Well we finally got our wintery downpour yesterday evening and woke up to several inches of snow.

With well-drilled military precision my neighbour over the road was up early and clearing the snow from around his drive sometime after 9 o’clock this morning. I joined around half past nine and soon we had half a dozen men and at least one woman clearing the road. By half past ten Chieveley Close had been cleared and we all retired for a well-earned cup of tea. The kids of course had been snowballing all along.

Well done the Chieveley crew.

I have to say that my wrists now ache and I am beginning to feel my age, or is it possibly just the fact that I live such a sedentary life that a wee bit of exercise feels like running a marathon.

Just had a strange thought, everyone this year has a proper snow shovel, much better at clearing fresh snow than the spades we all used last year. Thanks to C&G Hardware in School Road! They have been sold in the shops since the beginning of summer and finally we got to use them. What a difference they make.