Bring On The Weekend!

It's crunchie day at last and it's been a long week with Debbie on the last leg of working her notice, it's not been easy, it never is in that situation. It seems some people there have been acting like they're up for arseole of the year award, while others will be genuinely sad to see her go.

I've just spoken to her on the phone, she's just back from dinner at KFC and sounds really chirpy, I can see us having quite a few large ones tonight!

Just in case I don't get chance to post over the weekend, may I wish everyone all the best for Halloween, have a drink for me and watch what you're doing with the those broom sticks!

Paul

No Salt Required

I've not posted a snowy picture for a few days, so here's one from Lapland showing the road conditions, no problem for Santa but I wouldn't rate the chances of most drivers from the UK under age of say 30 who have never driven on proper snow before.

They don't seem to bother gritting in Lapland, the snow falls and they just get on with it, no traffic chaos or pap pap paping going on. Maybe we should send all our gritter drivers to the Bahamas over winter and see what happens over here ...lol...

Picture source : www.tiehallinto.fi/alk/english/kelikamerat/kamera-LE.html

Bare Trees

The trees at work are looking a bit bare now with all the wind recently. More strong winds are expected today but will probably affect the west more than here. Our gardener was hard at work this morning clearing all the leaves from the car park and preparing the flower beds for winter before the frosts set in. We almost had a frost here this morning, I know others locally were scraping their cars before coming into work, we must have escaped by a degree or two.

It's nice to know I'm not the only one addicted to snow, Gemmak has issued an advanced weather warning today, frequent outbreaks of the word 'snow' are expected as we go through winter ..lol..

Looking around the websphere this morning, I've noticed more snow in Norway and in Lapland especially, winter really is getting the snow on the road ....... sorry ...... I'll get me coat.

New Trousers

Why did no-one point out that I've been walking around with the price tag swinging from the back of my new trousers all day?

Passing of a Legend

Well I just can't believe it, John Peel dies at the age of 65.

He was probably one of the most respected DJ's of all time and will be missed by many people the world over. It only seems like yesterday we heard his voice on the TV series Life Of Grime. I can't say I was a regular listener to his radio show but I've got all the respect in the world for this guy and it's so sad to hear the news of his passing today.

It's been snowing in Lapland again over the weekend and very nice it looks too :-)

Picture source: www.saariselka.fi/eng/webcamera.html 

Chopper Copper

That certainly was a little spooky having the South Yorkshire Police helicopter hovering above our house for a few minutes on Saturday, I'm not sure who or what they were after, probably some maniac driver heading into town.

Luckily we were waiting arround to set off to Blackpool and had the camera at the ready. I've started keeping my camera with me now, taking it to work just in case a photo opportunity arises, although it doesn't get all that exiting outside our office window. We're re-locating next year, the work on the new site is set to start next month and I can't wait for the new place to be ready. It's much closer to home and has open fields to the rear so I'll be able to take plenty of pictures, it's also a little higher and is more prone to snow, magic!

Looking at the weather outlook this morning, it doesn't look like we're going to be seeing snow any time soon, not even in Scotland so I'll be looking to Europe, green with envy..lol.. Wet and windy seems to be the order of the day for most of this week, settling down for the weekend with maybe the first frosts of the autumn.

This is the blog police! We know you've been banging on about snow for a month so put the keyboard down and come out with your hands up! 

Thanks For Linking!

A big thank you to Life As We Know It and It's All Greek To Me for linking to me

Under Attack

We had a virus attack at work yesterday, it seems to have infected many of the computers but didn't touch mine for some reason, maybe it's because I'm using Firefox or maybe I just got lucky. I've noticed when checking site visit statistics that more and more people seem to be changing to Firefox and with Google reportedly working on a browser, it looks like the monopoly of Internet Explorer could be almost over.

Another thing I've noticed is the craze that is Blog Explosion, I've never known so many people sign up for anything in such a short space of time and I can see why. No-one would admit to being a counter watcher but I'm pretty sure we all are and since signing up myself, my site visits have rocketed as have the visits to Debbie's site Buttercup and our shared site Snowbabies.

So, if you arrived here via Blog Explosion and you've read this far down, have half a credit on me!

Norway - Finse

Now that's what I call snow!

Picture source: www.bt.no/kamera/article.jhtml?articleID=24451

Cairngorm again....

Cairngorm had some more snow later yesterday and I've been patiently sitting here waiting for some more that was expected today but it hasn't materialized as yet. I think it might be akin to the phrase "a watched kettle never boils", if only I was Jedi material then I could wave my arms about and say "a snowstorm will do fine".

