Snow came to Caddington once again, overnight Thursday, and Friday dawned into bright sunlight. At first the sky was a dome of clear blue from horizon to horizon, the villagers were slow to venture out, but with camera and a second lens, I wandered around to capture the activity.
Several school-age children soon realised that this worth getting out of bed for. However to their evident dismay, this was ‘the wrong type of snow’ since it would not stick together, so snowballing and igloo-building was doomed to failure, but kick it and it makes a fine display!
It was a time for the very young to be towed on sleds by parents doing the morning shopping, or in one case (though sadly after I had put the camera away!) for some bright spark to ‘borrow’ Gran’s mobility scooter to tow a kid along the pavement at a much slicker, and effortless pace!
Dogs were walked, babies prammed, and toddlers swung, and smiles infected everyone, there was definitely a holiday spirit abroad. However, clouds began to form, and soon the sun began to be veiled, but before it disappeared totally, I did manage to capture some of the interplay of light and shade on snow-covered cars in the local garage, a lone starling singing from atop my own kitchen chimney cowl, a red letterbox with its ‘arm’ of snow, and a few examples of how snow can transform a mundane scene into something more magical.
But now it is Sunday morning, and as I write this, I have learned that what I believed was my boiler failing again, and my home telephone choosing to go on the blink, was in fact a village-wide calamity. Amazingly, an emergency committee has sprung into action, and volunteers are distributing small electric hotplates and heaters, from the Community Centre to anyone in need, and others are paying visits to the local elderly. The Gas supply will be out for the next few days, and we all need to turn off at the mains.
Snow has brought a sense of community in so many ways.
