Back to blog: snow in Oxford

Hello? Anybody there?

I hope I haven't lost all interest in this space by my lack of posting recently. I have been meaning to write/post for sometime now, but...well no excuses really, just haven't gotten around to it.

As you might have guessed it's been a very busy time for me since my last entry. Since I last left this space in Decemeber I've bounced from Oxford to Poland (for the UN climate change conference) to Canada (for a wonderful holiday with family and friends) and back to Oxford for the start of the winter semester - which is now in its 3rd week. In Oxford the time is measured by weeks, not days. For example, "when is your paper due?" ....."Thursday of 5th week". The winter term is named 'Hilary' (not sure why...) and each term has 8 weeks - significantly shorter than the 12 week semesters I was accustomed to at Guelph.

Weather is always a popular topic in the UK, and this week has been no exception....in fact, this week the weather has been virtually THE only topic in the UK. Why? Well because it has been snowing and this apparently doesn't happen in significant quantities that often anymore in the UK. Large parts of the country are currently blanketed in the whitestuff, causing mayhem on the roads and mass closures of schools across the nation. On Monday we had a several milimeters in Oxford, yesterday we had a couple centimeters, and there is a forecast for a couple more tomorrow. It's a snowfall small comparable to those at home, but none-the-less enough to cripple parts of the UK. Estimates are that businesses have lost over a billion pounds this week, which probably isn't helping the financial crisis recovery much. The Heathrow airport and others around London have cancelled many flights and apparently England is running out of grit (sand/salt) to put down on the roads. The UK just isn't equipped to cope with this kind of weather.

Either way, aside from making for hazardous and slushy commutes for students & faculty, life at Oxford continues....albeit with more snowball fights, winter photographers, and international students outside enjoying their first touch of snow. Snow doesn't last very long on the ground in Oxford and I'm sure it will be gone by the weekend. A short winter indeed. Missing winter at home a little bit (certainly the skiing), but the snow does make the Oxford spires even more beautiful.