Songs For A Snowy Day

Thursday we went to bed expecting snow. I woke up around 7am, and there was nothing of note, just a few faithful flakes had settled.  Then, in the next hour or so, a myriad of celestial crystals came cascading from the clouds, covered the ground and half the schools in town suddenly shut up shop for the day!  Tough call for the schools involved, as more snow was forecast.  Being in the landlocked Midlands it is not often that we get significant amounts of snow.  It is important to keep the schools open for those who need somewhere to go, but I am all in favour of giving children the opportunity to experience playing in the snow, when possible!

Tesco is not far away as the crow flies, but we went by car to discover how bad the roads were.  Radiant sunshine meant the white stuff was swiftly melting away.  Entering the store we passed a mother with two school age children. As they passed us their faces lit up with great joy
"It's snowing!", they cried excitedly.  Their mother was not sharing their joy...








We too walked out the store to find the snow was falling once more and were very glad that we had not been seduced by blue-sky thinking, and walked...






Community Carols were scheduled for 4pm, but as the Library - who were hosting the event, didn't open till just before midday, no rushed decisions could be made.  As it was all set up, it was agreed we would go ahead, and cut the event short if the weather deteriorated.

This year we had changed the format - less technology, a mixture of the sacred and secular and moved from the wind tunnel outside the Meeting Rooms, to the relative shelter of the canopy outside the library.  As the allotted time approached, folks started arriving in dribs and drabs, gathering beyond the cordoned area, which replaced the staging used in previous years. Five cones and a bit of tape was far quicker and easier to set up than staging! Less chance of anything going wrong too, as the whole construction was held together by faith and numerous plastic ties! Song sheets were passed around, deep and crisp and even, and off we went. Santa got stuck up the chimney, but Jesus Christ still triumphed!

As we sang it snowed, magic flakes spiralling to the ground - the perfect backdrop.  Fortunately we were sheltered by the canopy. The mikes and speakers of the PA were was shrouded in plastic to protect them from the elements, but still worked. I have no idea how or why, but they did. It was freezing, but fun. We sang our way through the songsheet. How the keyboard & clarinet kept going, no-one knows!  Afterwards,  we all piled into the library for hot chocolate and mince pies. The Guides offered biscuit decorating, to raise money for their forthcoming trip - always a popular attraction and much more tempting than a mince pie!

The very thing that we feared would be offputting, was the icing on the cake! Serenading snowflakes with seasonal songs - superb!