Saturday 23 March 2013

Fawn in the Snow

My Grandma used to say 'Hail the Spring - and it haileth'.

If that were all. For two days Yorkshire has seen sleet, wind, snow, and freezing temperatures. The Snow Queen has swept mercilessly through Britain this week. All the bells on her sleigh are icicles, and needles of frost fly behind her.

Yesterday we woke to about four inches of snow, but that was nothing to what was to come. January was not like this. The snow fell and the wind blew, all last night and all today, and the wind chill is savage. The drifts must be a foot high. And today was the launch party for Fawn, just a village do, but one that promised to be exciting. All over the county events were being cancelled. Tony and I went along with boxes of books and bags of drinks, nibbles, colouring sheets and puzzles and resigned ourselves to the fact that we'd probably be talking to each other all afternoon. Lots of people who had said they were coming live high up in the hills, and the only way of them getting down to the valley was by parachute.

The wonderful and every reliable Graham and Daphne arrived early to help, and what a good thing they did. Suddenly, the room was full. The books on the table disappeared, and we put out another lot. Children sat around drawing, colouring, doing puzzles and, of course, reading their new books. Tony, Graham and Daphne swung into action - bowls of crisps and biscuits appeared, lemonade flowed like lemonade, and Daphne put the kettle on so there were hot drinks for these noble pilgrims who'd fought their way through the cold. Most of the after school club kids made it, and when it was time to go they all went out and played in the snow as if they were impervious to cold. What a community we live in.

It was so busy we didn't take a photo of the party, though somebody from the press did. But if I can get the attach thing to work, here is the village -

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