can't go on forever though, we have sunshine here and the snow is slowly melting.