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The Cheshire Cat Blog
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January 2011 |
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New Year 2011
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Winter wonderlands
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| Without fear or favour, The Cheshire Cat sent our intrepid reporters out into the cold to capture scenes from the frozen northern hemisphere of our favourite planet. Some have not been heard from since. Those who did make it back through the blizzards sent us the following icy views. |
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Lesley A. Smith, Massachusetts, USA
Frozen berries, anyone?
Jack Frost decorates the woods
Icicles on the chicken coop
photos: © Lesley Smith, Massachusetts, USA |
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David Elis-Williams, Bangor, Gwynedd, North Wales, UK |
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Ancient Bangor Cathedral has seen a lot of snow in its time.
One of Britain's oldest cathedrals, it was founded by Saint Deiniol in the the 6th century.
Bangor, a university town situated on the the North Wales coast, is one of Britain's smallest cities. Its name is derived from the type of fenced compound of the original monastic settlement on the site of the present cathedral. Having been destroyed and rebuilt several times, much of the cathedral's present fabric dates from the 16th century (including the bell tower, right) and the 19th century when it was renovated by Sir Gilbert Scott (who built the central tower, left).
This photo shows the south side of the cathedral as seen from the grassy hill (formerly the bishop's orchard) below the university's Main Arts Building.
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Shoppers trudge home through the snow along Ffriddoedd Road on the outskirts of Bangor, North Wales.
For most of its considerable length, Ffriddoedd Road is lined by pleasant middle-class houses, set back from the road amid well-kept gardens. Here also are student halls of residence and buildings of Coleg Menai, including the former Technical College (left) and a little further on the former Friars grammar school, founded in 1557.
photos: © David Elis-Williams, Bangor, North Wales, UK |
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Gordon Mcleod, Menai Bridge, North Wales, UK |
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The Town Clock, High Street, Bangor. Built 1887.
There was a time when every self-respecting British town had a town clock, either as part of a civic building or housed in its own tower. During the 19th century Bangor enjoyed an economic boom due to the growth of the local slate industry and its position on the new road and rail routes between England and Ireland. New houses, shops, hotels, banks and places of worship appeared, the cathedral was renovated (see above), a university was founded by public subscription, and by 1896 the city could even boast a 472 metre-long (1,500 feet) pier.
During the 20th century the town clock, situated at around the mid-point of the High Street (said to be one of the longest in Britain), became the focal point of Bangor's centre: the bus station, main post office, library, registry office and town hall are nearby as well the row of businesses which included the Art Deco facade of Woolworth's (right in the photo, now a pharmacy) which was largest store in town.
Snow-clad wall of the railway station, Bangor, North Wales.
Snow covers the mighty chains of Thomas Telford's Menai Suspension Bridge (completed 1826).
CAUTION, icetect at work!
Mia practices her igloo-building skills on the Menai Straits, beneath Telford's suspension bridge.
Her frozen friend guards the building site. Note the latest seaweed hairstyle - very trendy.
Mia ponders over how to arrange all the Ikea furniture she's just ordered for her new home.
Another of Mia's flaky buddies goes punk near Saint Tysilio's island.
Saint Tysilio's Church on Ynys Tyslio (Tysilio's Island, also known as Church Island), said to have been founded by the saint in 630 AD during the seven years he lived here as a hermit. The present building dates from the 15th century (refurfished in the 1890s) and is surrounded by many old graves and war memorials.
Ynys Tyslio, between Menai Bridge and Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch,
Anglesey, North Wales.
photos: © Gordon Mcleod, Menai Bridge, North Wales, UK
See more photos of Bangor, Menai Bridge and Saint Tysilio's Church at:
www.davidjohnberlin.com/english/gal-04/britain/index.htm
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Martine Passagez, Eupen, Belgium |
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Freshly-baked mince pies, straight out of the oven.
Mince pies are among the consolations of the bleak mid-winter, along
with roast chestnuts, porridge and other Great British comfort foods.
If you have never enjoyed a British mince pie you may be confused. The "mincemeat" in the pastry has nothing
to do with dead animals or "hamburger meat", but is more like marmalade: a mixture of fruit, spices and sugar
cooked into a thick, dark, sweet, sticky mass. The name goes back to ye olde English, when confections
were known as sweetmeats (time to brush up your Shakespeare). Some mincemeat lovers will eat the stuff
straight off a spoon, but baked in a pie it's simply irresistible.
In Britain (and now Belgium, apparently - Ed.), mince pies are traditionally eaten at Christmas, and commercially produced pies are usually only available around this time. So those who wish to enjoy these winter warmers
outside the festive period have to bake their own. Good fun too. They come in all shapes and sizes, and real afficianados have their own recipes.
These scrummy-looking morsels were made by young Noah who has gone for the pastie shape.
(Sorry, we can't go into the history of the Cornish pastie here. Maybe some other time.)
Right, that's quite enough of this warm, cosy fireside chit-chat. Let's get back out into the fresh, bracing winter air.
No sneezing at the back there ...
this photo has a mouseover effect
Belgian icicles on the attic.
Cold, long, sharp, nasty looking things. We wouldn't like to be standing under this roof when they start to fall.
Ah, this is more like it: a sunny open space with crunchy snow underfoot and a sprinkling of the stuff
to cover the modesty of the bare tree branches.