Picture source: Cairngorm webcams (from cairngormmountain.com )

Not Quite A Jedi

:: how jedi are you? ::

Pinched from rd1701.me.uk.

Cairngorm!

At last! Cairngorm has had another sprinkling of snow this morning although I think it's already starting to melt. If only that darn low pressure could have been a little bit further to the east as first suggested a week ago, then it could have been a different story.

Source: cairngormmountain.com  

Austria

I thought I'd have a change from Norway, although they have had yet more snow in Longyearbyen, I'm not jealous, honest! Todays shot is from Planneraim in Austria which until this weekend, didn't even have any snow on the mountains in the background.

Source : http://www.webcam.at/  

New Boots

It's been a mighty busy weekend travelling over to Manchester on Saturday and touring the Peak District on Sunday. I've picked up a couple of books about the Peak District which I've yet to read properly but they have some stunning photographs and lots of suggested routes to travel around by car. We also both got ourselves a pair of walking boots from Bakewell, not that we're going to be walking for miles on end but they will keep our feet comfy and warm when we're out and about in the snow.

I've had a quick check on the snow front this morning and it looks like the Cairngorms could see some snow this week with wintry showers forecast for today and snow for the rest of the week. There's less than nine weeks to go now until I finally get to marry my wonderful fiancee, Debbie and I really want it to be special when we drive up through Scotland surrounded by snowy hills and mountains.

Tins Not Required

The forecast cold weather for next week seems to be slipping away today, hey ho, not to worry, it'll probably slip back on track again later. I thought I'd better say something as I've been quoted at CrabAppleLane and I wouldn't want everyone to rush out and stock up with tinned food every time I thought there might be a possible cold snap. I'm not insured for pantry shelves collapsing under the weight of all these tins.

Norway at Dusk

I seem to be obsessed with Norway at the moment, maybe it's because that's where the snow is..lol.. Anyway, this one's from Longyearbyen and I love the glow from the lights on the snow as the cold evening sets in.

Source: www.snsk.no

Stupid Gates

The first real bite of winter is forecast to hit us next week, probably just feeling colder here in Yorkshire with any snow likely be confined to Scotland but not just in the mountains. The six day forecast at Snowforecast.com shows where snow is expected to fall.

It's been dark arriving at work this week and being first here, by a long way, I have to open the main gates which can be a bit of a challenge at the best of times, trying to get the two padlocks off in all weathers. This morning, having got the locks off, the gates still wouldn't open so I slip into Hong Kong Phooey mode and try a well placed kick which achieves nothing apart from a stubbed toe. Giving in, I leap over the gate, well not so much leap as struggle, then lift up the offending bolt. The gates are taller than me and it won't be long before I've got to do this in frosty conditions with the tops of the gates slippery and the landing area prone to a sudden 'flat on arse' attack.

Norway

This is another webcam from Norway, but this time it's Alesund. Yesterday morning the valley had no lying snow at all and today the beautiful scenery wouldn't look out of place in the Arctic.

Source: www.nilu.no/onlinebilder/zeppelin/zeppelin.jpg  

News Headline

This morning, the coming 'cold' winter has hit the headlines, which you can read all about here.

It's forecast to get colder next week, but it's the long range outlook from Metcheck that appears to have caught the eye of the news teams and myself for that matter! Apparently it's going to be the "coldest winter of the century so far", well we are only four winters into this century so not such a bold statement. I think "more frequent snowfall than we have experienced in recent years" sounds better!

I hope it comes off but I really don't think anyone can forecast the weather this far in advance, however, with berries and robins popping up everywhere, you just never know.

Anyway, I'm off to buy a snow shovel......just in case ..lol..

Looking Good For Santa

Hope I'm not tempting fate, but I've still not heard any fireworks going off near home. We did have one go off outside work yesterday, it sounded like we were under attack and the poor old window cleaner who was just finishing my window nearly fell off his ladder! Watching the local news this morning, it appears that our local police force are cracking down on fireworks this year, prosecuting shop owners that sell to anyone under the age of 18 and tracking down the idiots letting them off where they shouldn't be. We'll see if they manage to keep a lid on the late night banging as we get nearer to Bonfire night.

I noticed yesterday that Lapland, the focus of my favourite webcam selection, has had some snow over the weekend and the temperature there has taken a real tumble from being nearly as warm as here last week and hardly getting above freezing this week. It looks like Santa won't have any problems getting about in his sleigh this year ..lol..

Thanks For Linking!

