This entry is prompt #15 of The Book of Me, Written by You project

This week’s prompt is – Snow!

• Do you live in area where you routinely have snow?
• How old were you when you first saw snow?
• Do you remember it?
• Did you make snowmen?

• Throw Snowballs

• Sledge Rides

• What is the image that first came to mind when you read snow?

• What does snow

• feel like,
• smell like
• how do you see snow

Living in the south of England we don’t often get snow so when we do – even if it’s only an inch or two – the whole world seems to grind to a halt. it seems like we can go several years without any snow at all, and then we’ll have two or three snowfalls in one winter. Last year it snowed before Christmas, then again in January, and I’m sure we also had snow quite late in the year, perhaps March or April, though it didn’t last long.

The first time I remember it snowing was when I was maybe 8 or 9. We had quite heavy snow and my dad disappeared into the garage (his shed) for a couple of hours and came out with a sledge he’d built from odds and ends! As a family, we went up Harrow Hill and spent a sunny Sunday afternoon sledging. People were there on all sorts of improvised sledges – tea trays, plastic sheeting, the plastic baskets used to deliver bread – but there we were with our fabulous home-made sledge! It was an extra special day because we didn’t often do things as a family because of my dad’s odd working hours etc.

I remember there being snow one winter when I was at senior school – I can mainly remember trudging up the hill to school from the bus stop, and then slithering back down again because the snow had become so packed down it was like ice. Not fun … I also remember one year when I was first working – must be about 1990. My landlord used to give me a lift to work and he always parked in a little housing estate about five minutes’ walk away. It had snowed but the main roads were all pretty clear – but this little cul de sac was untouched and I can remember stepping out of his car into snow that was deeper than my knee-high boots.

Now, of course, I am a parent myself and I’ve had some wonderful days in the snow with my children. I used to childmind and we had a fun afternoon in the back garden once with Katie and Dan plus the two little girls I was childminding. I seem to remember they all decided it would be fun to go down the slide into a pile of snow at the bottom! Another year we had enough snow for sledging but we couldn’t find any big hills. Eventually we realised that a nearby park had a sloped area in it and though it wasn’t very steep or big it was big enough to keep the children happy! I nearly crashed into a lamp post though …!

We now live in a town with a BIG hill and we have had a couple of winters where there’s been enough snow for sledging. It was great fun going down, though the walk all the way back up wasn’t so good! We’ve also had lots of snowball fights …. the best one was probably first thing in the morning on the first day of snow, and we all ended up absolutely soaked and freezing cold. A few mugs of hot chocolate soon sorted that out! Actually, that particular winter I’d not long been seeing my lovely man, Steve, and he ended up snowed in at his house. At the time we lived down a hill and the only way out was at the top of the hill. For a couple of days there was no way he could get his car up the hill, so he stayed with us. It was a really special time as it gave him a chance to get to know the children really well.

One of my favourite things to do on a snowy day is to go out early, before the world is awake, and take photos. There’s something quite magical about seeing the world covered in a layer of fresh snow, before everyone has stomped their way through it.