Wednesday 8th January 2025 - Rain, Cold, Frost and Black Ice

I’m sitting, snug in our lounge, bathed in the winter’s sun which is streaming through the windows.  Tempted to go out into the garden?  Yes, I am but that sun is giving false messages.  It may be toasty behind glass but it is anything but outside.  This morning when we returned from our walk, my fingers were so thumb with the cold and I had a job to undo the laces on my walking shoes.  Indoors and hands on a radiator, anyone who also suffers with the cold will appreciate the pain experienced with the gradual warming of their digits.  Although, since our return, I have stayed indoors, Peter has cleaned the windows; they were filthy after two days (Sunday and Monday) of almost constant rain.  With even colder conditions forecast, Peter has also lagged the outside taps.  He is now taking down the outside lights he put up in December for the Christmas and New Year period.  I’m sure he’s going to be chilled to the bone, by the time he comes back indoors. 

We ventured out both Sunday and Monday mornings but we didn’t get far before mizzling rain convinced us to return home and settle indoors.  I've started collating my blogs for 2024 and it was interesting to read, the beginning of January last year was wet too.  These damp conditions continued and throughout the spring – fingers crossed we don’t get a repeat this year.  We’ve taken delivery of our seed order, enabling me to plant a second variety of tomatoes and write up our planting list for the coming growing season.

Yesterday morning, we walked down to the promenade.  We took it slowly, avoiding patches of black ice.  With a heavier frost coupled with ice, we didn’t even consider going down this morning.  It was not surprising, given the volume of rain over the past couple of days, to see the slump below the Sea Marge has advanced further over the promenade and in one place there is only about a metre/three feet of concrete visible (see photo below). Again, while collating last year’s blogs it has been interesting to read, how long this area of slumping has been increasing in volume, with the promenade being closed, the slump cleared and so on, until now when nothing is being done to remove the fallen material.

I’m wondering if our family will be visiting this weekend.  The weather looks to be colder further south, than here on the north coast.  Extremely cold temperatures down to -5°C are forecast for Bucks which could prevent them travelling Friday evening but if it does, then it does – best to be safe and not stressed driving in difficult conditions.  In my next blog, I will be able to write as to whether they have postponed their visit for a third time.