On 2010-01-05 11:03:04 +0000, June Hughes said:

In message , Sacha writes
It went to -6C here last night and it even snowed this morning. We had
the most wonderful fluorescent orange sunrise this morning - I thought
someone was training a brilliantly coloured lamp on the corner of one
of the greenhouses. The sun came out for a brief while and now it's
clouding over rapidly. I must admit that I'm sneakily hoping for just
a bit more snow!

I hope you have plenty of provisions, Sacha. My 93-year-old neighbour
died a couple of months ago and I used to have his key for the
help-line organisation (an excellent service). When he died, his
children told me I could have what I liked from the house and I decided
to have his paraffin heater. It's a really old one but has a spare
wick and has been well maintained. You don't get them like that
nowadays. I also had his wooden-handled shovel. Its handle was all
wet and soggy when I got it but it has dried out a treat. You don't
get too many of those nowadays either. I am looking forward to putting
a few seeds in the greenhouse and lighting up the heater in February.
It will remind me of him, as well as being very useful.

Nice, cosy sort of memories, too. Do you oil the handle? We used to
do the same thing for an old lady who lived across the churchyard from
us and used it a couple of times when we could get no answer from her
phone or knocking on the door. She was always okay, thank goodness but
had just chosen not to speak to anyone! ;-) Yes, I've just ordered
some meat from the butcher and as Ray and Matthew have gone to Exeter,
they'll pick it up on the way home. We have fresh veg and froze and
the really important things like tea. The milkman got to us a bit
later than usual this morning but he made it, bearing papers and milk
and a bottle of water which was half frozen by the time we brought it
in - just shows what it was like out there!
--
Sacha