Re: December Weather

Sirs 

As always, Eric Gilbert’s reflections on the weather in December were interesting if somewhat depressing.  When is the really cold weather going to reach us, if ever….? 

I hark back to my childhood in Marlborough. In the pantry in our house we had stored a box of ice skates which came out almost every winter and which we took down to the Kennet and Avon canal at Burbage wharf.  Here we would skate on the ice, dancing to the music from a wind up gramophone, or having a game of ice hockey with friends. In the evening, following our antics on the ice and at our departure, the kind farmer, opposite whose house we were skating, would bring out his hose and flood the ice in order that we should have a smooth surface on which to skate the following day. 

But unforgettable was the ice cold day in 1960 when in brilliant, winter sunshine three of us skated 18 miles from the Burbage wharf to Devizes, ensuring that we climbed on to land to cross the bridges rather than risk skating underneath where the ice was considerably thinner.  Lunch in a pub and then a lift home were all that was required! 

When was the last winter during which such pleasure could have been gained by the people of Marlborough? 

Did I hear someone deny global warming?

Yours,

Dr Nick Maurice

Marlborough