In message , John Hall
writes
In article
,
"Keith (Southend)G" writes:
On Jan 4, 5:45*pm, Richard Dixon wrote:
On Jan 4, 5:37*pm, "Keith (Southend)G"
wrote:

Mmm, do I sense a carrot Will, I'm beginning to lean towards my
original 'it was an early winter so Jan/Feb will be average' thoughts,
but a long time to go yet ;-)

Certainly sounds reasonable from the viewpoint of "things balance out
after a while" point of view. Although you'd have been waiting a long
time in 62/63 for that compensatory milder spell...!

Richard

Ah, but 1962/63 didn't start until Boxing Day.

That's a bit of an over-simplification. There had been a couple of brief
cold spells earlier in the month, though admittedly nothing out of the
ordinary. (There had also been quite a sharp cold snap in mid-November.)
And though the snow at the end of the month didn't arrive till Boxing
Day (at least in the south), the bitter easterlies had set in on about
the 22nd or 23rd and that's when I would regard the winter as having
really started.


I'm puzzled and possibly embarrassed by the conflict between my
recollection of the first evening of heavy snow on New Years Eve at
Woking and the more general recollection that snowed earlier, Boxing Day
or so.

My memory insists that the major event of very heavy snow was the night
of 31/12/62 - 1/1/63. Memorable for my father - technically disabled -
cheerfully helping get guests' cars under way on leaving, before being
hospitalised the next day with what thankfully turned out to be only
anaemia. That day and night I remember as being when the snow all came.

Have I simply forgotten? Was there snow in west Surrey earlier?


And the sledging was super.
--
Peter Thomas