In this bad weather

The following is a text message received this morning from my little brother:
"Weatherman said the temperature is going to drop really low tonight and every one should check on elderly friends, you ok?"

It did make me laugh but he is only two years my junior and he does live in the frozen north. I have told everyone down here the story of Bradford being built on seven hills like Rome. In snowy weather a snow plough starts off on top of each hill and works its way down into the centre freeing the roads for the morning rush hour into work. During the day they work their way out of the town centre back up to their depots at the top of each hill, thus clearing the way for the evening rush hour. Now I don't know whether this is true about the snow ploughs (the seven hills resemblance to Rome is) but I always like to make the point that you would be hard pressed to find seven snow ploughs in the whole of Hampshire. Bradford is (was?) geared up for bad weather and snow ( I must have told you the story as a college student home for Christmas and doing the Royal Mail and getting lost in a snow blizzard up Manningham?) whereas Hampshire isn't. How the tide has turned this winter. Mind you here in Havant we, as usual, are protected by the Solent and the isle of Wight even from a north easterly from Siberia and our mini climate saw off the snow quickly.

Anyway I replied to little brother: "So far so good, youngster!" but you cannot get the right amount of irony in a text message.

I welcome my cousin, Denise (known to everyone else as Kath - but therein lies another story)as a reader of my blog. She was most put out that I hadn't told her about my appearance on "Ladies of Letters" (see below) before it was broadcast. I tell so many people through my Facebook and through this blog that I thought I must have covered everyone.

"When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on." Franklin D. Roosevelt.