A big thank you to Kim's Place for linking to me

Germany

The mist in the valley looks thick enough to sail across.

Source: www.zugspitze.de/livecams/index.php#  

Norway again!

I wasn't planning to post today but couldn't resist showing the difference in Trosmo, Norway today.

Source: www.nordlys.no/web-kamera/

Norway

Winter arriving in Tromso, Norway.

Source: www.nordlys.no/web-kamera/

Thanks For Linking!

A big thank you to Gen X at 40 for linking to me

Verging On The Ridiculous

Reading through todays BBC news headlines, I caught this news item which to me is verging on the ridiculous. Three boys have been missing on the Lancashire Moors since yesterday who aren't dressed for the conditions and have no waterproof clothing. They were apparently part of a field trip from an activity centre and I've got to ask the question, what the hell were they doing taking these kids out without the proper kit? You would think with a spate of similar headlines recently, people would take a bit more responsibility.

I can remember spending a week at a local activity centre from school and before we were allowed out of the door we were issued with a bright orange water proof jacket, water proof trousers and had to wear lots of layers of clothing underneath plus a sturdy pair of boots. Granted, with that lot on, we could hardly walk but at least we were going to be safe walking across the peaks. When it's driving with rain and you have your head lowered to stop the rain stinging your face, just following the feet in front of you, it's very easy to get separated.

I only hope the youngsters are found safe and well.

Surfing Webcams

I love perusing web cams around the world, not just looking for wintry weather, it's just nice to have a window on another part of the world thousands of miles away. It's something I'd like to set up at home and certainly something I'll be thinking about more after we move house next year. When we have a decent sized garden I'd love to set up a bird table that I could point the camera at through the day.

There's much to do before then, it's looks like I might be working on the kitchen this weekend, getting the tongue and groove finished off so Debbie and paint it. The bathroom still needs decorating, although that's going to be easier now we're selling and have dropped the elaborate plans we had in favour of just getting it presentable after peeling odd bits of wall paper off over the last year. The only other we'll need to do is turn the dumpit site back into an attic bedroom which is going to take more effort than the decorating with all the rubbish we've left up there.

I was rather hoping to see a bit more snow about in Europe and Scandinavia with snow being forecast for the Cairngorms tomorrow but most of the webcams I've checked out today are sporting lovely blue skies. Except that is, for the webcam at Cairngorm itself which is covered in raindrops and you can see just enough to know that it's cold, damp and miserable up there today. Hey ho, there's always tomorrow.......

Scotland

Looking for further snow over the Cairngorm mountains and find a rainbow instead!

Source: cairngormmountain.com  

Iceland

A great picture from Iceland showing that snow has fallen at lower levels. No snow yet over at the capital, Reykjavik, but there have been reports of sleet this morning.

Source: www.snerpa.is/vedur-sud.phtml  

Wintry Showers

Looks like it's turning wintry over Cairngorm :-)

Source: cairngormmountain.com

Sore Finger

Here we are again, happy as can be! Don't you just love Monday mornings, especially when it's wet and windy like today. Today I'm nursing a wounded finger after Zippy, our parrot, had a snack attack yesterday when I picked him up and decided he'd try a nice juicy finger. I'm just glad we didn't get a bigger parrot or I'd have been at the hospital having it sewn back on!

Checking the Winterhighland.com forecast, it seems the Scottish Highlands should see some snow on Thursday, we shall see, it has been know to be wrong! It is certainly going to get colder here in Yorkshire over the next few days and I'm sure we'll be seeing some frosty mornings before the week is out. No snow expected here just yet but there is a hint that we might get a real taste of winter in early November just like in the good old days.

There doesn't appear to be much snow falling in Europe or Scandinavia at the moment but that looks like it's going to change as we go though this week :-)

Snowing In Germany

Source : http://www.zugspitze.de/livecams/index.php#

Weekend Ahoy!

I'm feeling much better today, even after quite a late night yesterday and I'm really looking forward to the weekend.

Looking around Europe today, we've got snow grains falling in Sweden and Greenland plus some light snow in Germany. There are some great German webcams overlooking the mountains, there are four on this site and the title of the last one tickles me every time I see it, just my warped mind I guess ..lol..

There is talk of an easterly blast later next week in the Weather Outlook Forum, bringing much colder temperatures across the UK but probably only cold enough for snow across the Scottish mountains. Having seen these situations develop and fade away just before the event last winter, I'm not getting too exited yet about the first decent snowfall of the season for the Cairngorms.

I'm lying of course, I can't help it, I'm obsessed!