On Friday evening my friend Liz arrived bringing with her 2 inches of snow which had appeared sometime between me drawing the curtains at 4pmish and her arrival an hour or so later. I was still nursing my wounds from the battle of the bed bases so Liz kindly offered to go out for fish and chips. I played the perfect host by making tea while she was braving the arctic conditions. I was surprised when I peeked out of the window a little later and found that 8 inches of snow had sneakily arrived while we had our nosebags on. We wisely decided to ignore the weather until the next morning and come bedtime I luxuriated in a comfy bed that was now a respectable height from the floor
Saturday morning dawned and we were relieved to see that no further snow had fallen. Our friend Margs arrived laden with Christmas presents (minutes after I had hurriedly wrapped hers). After the customary exchange she very kindly offered to take us shopping, her car being parked on the main road while ours were still covered with snow. One of the disadvantages of residing in a quiet "court" is that snow clearing is entirely up to the inhabitants. Margs brought me back with the shopping while Liz went off to have her Christmas hairdo. I decided to be the good snow-shoveling Samaritan and clear the path and cars of snow. My trusty neighbour, Andy, often cuts my patch of lawn when he is doing his so I adopt a quid pro quo attitude which in this instance meant clearing his pathway from the house and uncovering his car from a substantial layer of snow. This was no easy task as I have a very small shovel...
That evening my friend Ian arrived and we were all to join a young friend celebrating her 50th birthday. Unsurprisingly taxis were nowhere to be had - the few that were operating were solidly booked up. Liz, bless her, offered to drive us to the Indian restaurant where we were meeting the birthday girl. It should be mentioned that by this time I was beginning to stiffen up from the unaccustomed exertion of snow shoveling. Having an already dodgy neck and shoulder only added to the discomfort. An excellent Chicken Jalfrezi and a few Indian beers acted as a temporary anaesthetic bolstered by the 2 mandatory bottles of red wine that we opened when we got home. This morning dawned and it immediately became evident that the liquid anaesthetic had worn off. I no longer needed to clamber up from the futon the floor but it was clear that any movement in any direction was going to be painful. The morning passed quietly and the usual morning after bacon butties were served. Liz took advantage of a clear sky and headed back home to Sheffield and Ian left later, both of us giving up after a frustrating battle with Open Office databases. I'm retiring for a long soak in a very hot Radox bath.
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