The big freeze continues, and to all intents and purposes we are snowed in. One can get in and out, but it is such an immense effort that except in the case of an emergency, or - like today - Shosh and Gavin driving back to Staffordshire (which is both essential, and a one-way journey) it is hardly worth the effort.So far (touch wood) we have not had any cold-related fatalities amongst the animals, and I must say that Oliver is doing a sterling job keeping the place going. What with that, and all the work that he did on the bloggo during his Christmas break, and I really do not know what I would do without him. Thank you, Oliver.
The yearbook is finished, but what with the delays caused to the entire country by the inclement weather, I am making no promises at all about when it will be available.
We have had no post for some days now, and our broadband service is intermittent, mainly because with so many kids off 
school, there are a lot more broadband users each day in our little spur of the infobahn, and the outdated telephone cables are being put under a higher workload than usual.
However, the good news is that both Andy Roberts's and Carl Portman's books are on the last lap, and will be released as soon as normal service returns, and we can announce yet another book in the Mystery Animals of the British Isles series: Gloucester and Worcester, written by Paul Williams.
More good news is that we will be starting work on designing the first volume of Haunted Skies by John Hanson and Dawn Holloway this week, and as soon as the boy Freeman returns, we shall be starting to typeset his massive magnum opus, The Great Yokai Encyclopaedia.
Noela is still in hospital but will hopefully be moved to Bideford Hospital sometime this week. Thank you on her behalf for all your good wishes.
The bad news? Well, its bloody cold, and the kids go home today, and we still have not had the newsblog restored, but on the whole everything is going reasonably well. So its onwards, upwards and on with the show....
I sympathise with your snowed-in state, really I do. Last Monday, after heavy snowfall I struggled in to work in Manchester and found myself the only member of IT staff who'd actually managed it (despite living over 30 miles away); the university then closed at 12:00 due to the snow. On my way back to the car, I happened to bump into a colleague from the Enterprise UNIX team who'd made it into Manchester from Anglesey. I suppose the other staff who couldn't do a mere 5 miles or so must have some sort of excuse...
ReplyDeleteApart from this and one minor fall on ice, I suppose I've come out of the current freeze OK. No burst pipes at home (yet, hopefully never), no major accidents, no hassle save for a bit of car-skidding-sideways antics and a bill for a new tyre due to a sidewall puncture. Oh, and a chance to snigger at BMW and Mercedes car owners who might have the ultimate driving machines but who unfortunately didn't think to get winter tyres...