White Land

It is snowing right now, huge fat flakes getting faster and faster outside my window. It's pretty; the window is open so that the cats can go out. They want no truck with it. I've had my porridge, but can feel the cold knawing at my feet already. Time to board up for the winter.

This snow would have been bad news over the weekend, for we spent much time on the hills beyond Salisbury and would doubtless have frozen in our wellies. We were visiting larians family way down south, and the experience was warm and generous as ever, all food and farms and countrification; Saturday saw us getting our crimbo venison and a huge salmon; I am relieved the latter wasn't all for us cos we'd never fit it in the freezer.

( chickens )

Then it was down to the wilds beyond Salisbury, to visit larians sister who has set up something of an old English dream; her own livery yard and stables. Meandering through old country villages like Stockbridge and Sixpenny Handley, all apparently quite close to Madgecountry, it left me wondering how people under 60 (or under 60 grand) live here. If you don't work on a country estate, you'll travel the winding roads to Salisbury or Andover, and they must be a real laugh a minute in Winter. The nearest village to larians sister had one post office, one grocery shop, two pubs and a mobile chippy. Bloody hell.

I always objected to Priestley's argument that we should not mind losing 'the countryside' if it meant giving every Brit a home; I never understood why/if that choice had to be made, and considering the derelict housing to be seen everywhere I still don't see it, but I didn't feel comfortable with the way common land got squeezed out between the great country estates. Britons could never lose their green and pleasant land, because they didn't own it in the first place; some owners were chilled, but some were not, and would attend to you with dogs if they caught you roaming their fields. God knows what they thought you were doing. Admittedly that was in 1970s/80s conservative heartland Wiltshire. Things are more laid back now; the dogs aren't the problem so much as the guns. Oh well.

( Dogs'n'Osses )

The snow has stopped, the trees are white and the earth is white and the sky is sea-gull coloured. Time for work.

White Land II

Beautiful day, beautiful sunset, a night more achingly cold than the morning and deep snow on every roof. Winter is here. The only thing in my head is an old irrelevant question; What kind of network would cancel a series like firefly?

Many thanks to lauremer for lending us the series.