Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

I have never seen anything like it. I knew it was going to snow, but when I finally stepped out it was like another world: empty roads; green lights; serene quiet. There was only one place to head, and that was the park. And what a scene there was!

Greenwich park is one of the oldest and, in my opinion, one of the best parks in London. More importantly, it’s got hills – big ones – and a vibrant myriad of children and overgrown children were busy throwing themselves down these slopes on anything they could get their hands on yesterday, anything – I saw road signs, builders’ bags, a rubber dinghy, estate agent’s boards, body boards, skis, snowboards, bits of wood and an inflatable whale. People had excelled themselves. The best performer of all? The good old wooden tea-tray.

There was a carnival atmosphere, dogs bounding around, spectators watching the next brave attempt, laughing and joking, the sounds of thrilled screams, crescendos fighting against Doppler effects, and exclamatory ‘ooohs!’ as the next train of people took out a toddler or ended itself on tree. A grand plan to roll a giant snow ball down the hill, Indiana Jones-style, was a celebrated failure. It was all so reassuringly dangerous.

From their pedestals, old statues of kings and generals, half-coated with snow, surveyed the entertainment, and I swear I saw smiles cracking their stern faces. Who could fail to laugh? And it snowed and snowed, blanketing the whole park, smoothing the contours, the paths erased; it was the kind of wonderland only dreamed of in England, let alone London.

Aside from the human ebullience, touches of surreal natural beauty were everywhere, framing the scene, notably the green laser that shoots out above the park from the observatory, along the prime meridian, which was lit up by the falling flakes of snow, producing a coruscating beam that strobed brighter as the light faded to orange towards the east of the city. I overheard a woman describing it as ‘the most beautiful thing she had ever seen’. London looked quite extraordinary.