Thursday, January 07, 2010

Minus WHAT?

So I'd seen the forecast and all, and it certainly felt cold when I stepped outside although, I have to say, not as cold as it has been on previous days. There was no wind, and the street lay under its quiet blanket of snow pretty much as it had done all week.

I'll admit to the flash of a brief thought across my mind as I turned the key in the ignition - "will it start?" - but the old war horse turned over slowly and fired up first time. And as the dashboard glowed into life I read the external temperature gauge.

-10.5°C

Huh? This may sound dumb, but I didn't know it could go that low. I've never seen double figure minus before. As we hit the motorway on the journey to Nikki's office the temperature dropped another half a degree. Minus 11. Good grief.

I learned later that it may well have been even colder. Maybe the sensor is not very accurate. A mate who lives only a few streets away drives a truck for a living, and that reported minus 15. News came in later that the coldest parts of the country were only a couple of degrees warmer than the South Pole. Lovely.

4 comments:

Blythe said...

Yep, apparently Scotland's down at -20 or something so ... :|

Tvor said...

All your Canadian and many American fans are chortling ;))) But yes, sometimes -10 doesn't feel as bad as -5 with a lot of wind. I'm sure Manchester winter chill would be like Halifax chill as it's damp and that goes right through you when the north wind blows!

Unknown said...

For Christmas 2008 the entire Penner clan was summoned by the family matriarch to Cold Lake, Alberta (or as I like to call it "Farkin' Freezing Lake"). We flew into Edmonton and drove up the 3 long hours to Cold Lake with one of Jon's sisters. When we pulled into the family home driveway, the temperature was -36. Two nights later it dipped to -40. Jon was correct; I was crying icicle tears. I vowed that the next Penner Family anything would either happen on a beach in the Caribbean or at least in Ottawa.

I feel for everyone in the UK who do not have insulated homes or nubbly winter tires. Did I happen to tell you that as pay-back for our trip to FF-Lake Jon and I will be spending our up-coming anniversary in the Caribbean? Five weeks to go! Hola!!

Keep warm thoughts and huddle together you two!

- Shirli

Digger said...

Nice segue Shirli ;o)