Ideal place for a snowball fight at the OK Corral.
Did we say "a sprinkling" of snow on the tree branches? A slight Belgian understatement, perhaps.
photos: © Martine Passagez, Eupen, Belgium
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Peter Hinze, Berlin, Germany |
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Happy New Year!
A real Berliner party animal gets in the mood for the Sylvester (New Year) celebrations.
In Germany New Year's Eve means plenty of Sekt (German champagne) and fireworks - the louder the better.
The call of the wild.
A couple enjoy the thrill of dog-sledding on Langer See near Grünau,
one of the innumerable lakes which surround Berlin.
Underneath the steel arches of the "Magistratsschirm", the newly-renovated overhead section of the U2 U-Bahn
(underground rail, built 1910-1913) line along Schönhauser Allee in Berlin's trendy Prenzlauer Berg district.
Much of Berlin's underground train system was badly damaged during World War II. After the war it was patched up with the help of British military engineers. Their efforts were not made any easier by the tensions between the city's Western and Russian occupying forces. With the division of the city by the Berlin Wall, many U-Bahn lines ended at either side of the border and much of the network was left to rot, especially in the eastern part of the city.
Since German reunification vast sums of money have been spent renovating railway lines and stations, a process which seems endless and the cause of continual train delays and cancellations, not to mention ticket price rises. Still, Berliners love their U-Bahn, which still remains one of the cheapest and most efficient urban rail networks in Europe.
23.5 cm of snow, measured with a special patented German snow-measuring device.
Bernau, a small suburban town north of Berlin where many Berliners have holiday / weekend homes.
Piles of snow in Bernau, where giant moles have been at work.
Snowbound delivery bicycle in downtown Bernau.
photos: © Peter Hinze, Berlin, Germany
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Konstanze Gundudis, Berlin, Germany |
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A great tit (Parus major), one of a family of six which lives in Konstanze's garden in the centre of Berlin.
Great tits in Britain are notorious for drinking the milk left by milkmen on customers' doorsteps. They have learned to peck through the aluminium foil bottle caps to get at the cream on top of the milk. Their cousins in Berlin seem to show absolutely no interest in milk left out for them. Perhaps German milk just isn't creamy enough.
They also prefer salted peanuts to unsalted or various types of seeds and cereals.
Do they need the salt, or are they becoming junkfood junkies?
Bird's nest soup
Sparrows (in German Spatzen) hang around in large, noisy gangs, and are the cheekiest critters around.
They're not above pilfering from other birds: when the swallows return in May they are likely to find
that in their absence a sparrow gang has plundered their homes for building material.
"Spatz" or "spatzi" is also what German lovers coo to each other, like "dearest" or my "little turtle dove".
How romantik.
This blackbird usually skulks around in the undergrowth, and only ventures out to defend its territory
or if it senses a feeding opportunity.
The tits have discovered some peanuts left out by humans, and the blackbird deigns
to venture up a tree to see what's going on. Just as well, because here comes Sarkozi ...
Oh, oh! Hey guys, here comes Sarkozi!
The neighbours have dubbed this cat Sarkozi because of his imperious nature. When he's not doing his rounds of the neighbourhood, from one lunch appointment to the next, he's taking a nap somewhere cosy. Despite being slow and overfed, he occasionally makes a feeble effort to climb a tree to get at the birds. Fat chance.
photos: © Konstanze Gundudis, Berlin, Germany
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David John, Berlin, Germany |
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Some day my princess will come ...
The frog prince suffers a winter of discontent, but still dreams of one warm kiss.
A great tit (Parus major) who seems to have been pretty successful at building up its winter fat reserves.
"Yes, but I look far better in profle."
A stylish blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus), complete with Zorro mask.
Berlin sparrows at a feeding station.
A red squirrel indulging in a bit of January tree-hugging in Humboldthain park, Berlin.
photos: © David John
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Mark Mallett, Rhodes, Greece |
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After the bus and the tourists have gone.
This could be Rhodes in January, since the Mediterranean island enjoys far milder winters than northern Europe.
Actually, it's Rhodes in Summer. But you had guessed that already.
So, that's that! the Cheshire Cat has had quite enough of winter for this year, thank you very much.
So we leave you with serene dreams of warmer times.
This is the life: a lad, a lass, blue sky, a tractor and the open road.
Hang on to your headscarf, Maria, I think I've finally found fourth gear.
photos: © Mark Mallett, Swindon, UK |
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photos: © 2010 - 2011 Lesley A. Smith, David Elis-Williams,
Gordon Mcleod,
Martine Passagez, Mark Mallett, Konstanze Gundudis,
Peter Hinze, David John
Many thanks. Let's do this again some time. |
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Views of blog authors do not necessarily reflect those of the publishers
or anyone else at, on or in the vicinity of My Favourite Planet. |
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George Alvanos
furnished rooms
in Kavala's historic Panagia District
Anthemiou 35,
Kavala, Greece
+30 2510 221 781
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Olive Garden Restaurant
Kastellorizo, Greece
+30 22460 49 109
kastellorizo.de
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Papoutsis
Travel Agency
Kastellorizo, Greece
+30 22460 49 286
greeklodgings.gr
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