In the bleak midwinter

'In the bleak midwinter, frost and wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron, water like stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow,
In the bleak mid winter, long ago'.
Words by Christina G. Rossetti 1830-1894, Music Gustov Holst 1874-1934

This hymn comes to mind right now! There is greyness, darkness and the ground is very hard, or at least under the layer of snow it is very hard.
Before the snow, when all was grey, dark and cold. After the snow, when all is white and very cold.

My poor bike all covered in snow.
Clearing the paths the hard way but salt helps considerably.

We have had a lovely family pre Christmas day, minus Darren, Billie, Jay and Jespa who could not land at Heathrow this morning due to the inefficiency of Heathrow Airport! Why is it that one of the largest international airports in the world goes to pieces when it is faced with snow! Darren and Jespa are in Frankfurt (Singapore Airlines) and Billie and Jay are in Istanbul (Malaysian Airlines) awaiting the all clear to get back on their planes to come to Heathrow. Both airlines have treated their passengers well, with accommodation and free local trips thrown in.

We are hoping all will be well tomorrow.