Royston-4a

Royston, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom

[4a]

Winter in Royston - snowfalls Christmas, 2010

Snowy, wintry conditions gripped the United Kingdom mid-December, crippling parts of the country so severely such that airports were shut, commuters were stuck on trains overnight in south London and in cars on the highway between Edinburgh and Glasgow. North Hertfordshire had miraculously received only a light dusting, until the night of 18th December, that is. Within hours thick layers of snow lay on the ground. It was therefore rather opportune that my neighbour, Chris, should kindly offer to assist in the installation of a wood burner in my lounge fireplace. We had measured up and fitted the register plate which he had sprayed. We then had to carry the burner out to my garage to spray it with stove paint, just as the first snowflakes began to fall in the early part of the afternoon. This was no mean feat, considering the weight of the unit. Moving it back inside, the next task was to fit the burner and seal it and the register plate with silicon and stove clay. The standard procedure is to start the fire so that the clay dries out. It also cures the paint, which in this instance produced a bit of smoke and a strong paint odour which triggered my smoke detector, so I had to open the windows for a bit. The house is 150 years old or thereabouts and used to have a fireplace in the lounge, the upstairs bedroom and the kitchen! It's a novelty and will be treated as such. There's nothing like a warm fire on a cold wintry night, a glass of wine and good company. The following morning I ventured outdoors, armed with my camera, to capture some shots of the snow enveloping the town.