Berit & Chris's weblog

Chipping Norton, The Cotswolds

Today, we left a cold and wet Bristol behind and headed for the Cotswolds to view a lovely antique dresser in the town of Chipping Norton. It has been trying to snow in Bristol for more than a week, but no more than a few flakes have ever reached the ground and we have instead been stuck with a bitter Northerly wind. Heading North this all seemed to change. Hills and countryside were covered in a thin layer of snow, making every village we drove through (the navigation system forced us to take a scenic route...) stunningly attractive. Approaching Chipping Norton, we were greeted by the tall chimney of Bliss Tweed Mill, built in the late 19th century, which made me somewhat anxious in light of Chris’ latest obsession with chimneys.

Winter in Britain

Yesterday evening, we finally saw the first feeble snowfall of the year. It barely covered the ground, but it fast caused a great deal of excitement and frenzy in our road from students desperately trying to form snowballs with what little building material they could find!

Despite all the anticipation, however, not even the British weather could overshadow the political events of the last 24 hours. The long awaited publication of the Hutton report into the circumstances surrounding the death of weapons expert, Dr Kelly, caused much political and media intrigue, and its conclusion, which largely cleared the Government, MoD and the Prime Minister of any wrongdoing, and criticised the BBC and the BBC Radio 4's Today Programme for wrongly attacking the integrity of the Government, resulted in the resignation of prominent BBC directors. Having studied British politics, this was indeed a fascinating show to watch.

This morning, desperate to experience the little snow we had had the previous evening, I had a long walk on the Downs. Parts of the Downs beautifully overlook the Bristol Suspension Bridge and the Avon Gorge. The Avon Gorge and the Downs, which is understandably popular with joggers, picnickers and sightseers, was once a meadow grazed by sheep and cattle. Now, it is a favourite subject of painters, and the Gorge has been designated Site of Special Scientific Interest due to its rare insects, mammals, and birds.

Arctic Winter approaching

I am waiting in great anticipation! For over a week now the news and weather reports have been talking about one thing…the fast approaching arctic winter about to hit Britain at any time. When the news hit the headlines last week, I watched in wonderment how it drew the British closer together, and suddenly found myself chatting about it with our lovely post lady and the checkout staff at ASDA. I became increasingly bewildered when I leaned that the arctic conditions about to hit us would include temperatures down to an amazing –4 C during the night here in the South West and a truly arctic +2 C degrees during the day. Maybe even the odd snowflake. All this excitement over the weather is quite endearing, really.

Maison Hauteville

Today, the weather was lovely (see opposite), so we drove to St. Peter Port to search for the home of Victor Hugo, Hauteville House. Hugo lived in exile in Guernsey between 1855 and 1870 and whilst he was here, he finished his most famous piece of work, Les Miserables. Since this is one of my favourite plays, we thought we should take a look. Unfortunately, Sod’s Law deemed it closed, but it was still fun finding it!