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Thursday 24 December 2009

No snow.

A giant snowball from a happier time.


I am heartbroken, as heartbroken as a South African can be.

The last two weeks I have been hearing snow stories all across the country. The usual stories of deadlocked traffic, stranded trains and planes, closed schools. The Facebook updates of sheer excitement or horror, depending on the nationality of the person. People everywhere have been snowed under. It has never snowed this close to Christmas since I have been here.

It sounds wonderful. I cannot tell you the pleasure snow gives me, and most other South Africans I know. I have known my mom to phone my aunt in South Africa at 1 am just to tell her it was snowing. Snow gives us so much joy.

Snow brings silence, peace. Snow is meditation. Snow makes even my ghetto look beautiful. I can watch snow falling for hours. Snow is like summer rain, it gives me a feeling of calm wonder and centeredness. Snow is zen. Snow brings out my inner child (or idiot). I do the angels and the snowballs and the snowmen and my best thing is just to hear the crunch under my feet.

I really like snow, yeah?

If I can just use a diagrammatic representation loosely based on nothing whatsoever relating to reality:






What I am showing you here is that the whole of the UK, more or less (because it all revolves around London, right? That's what I thought before I got here), has been experiencing wonderful winter wonderland snow these last few weeks, except for the two green patches above. The two green patches are where I live and work.

F@#*ing green patches. Well they are not actually green because we had some sleety snow that then froze so that now everything is covered in ice. I have never experienced this ice madness before, but it is so cold that the roads and the pavements are iced and walking and driving are a little more adventurous than normal. The puddles are solid, man, it's mental.


Ice and freezing temperatures without snow are just ...
unpleasant. <==== please note the strained understatement.

This is what I get for living in the middle of the country.

I hate you, snow fairy. No mince pie for you.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

lol how annoying man, you have to put up with the freezing temperatures and don't even get snow. Snow makes everything look so beautiful *sigh* Ice is just dangerous....I think I'd wear golf shoes or something with spikes.

Well my christmas wish for you is that it starts snowing where you are sometime today so you can have a white christmas.


Btw re: yesterdays post, I am writing this from work, on the 24th :) I also feel like I'm the only person working.

Anonymous said...

oh wait your lonely post was Tuesday the 22nd, so you still working like me or at home?

po said...

Howdy anon, I am at work today, it is sooo quiet! Shame man, why the hell are you at work? I have to be here because my plants are at a certain growth stage. blegh.

This morning the roads were covered in ice, and the pavements, it is pretty scary, I saw someone trying to turn out of their drive way and just skidding and getting stuck. I dont't think this country knows how to deal with that kind of stuff, cos it is not usual.

po said...

Yawny yawn yawn yawm. I'm bored. Can I go home now? Being at work now sucks.

Anonymous said...

I've never even touched snow... but I understand being exhasutingly cold. Its WAY too hot here. I feel like y sweat is sweat and it doesn't help that I am walking everywhere because I had an argument with my sister about gas emissions... bleh... all to win :(

Merry Christmas for tomorrow P0-tjie. Hope its.... wonderful (please note the strained understatement) LOL.

I just left work and got back home. shew. sleeeeeep :D

po said...

Finally I am finished and can vamos! Merry Christmas to you too Paula, hope it is relatively stress free.

I hope you get cool prezzies :)

LadyFi said...

No snow? Oh, Po ... so unfair for you!

po said...

Ladyfi: I know. I will get over in time, with much counselling... ;)

EEbEE said...

I'm rather liking the African Christmas eve here in PMB.

light rain accompanied a symphony of cicadas, tree frogs and crickets...
I'd take these over snow right here and now. But I'd probably change my mind by sun rise :)

Happy Christmas Po

po said...

Happy Christmas to you too EEbEE, South African Christmasses in KwaZulu Natal especially, were pretty cool. Except they were hot. You know what I mean ;)

SonnyVsDan said...

snow at christmas is so alien. i'm contemplating going to the beach

Anonymous said...

hehehe, guess I am a true South African, I love the idea of snow even though I have never seen it. Can't wait to spend a snowy christmas in Europe. Perhaps this year.