Snow joke

Last night, our little corner of the world reached -10C - or a tad chilly, as Ranulph Fiennes might say.  Some of the sights in temperatures like those are, however, quite simply stunning.  Near Betws, a frozen waterfall stood - halted in time, an aquatic suspension of disbelief, withy white, silver and blue threads shimmering in the morning sun.  The Conwy was also delightful, sporting tiny, snow-capped islands, around which sluggish water tricked through the frozen sheets of ice that have been steadily halting its flow for several days.

Driving to Betws was also an experience.  Grit doesn't work terribly well below -6C, so caution determined a fairly sedate speed along  a road that could well be harbouring some nasty surprises. However, more candidates for the Darwin awards appeared, whipping past us at 60+, totally unaware of what the road ahead might hold, although they at least had four wheels.  The most worrying sight was that of a man on a bike, driving through patches of clearly visible ice. 

In Norway, of course, folk are used to these conditions, and they drive accordingly.  Those living in the more rural spots meet up at the local town, and then follow a snow plough up to their villages. And Northern Europe mandates that everyone drive with dipped headlights al the time between October and March.  Here, naturally, we have the usual anti-safety brigades, who seem to forget that dipped headlights aren't there for you to see where you're going;  they're there so others can see you.

Maybe we should make them compulsory, at the same time we slap a £1.00 per unit surcharge on alcohol. At least the roads might become a little safer.