I enjoy the idea of "snowed in" Londoners

Not for the first time do I look forward to reading the BBC's coverage of severe weather conditions in the UK to my Canadian friends and colleagues. It is the heaviest snowfall in 18 years! The trains are cancelled! People are having to dig themselves out of their houses! They are lost in snowdrifts! There has been 10cm of snow! In a day!

Compare and contrast:

Figure 1: Bicycle in 'snowstruck' London:










Fig 2: Car after one day's snowfall in Montreal last week:

I am to be married

Utterly preposterous in all the ways, I am sure you will agree, but rather delightful also. It is quite the story, I must admit.

Regular readers may be aware that I met the person I am marrying (a French Canadian veterinary research histopathologist who cuts his own hair) because of - and entirely because of - this web-blog or, rather more accurately perhaps, originally via my original web-blog (gauche, yes; far too many ghastly Random Capitalisations, certainly, but rather funny here and there!).

You may read about our first date here. The rest is also a good story, but I have never told it directly. It is the sort of story that makes single ladies in their early 30s (I am 39) go all wet-eyed and say, I have hope again!

I rather think I might tell it, as well as (of course) keeping every single one of you very much "au courant" with every development viz. sugared almonds, tiaras, ghastly string quartets, menus involving chicken OR salmon, etc.

Pip Pip!

NWM

I cannot reach my hand inside the box

I offer you a sleeping aid

There is a charming series of films about wildlife that is often on the air in Canada. They are, without exception, ghastly. This, however, is the worst: what is she doing with that umbrella? What is she trying to say about the Atlantic Whitefish? And more to the point, who cares?

I am a bit sad about Tony Hart

Tony Hart died today which probably everyone in Britain knows. If you didn't grow up in Britain you may not know who he is, but he was on a programme called Vision On which was brilliant and had all sorts on it, including Morph and Tony Hart doing pictures of for e.g. cranes out of something you shouldn't be able to make pictures with.

I only have two regrets: the first one is that I didn't apply to Oxford (pathetic I know, but it still annoys me), and the second is that I never sent a picture in to the Vision On Gallery. I drew a lot when I was a small child and I think Tony Hart had quite a lot to do with it (that and the encouragement of MonkeyParents and grandparents, teachers, aunts etc). Everyone is probably saying this but he really did help me draw and make things, and for that I am grateful.

I know this post is quite serious but I am quite sad about Tony Hart dying. Here is a bit of Vision On for you to watch.



On another note, I am not at all sure about bloody Yoffy on Fingerbobs. "Yoffy lifts a finger and scampi darts about; Yoffy bends another and a tortoise head peeps out". It is not right!!! Anyway, if Yoffy is making you feel sick, watch this bit of Hector's House (excellent and woefully under-rated, I think ), which you will know in France or French-Canada as La maison de toutou. It is great.