Record Snow Fall

We have had a bit of snow lately. Last night was possibly the most snow I have seen fall in such a short time, but it was still not too bad to work in, since it wasn´t much wind. In a few more days - more snow is coming - we might have a new snow record; the old one of 115 cm at Kallax airport is from April 1966. People are sending in pictures to the local paper. Below are two of mine.

The neighbours come out regularly to dig their cars out from under the snow. 

If you don´t, you´ll have a problem even finding your car again. There are five cars in this photo. 

Almost Invisible Birds

One of our days in Scarborough we decided to walk towards the north, along the Cleveland Way, which goes along the coast from Filey in the south to Saltburn in the north, and around the Moors national park.

It is amazing how sensitive the eye is to motion. Just look at this:

A vast, stony beach. A tiny brown thing among thousands of brown things. 

Hello?!

You look familiar, Mr Curlew. 

Or is it Mrs?

Old Scalby Mills at the mouth of Scalby Beck
(a creek; the word is similar to Swedish bäck,
so you can really see how close the east coast
 has been to Scandinavia, culturally)

Also, I tried to capture the swallows, swishing past us at the speed of light, almost. I never saw one of them sitting down, just having a rest. Ever.

A Stroll along Scarborough Harbour and Beach

Scarborough fishing harbour and funfair, from the castle promontory.

Have I mentioned the stunning differences in water level caused by the tide? It´s amazing.

Restaurants and tearooms, sweet shops (the fudge is amazing!), souvenirs, amusement arcades. That´s what the English want on vacation and they are right.

You could buy shellfish dishes in stalls, but we never tried those. 

The Town Hall. 

I have heard a lot about donkey sanctuaries, and this seems to be a donkey´s working life: carrying children back and forth on beaches all across the UK. 

The Spa on the left.

The Cleveland Way.

We took a lunch at the Spa - fish&chips, of course.

An organist playing old hits at the bandstand.

The Grand Hotel. We just had to take a peek inside. It was once an elegant place to vacation. 

The Rotunda Museum, with geological displays.

The Valley Road, going south.

It looks impressive from outside.

Less so inside.

Honestly, a bit of a hygiene and health issue there, I´d say.

But you can really imagine...

... what it was like, once,... 

...in Queen Victoria´s day.