How could the World Change While we ate Dinner?

Dear Diary

I have to tell you that Saturday night was high up on the list of scariest things in my life.

Whilst eating dinner with friends our world became covered in 5 inches of snow.

How can it happen that quickly?

These friends live only 20 minutes away but on the edge of Epping Forest

We made a hasty retreat around 9.45 pm to take an advised quicker route that the familiar one

(Strangely we knew that the Sat Nav did not seem to know it was snowing and was suggesting the fast but narrow country lane route we had arrived on so did not attempt that!)

Very soon afterwards we found ourselves well and truly stuck

on a hill, in deep snow, in the dark, late at night, on an unfamiliar narrow road, in the forest and with no phone signal.

Everything we tried did not work, the tyres just would not grip the road and we knew we had to stop when the smell of burning tyres permeated the car. We did not have a map for such a short journey and we did not know where we were.

I tell you diary, I was frightened

I had heard of people being stuck in cars all night on the motorway, but with emergency services checking folk and handing out drinks that would not have been so scarey

.

Alone without drinks, blankets, and suitable shoes my imagination ran wild.

For the next hour we worked with a number of different manoeuvres.

First we allowed the car to roll backwards down the first bendy hill, unable to see out of the windows for the constantly falling snow.

When this became too difficult our next strategy was to try and turn around, becoming initially stuck sideways across the road.

This was frightening too as there were a number of 4 wheel drive vehicles using the road and not stopping even though we had our hazard lights on. Nobody wants to stop in these conditions in case they become stuck too.

Eventually we turned around and very slowly made the next hill with Alan driving zig-zag across the road, literally inch by inch while I pushed from behind.

Remember diary I was wearing flimsy shoes and my feet soon were wet through and freezing, not to mention sodden gloves and lots of snow on my hatless head.

Now this dear diary is a lady who walks around the park in the worst of the winter in a quilted jacket, fur hat, thick scarf, thick gloves, walking boots or trainers and thick socks.

Things were looking up a little until we came to a one-way single line traffic light system where we again became stuck. 

We did however, after an hour, make it to a main road which was still quite treacherous but flat and wider.

We had no choice but to return to our friends home and initially when opening the door they did not recognise these two snow covered and shivering images on their doorstep.

Soon however they were making up beds in their spare rooms while we sat drinking hot tea.

It was 2.0 am by the time I pulled the covers over me (yes dear diary it gave us more time for lots of chatting and catching up while we thawed out) to spend the night going over our ordeal in my mind and thinking of the possibility of having to spend a second night as our car was now stuck on the hill in their road.

Fortunately, and in spite of my mental gymnastics, we were able to move our car about midday on Sunday and make it home after reaching a gritted road (seen in the photo) the long way round via. 2 motorways. 

What bliss - a wide and gritted road and away from the deep forest

Our friends garden when we left

and a little of ours when we arrived home

the first bit of our journey where our car became stuck again.

We could not get from the road to our drive

Very soon our house church leader was busy with a shovel and Alan eventually drove in

So that Dear Diary was an interesting entry for today

don't you think!

Many in house church having fun either playing, having snow ball fights and sledging and clearing snow from the road and pavements

I am afraid I stayed indoors having seen enough snow for this weekend

Taken from an upstairs window it looks like we have 

match stick men

Now Julie next door is handing out Mulled Wine

The first tray was knocked right out of her hand by a snowball