Wednesday 25th November

Yes, winter has arrived, and early too.  After a splendid long hot summer, and a remarkably mild October and beginning of November, when we would sit outside Bar Tortoni in the sunshine on a Sunday afternoon and think how lucky we were – winter is here and brrrrr…..is it cold?  It was a bit drizzly on Sunday, but the skies soon cleared up and as night came on the cold descended like a gentle all-absorbing blanket.  Monday morning it began to snow; just a few large blobby flakes which swirled around a bit and settled on the trees and grass but melted when they hit the road.  This only lasted an hour and then the sun came out and the temperature crept up to about five degrees.   A few intrepid walkers were out but the town was really quiet, even for a Monday – when almost every shop is shut.

It got colder as the evening drew on, and we were driving home from Bergerac and saw the most incredible sunset, all blazing oranges and a few clouds lit up bright yellow on their edges and streaming paler and paler flames as the few clouds streaked away into the darkening blue sky.  The skies then cleared and an almost full moon shone down.  We knew it would get colder and this morning (Tuesday) it was very very cold.  The river was shrouded in low-lying fog, it was swirling around and rising in towers of mist.  But no snow today; maybe just too cold for that.  So, winter has arrived.  Or maybe it is just a reminder, and we will have some warmer weather before it returns after Christmas, with ir without a vengeance.  We will see.