Brian's Blog: Great Rail Journey Switzerland December 2009

Wednesday, 6 January 2010

Great Rail Journey Switzerland December 2009

One of the many trains we travelled on in Switzerland. The 1st photo shows the train equipped with a forward attached snow plough to enable us to get through the extensive snow falls....... we have a lot to learn from the Swiss.... for eight days the trains ran on time, even through periods of total white-out.

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Loneoak

We live in an area where there are a number of Old Oak Trees planted many years ago on farmland. The farms have now been taken over by residential properties and some of these trees are now situated in our gardens. Our particular tree is only a few metres from the house and the house name derives from the fact that it is on its own. Hence 'Loneoak'.

Under the Heading, "News as it Happens", the Web Pages can be accessed by 'clicking on' the subject

To view these photographs in a larger format, just click on the picture.

News as it happens

Click on the highlighted name in 'RED' to access the web site

1st January. Spent New Years Eve at home

2nd. To Castle Point to look for bargains. Shopping centre packed and not possible to find a parking spot for ages.

They say that there is no money around!

Notified by friends in Greece, that our friend Steve Hamilton from Sherbourne, had been found dead in bed. He was 82.

4th. Saw film 'Australia' in Bournemouth with Ajit, one of our neighbors. Great acting and scenery but film far too long.

5th. Still very cold with some snow here in Bournemouth this morning. Cleared as soon as it dropped. Liz, in Hanwell, London, reported snow falling this morning.

Harvested some leaks and carrots from the the garden and filled the bird feeder with nuts coated with chili powder to ward off the squirrels. Christmas tree and decorations taken down. Boxes labelled and to be placed back in the loft until December, 2009. Hope that I can find them by then.

John and Jackie, friends in France, off to Norway next week to see the Northern Lights from Tromso.

6th. Woke up to clear blue skies and temperature of -4.3 C. Burrrh....

13:30. Outside temp 0.3 C, conservatory temp 23.9 C

7th. Only -2.8 C this morning!

Off to Ringwood - for the weekly shopping. Miranda to the local Leisure Centre.

8th January. Dentist for a filling first thing and then to the Miramar Hotel, Bournemouth, for lunch and bridge in the afternoon. We will play 'teams' with twenty players.

9th. Again very cold. - 4.1 C this morning. Took a stroll to the local park and photographed Mallard Duck s on ice. Littledown Park.

Still no wind generators turning and forwarded this letter to the Editor of the Daily Telegraph.

'Sir'

Wind farms.

During this extremely cold spell in the UK, should not Gordon Brown have massed together all of the unemployed to blow hot air on the wind turbines to get them producing electricity, or would it have been more effective, if this had been done by the Government!'

10th. Recorded -5.0 C at 04:33 hrs. Harvested carrots and leeks frozen to a depth of ten inches. Sister in Ashford, Kent, reports temperature at 18:30, down to - 11 C.

12th January. What a contrast from three weeks of freezing weather. Now 8 C, windy and raining.

17th. Jasmine's for supper and bridge.

18th. 26 C in the conservatory.

John and Sue's for evening meal with friends.

26th. Had problems with the squirrels taking the bird feed attached to the garden fence, so placed the feeder in the centre of the washing line. Later, observed that a squirrel was leaping from a lower bush onto the feeder. Will try an attempt a photograph of his action. He actually made the feeder but eventually had to fall-off onto hard ground.

Birds in the garden today: Great Tit, Blue Tit, Wren, Robin, Blackbird and Pigeon.

7th February, 2009. Yesterday heavy snow and severe frost; today blue skies. Conservatory at 20C and rising.

5th March. Woke up to find it snowing again. Lasted about an hour and then all gone!