CHRISTMAS WEATHER.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIC, Issue 13866, 31 March 1909, Page 2

CHRISTMAS WEATHER.

Writing from London on January Ist a cuiTL-spunitent of tlio "Argus" says: —Kxeepcing two or three days' snap of cold a mouth ago, the weather in these islands till Sunday last was more like spring than winter. The whole aspect of the country showed, many signs of an early spring. The garden birds round "London w,ere pairing. Blackbirds,, thrushes, and robins were in- full song, as in March or April. Some of these familiar birds were making nests so early as the first. week in December. Shrubs and tiees of many kinds were showing their buds. The rising sap in the elm trees was reddening the tips of many a grove. In fact, most of the "forest trees .were displaying a return of life as vividly as we rarely witness before March or April. On Saturday a change suddenly swept over these islands. Snow fell light on Sunday, and from that day till Wednesday midnight we had the most terrible winter weather of the last twenty years. In the neighbourhood of London the snowfall was not more than 4in. In the North and in the Midlands it exceeded 2ft. In Scotland it was in places several feet deep. The traffic in and around London was seriously interrupted. Over 70 electric tramcars were stopped. Cabs and busses were almost at a standstill. The motor-bus and the motor-car were not much inconvenienced, and the tubes and underground railways worked as usual, lint there were serious delays in the regular train services. Some of the,trains from the North of England were many hours behind time. In Scotland half-a-dozen trains; in different parts of the country were buried in snow, and in some cases the passengers had to remain in their compartments over twenty-four hours. A train at Castle Kennedy was buried in a snow-drift 20ft. deep. At Drumlithie an express was imprisoned for twenty-four "hours. In another instance the driver and fireman were so overwhelmed under snow that they had to be dug out of the "cab" in a state of semi-consciousness. The snow interfered with all kinds of traffic everywhere, to the detriment of shopkeepers and traders. The frost, too, was very severe. In many parts of the country \he thermometer ranged from zero to I4desr below freezing point. In one respect the blizzard was useful. It found employment for some of the many thousands of out-of-works in London nnd hi other large towns. In the metropolis alone over 20,0(10 extra hands were engaged to clear the streets. The usual rate of wages was sixpence an hour, hut in some of the metropolitan boroughs the local authority paid 4s b day, and in one case 4s Gd. During the week coals advanced 4s a ton. As I write the blizzard is ended. A change of wind of Thursday night bromrht rain and a breath of warm air. London and the country are just now in a state of slush.