Where are the snows of yesteryear?

No white Christmas in Eugene this year, only endless fog and rain. In 17 years here, I can't remember ever having snow at Christmas. Many years we don't get any at all, or only a sprinkling that melts at once. More than an inch at a time shuts everything down. The city doesn't even own a single snow-plough. If absolutely necessary, they fix blades on their big trucks. A couple of years ago, our 7th-graders had their first ever snow day. Last year it came in mid December:

then never another flake.

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I can remember only one white Christmas in England, though there may have been more. That year we went for our usual walk while the turkey was doing its thing in the oven. My godmother suddenly went mad and rugger-tackled my brother. Taken utterly by surprise, he went flying in the snow.

After Christmas one year, we went for a magical walk in the snow at night, with a full moon shining, down by the river in Henley.  Out from under the bridge sailed a pair of swans, a vision I'll never forget.

Then there was the year it was so cold and snowy, we girls   were allowed to wear trousers at boarding school, unheard of in those days. That must have been before Christmas, because I remember going home and being deeply envious because my brother and sister had built an igloo in the garden.

But on the whole, I'm quite happy to do without the stuff.

May 2010 be a wonderful year for all of you!