When it snows, which it might not have done round your way but it has round here, a lot of people start dashing around taking photos. It's just the same old local stuff with snow on top, but unusual enough that capturing unusualness becomes the thing. We rarely intend to do much with these photos, other than perhaps clog social media with them for a few hours, and then they languish in our devices' memories because nobody wants to see a frosty dusting after the event.
I have been guilty of this over the last few days, taking pointless snaps of things solely because they're whiter than usual, so I thought rather than wasting them in oblivion I'd subject you to a dozen here. You don't have to pretend to be interested, just as I wouldn't be particularly interested if you showed me a dozen of yours.
This is the churchyard at St Mary's in Bow looking much as it must have looked to generations, other than the wooden planters and the low-emission buses and the new flats in the background. It's a shame the snow came on a Sunday evening because without the steady tread of worshippers' feet that path might have looked even more Victorian.
This is the Gladstone statue outside St Mary's church, and this isn't the first time I've taken his photo with a snow-topped arm, indeed it's not even the second, but it is obligatory to capture this image every time the weather permits.
The Olympic Park was fairly unsullied by stompy footsteps on Monday morning so I took this shot of the pines they planted above Carpenters Lock which give the whole place a slight Scandinavian touch. it doesn't look like this any more, sadly.
If you remember the premature Olympic Park daffodil I showed you in a post on Sunday, well it wasn't looking quite so cocky by the following morning weighed down by a mass of snow on its back and surrounded by an inch or two of pristine coverage.
This is just a bog standard photo of the northern Olympic Park under a layer of snow, other than the row of ducks who just happened to be crossing the river in a mighty photogenic way for a few seconds. These are the times you just have to point and click or the moment is gone forever.
A decent drop of snow also means joy for people who like building snowmen, or in this case a snowcat. I think it's an attempt at a Japanese lucky cat but I'm not sure, and sadly its nose has fallen off. I also like that there happen to be three more snowmen of various sizes in the background.
To be fair this is just a photo of a classic old launderette in Leyton, but because of the icy pavement and the snow clinging to a yellow flower I couldn't use this photo on the blog at any other time of year so here it is now.
While waiting for two cancelled trains on the Overground there's not much to do other than a) freeze b) check apps c) take a photo of metal seats no passenger has yet been stupid enough to sit on.
This is no longer Monday as you can probably tell by the fact the sun's come out. But the snow here in Plumstead still hadn't melted yesterday and the trees in Bostall Woods covering the hill behind were sparkling like a winter wonderland. I can't imagine ever taking a photo of Bastion Road otherwise, let alone sharing it with you.
The lawn outside Charlton House was also still covered yesterday, so safer than walking on the pavement. I like the incongruity of the palm tree with snow across its leaves like an icy grass skirt. As local libraries go this one's particularly photogenic, even in nicer weather.
This is Nelson's Ship in a Bottle by Yinka Shonibare, which in 2010 stood on the Fourth Plinth but which can now be found round the back of the National Maritime Museum. The top of the bottle is amusingly covered by snow which perhaps you can't see clearly in this small version but it looked a lot better in real life.
And finally this is Greenwich Park with its observatory atop a frosty hill and the weak midwinter sun creating a halo effect as it struggles through approaching cirrus. I reckon this photo simply exudes cold so maybe you could store it away to look at during our next 40°C summer heatwave because it might just chill you down.
Keep your fingers crossed it won't snow properly again for a few months, or even years, so I won't feel the need to show you another dozen photos of dull vistas coated with frozen water.
