Crisp and even

Hi everyone
We left Hamilton at 31 degrees;Dubai was 20 degrees; now we are experiencing the joys of a range from minus 2 to much colder - but it's all good so far.
Back to Dubai - impressions - clean (one empty water bottle and only one example of graffitti seen); organised (road systems going effortlessly in all directions) and empty - at 7.30am - as people do not go to shop until 10.00am. We had a wonderful Tour with a Local, which John had spotted on the web. Sunil, a Muslim Indian met us where he said he would and took us to his immaculate white, air-conditioned Previa. He took us to all the things we had hoped to see (Palm Island;the Burj el Arab; el Jermeirah) and some we had not known about - the Dubai Museum and a small souk which was really charming - and also shut at that hour of the day. It was a cheap trip from that point of view! Overall, Dubai seemed to me to have much the same combination of power, wealth and ego as places like the Palace of Versaille and the castle at Carcassone. I wonder if future generations will be looking at the collection of buildings in Dubai in the same way.

Arriving at Manchester Airport at about 7.00pm, we had to wait about 15 minutes while they de-iced the airport bridge so we could connect with the terminal building. Ominous. Our friend John P. picked us up and told us to wrap up as it was minus 6 degrees outside. We did. The journey back to Grindleford took about 2 hours as we had to avoid likely snow patches, even though he drives a 4 wheel drive, he does not take chances.As we made our way through Derbyshire, there were glimpses of a countryside with black and white as the dominant colours. It was quite unnerving not being able to see much, as well as the added drama of not knowing if we would get there!
In the morning we woke to a world covered in the most picture-postcard snow. The robin in this photo was in a tree which we cn see from the kitchen table.John P. had set up fat balls in a roll of plastic fencing and the birds come to this. As we had breakfast weWe also spotted tits of many varieties, blue jays, robins and a large grey squirrel. Ruth, who is a dermatologist, had stayed overnight in Nottingham so she did not miss her patients because of getting stuck in the snow and the other three of us set off for the day. Some stops were David Mellor - who is a silversmith - very smart designs but he also designed the modern traffic lights used in most cities in the UK; Hathersage, fanous because Charlotte Bronte wrote "Wuthering Heights" in the local vicarage;and Derwent Reservoir where they practiced the low plane runs needed to achieved the WWII action seen in the movie "The Dam Busters"; and Chatsworth, home of the Devonshire family. The house was closed (as they say) so we went to the Stables, now converted into a very up-market retail opportunity. The huge water trough/fountain was totally frozen solid. As we drove through the estate, we saw deer under the trees, just waiting for the next shoot, I guess.Our last stop was the plague village of Eyam (said "eeem") famous because when the plague of 1666 came to the village they decided to sequester themselves from the world so that others would not be infected. We also went to the church where there was a font dating from Saxon times. The graves around the church are left in a tidy condition but they are all collapsed and quite sad, though there was a magnificent Celtic cross.The village had a row of houses, all Grade I listed which dated from the time of the plague and have plaques outside remembering those who died. I should think they would be quite cool to live in as double glazing is not allowed there!
That was just the first day of our stay in Grindleford and Ruth and John have treated us very well. The twisted spire shot is from the market town of Chesterfield where we did indeed go to a market. We also visited the church , whose spire is made of wood and has unaccountably twisted. It is a Catholic church which may, or may not have anything to do with it. Ruth and John are both great cooks and, as well, we have eaten and drunk some amazing things: mulled wine in a pub called "Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese Inn" dated from 1570 in a little place called Castleton where they have a stone carving of Brigantia which dates from 1000BC; yesterday; corned beef hash in the kitchen of Hardwick Hall an Elizabethan power house; today: parsnip pie in another pub in Sheffield called "The Fat Cat" which rates as the best vegetarian pub in that city.
Tomorrow we are up to catch a train (at 8.11am!) to Stevenage where we get ourselves by taxi to Lisa and Angus. We will be there for a few days. The weather reports on the BBC are very dramatic and make things sound very bad. Having been here for a few days we can see that the UK has not come to an icy halt but you certainly need to plan your day around the weather - and the fact that it is dark by 4.00pm! Lots of love to you all...J&J