We did expect snow this afternoon, it was just that we were expecting it in a different place. It was supposed to be on high ground in Derbyshire. Instead, it snowed on the low ground of Nottingham.

Carlton Hill – Nottingham
At 12.30 pm it started to rain. By 1.00 it had started to resemble a wintry shower.Then it began to look like snow, which it wasn’t, as none was forecast. By the time I parked by the side of the road it was beginning to stick.
I nearly went straight home, as I had things to do, but I went to visit the jewellers instead and watched from their office window as the flakes became larger and formed a four inch blanket of snow.
That, of course, was just the start of my problems.As I sat in the car to come home, the road seemed to fill with traffic. I cut through a side street and joined a main road. If only I had known what horrors lurked ahead…

Snow in the Trees
I won’t bore you with details, but will merely point out that a fifteen minute journey took me two hours as the traffic system of Nottingham proved unable to accommodate snow and travel at the same time. I actually had to stop at KFC to use the toilets. Such are the demands of an ancient bladder.

Porchester Road – Nottingham
This gave me plenty of time to take photos, as a lot of the time was spent parked and waiting. It was, at the same time, both very annoying and an opportunity for photography.
It’s currently melting nicely, and I’m hoping that driving conditions will be good in the morning.
In the evening I battled with the remains of the day’s gridlock as I made it through to the Numismatic Society meeting. The speaker had managed to make it, so it seemed only fair to turn up, despite the temptation to stay at home. He was talking about his hobby – metal detecting – and was an entertaining speaker. I now have just 4 weeks to prepare my presentation…
It seems the bridge will be staying closed for a few days more, and that the Highways Agency has been way out in its estimates of the re-opening. Julia is back on the bus tomorrow. I feel guilty but the bus was delayed badly today, and is likely to be delayed tomorrow, despite using bus lanes. In a car we have no chance of getting through without queuing for hours.

Detail on a Snowy Day
Norwich got a little snow but all we had were some desultory flakes floating about for ten minutes. What a shambles our city roads are in! I’m sorry you had to queue for such a long time.
The snow has gone, the bridge is partially open and Julia just brought a special cheese back from town – I will show you in the next post. I had to wait a bit but it gave me a chance to grumble and it didn’t hurt so it wasn’t all bad. 🙂
🙂
I hope it’s all gone now. My Saudi students got very excited but it didn’t lay here.
Yes, there’s still some on the hills near Bakewell but it’s all gone round here. Nice your students got snow, but even better that it didn’t stick. 🙂
😁
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I wouldn’t have enjoyed driving in those conditions, especially up or down that hill.
Fortunately I had a reasonably flat trip home. The hills round there can be tricky, as I found last year.
We wondered whether you would be able to produce these good photographs. That first one looks like the view from my daughter Louisa’s home on Mapperley top.
It was either Sandford Road or one near it. I was stuck o n Porchester Road for an hour and a half. 🙁
My, my! Almost a proper snowstorm, by Maine standards, but slippery driving by anyone’s standards. Yes, better luck tomorrow.
It’s all gone. I think you were humouring me – I’m sure it was little more than a flurry by Maine standards. 🙂
Well, maybe. 😉 But still very slippery.
That is true. 🙂
Looks like the wet, slushy stuff, definitely not much fun to drive in, and makes for gridlock. Hope tomorrow you and Julia have better luck.
It’s all gone! That’s a good result as it often freezes and stays for a week or more. 🙂