"Worst snow in 18 years"

What appeared to be another typically overcast Sunday afternoon in London. Me sitting on my bed, TV in the background as I stare out the window, daydreaming, reflecting, sleeping with my eyes open. Steam billows from the adjacent restaurant as the sun sets over drab London. Snapping back into consciousness I notice a certain irregular consistency moving through the air. Initially it looks like dust and pollution being thrown about. Closer inspection reveals it to be flakes of snow drifting down from the sky. For the best part of 10 minutes I attempt to take photos of the falling snow from my bedroom window. This exercise in futility leaves me wanting and after many failed attempts I toss my camera aside and draw the curtains close.


Oddly enough it wasn't the sound of my alarm clock that broke my slumber but a strange luminance seeping from behind the curtain. Pulling the curtains apart revealed a picture of white. It was as if a kid had gotten his hands on his first snow globe and given it the shaking of a lifetime. Snow was bouncing off the glass and the dreary scene I was staring at yesterday afternoon had been transformed into a snowman utopia.


Wow, I thought as I stepped out of my apartment. Pavements, cars, roofs, streetlights and trees all covered in snow. The streets were deserted and there was little evidence of human passage on the footpaths. As my foot hit the ground I slipped and almost face planted. Epiphany number 1, leather shoes on ice makes for impractical walking. I trudged to the Tube Station and was shocked to find the platform ridiculously overcrowded. The sign indicated that the next train would be 20 minutes (Usually, trains run every 2 minutes). Epiphany number 2, snow cripples the public transport system.


Eventually getting to work over an hour late I was welcomed by an small cheer from an otherwise empty office. I survived the trek into work! Turns out 1 in 5 people weren't present at work, either working from home or just physically unable to make the commute. Tube lines were either part suspended or experiencing severe delays. The bus network had been suspended. Most shops and services closed before their regular closing hours.


Despite the chaos and blatant inconvenience I heard not a single complaint about the snow. There were complaints about the transport, about work, about closed shops but not one ill word was said about the snow. It was as if the city had become mesmerised. Within a flurry of powder and snowballs and snowmen it was a time to stop and reflect. Epiphany number 3, snow sucks.