Frosty Park

 Christmas is coming, although the weather can't make up its mind. There was one morning when it felt like winter, so I made sure I took Rue out to capture some photos in our local park. Yes, it was freezing, but worth the early walk to get the photos. The frosty grass crunched under my feet and the sun made everything glisten. Everything looked pretty, even a humble bench.

I am not a fan of winter. The cold doesn't agree with me. I'm more a spring and summer person. Like those cold-blooded creatures, a shot of sun brings me outside, and if it is warm enough I'll bask, feeling my body gradually coming to life.

During COVID and that lockdown over the winter, I was torn between staying warm at home and venturing outside in the cold just to stop me climbing walls. We didn't have Rue then, so it wasn't like he needed walking. But I walked a lot during COVID, and I took my mobile out or my bridge camera to capture certain weather patterns. I'd arrive home frozen to the bone.

I'm old enough to remember the winter of 1963. There was no central heating. We had hot water from a boiler and an airing cupboard. In the lounge we had a coal fire. I cannot remember what heat we had in the bedrooms. Maybe an electric fan blower (I'll have to ask my brother that). But I remember walking to my grandparents' house. They lived in the same town. By the time we arrived, I was so cold I remember crying with the pain of the cold in my hands. I sat by their coal fire thawing out. 

For the first years of my life, and again after my grandfather died (when we moved back), we lived in that house. Coal fires, a coal boiler for hot water and one radiator in the lounge. That was life. Ice on the inside of windows, a fan heater in the bedroom, getting up, grabbing my school clothes, putting on the fire and going back to bed and waiting for my clothes to warm up - that was an everyday thing for me growing up. My parents never ventured into central heating. We eventually had a radiator in the bathroom, but on bath night (yeah, it was a thing), we had a paraffin heater (like the one we used in the greenhouse!) to heat the bathroom. I remember the aroma! I vowed that when I had a place of my own, it would have central heating and I would never be as cold as that again!

People talk about the good old days, and harp on back to 1963. It was an experience, that's all I call it! Everything is an experience. However, I'd not like to live like that again. Were we more resilient then? We knew nothing else and we had to get on with it.

Some of you might know that in my other life, I'm a writer. These experiences make good scenarios for poems and stories. I recently wrote something harking back to those times (with lots of writer's licence to fabricate and exaggerate) about the time through illness my brother had to go and dig out the coal (we had a coal bunker). There was lying snow, but my dad was too ill to go and get the coal. We still had a coal fire and boiler (and a gas fire in the front room). I used to sit as close to the fire to keep warm, my legs with patchy red bits where I stood/sat too long!

Beds had hot water bottles, and I still remember the old stone ones that had to be wrapped in a cloth to stop burning yourself. No duvets in those days. It was all sheets and blankets. I do think winters were colder in those days. We had icicles forming on the gutterings. They did look lovely, and I was fascinated by them. Don't see that now. I guess houses are too warm for that to happen. Frozen pipes seem to be more a thing of the past too. I remember one year snow got into the loft (we didn't have the same insulation as we do today), and when it began to melt, water came through the ceiling. Oh, yeah, great times! 

Anyway, there we go, winters of my past! Christmas gets me through these dark days and the cold. The lights and the carols, shops all bright and enticing, and the music, oh I love the music. 

Rue doesn't seem to mind the cold. He's not keen on rain (like me), but he has a couple of little jackets to keep him warm, and if it's really bitingly cold, there is the cafe in the park these days. It's only been there since summer. I must pop in and see their Christmas tree and grab a hot chocolate. Rue likes it in there too.

Rue is now the only family pet we have now as we sadly lost the last of our pet rats on Saturday. Piper had multiple tumours, and we knew a few weeks ago that her time was short. We had to let her go as we didn't want her to suffer. She had restricted herself to moving around on the top level of the cage. She had everything she needed there - food, drink, bedding and a fluffy hammock. Up until the end she still loved being out with us and boggled (a happy rat expression) and she looked forward to her treats and her fresh carrot or broccoli.But the tumours were fast growing and we didn't know if she was in pain. I still miss her a lot. She is now with her sisters in the pet burial ground in the garden. We sent her off in our usual way - food for the afterlife and a cross (covering all bases!)  The photo below is the last one I took of her a week ago. She loved snuggling in my dressing gown. It's my favourite photo.