Tuesday, November 30, 2010

First Snowfall: 2010-2011 Winter

When I posted last year and the year before about the first snowfall of the season, I never wondered whether I was considering it to be the first snowfall in NYC or my first snowfall. It was as if I and NYC were one. This year, however, I'm experiencing my first snowfall today, November 30th, and I'm in London, so I guess the posts hereafter will have to do with where I am when I first experience it. Here it is, at about 1:15pm local time (squint to see the white specs of snow). I took this digital photograph from the steps of the Royal Academy of Arts at Burlington House. You're looking at the rear of a bronze statue of Sir Joshua Reynolds (first President of the RA), who normally seems to be looking to the heavens for divine inspiration, but in this case seems to be looking up at the falling snow with as much incredulity as Londoners were today. People I spoke to have all expressed a bit of shock that it's snowing here. Apparently until a few years ago, London never got snow, no matter how badly it snowed elsewhere in the country. The past few days, however, have been rough for people all over the UK, especially in the north such as Yorkshire, Northumberland, and Scotland, where it has been snowing since last Wednesday night and causing early seasonal problems for everyone. The snow isn't sticking in London, but it's supposed to keep falling for the next day or two. Once again I find myself wondering if weather will prevent me from flying on Friday. I'll close this post by also showing the next thing I photographed: students holding their 3rd protest against government-mandated tuition increases by marching down Piccadilly Road and disrupting the traffic in the process. This was happening as I left the RA for the day, just after I had taken the snowy picture above.

No comments: