A winter's tale

I know, you've probably heard - there's been plenty of snow here in London. The biggest snowfall in 18 years, apparently - a special present from the Russian Arctic. London ground to a halt on Monday as the Tube, train and bus networks all fell over. There's so little snow in the capital that when a decent amount falls it paralyses everything. Transport services were half-running yesterday - you could get around the city but it took longer than usual and involved numerous detours and slow buses instead of speedy trains.

On Monday morning I struggled for two hours to get to work before I gave up and trudged back up Putney Hill to work from home. I took these pictures down in Putney at about 9am. St Mary's Church near Putney Bridge looked pretty in the dim morning light, while the row of buses parked on Putney High Street were going nowhere because of the slippery roads. The shot of the motorbike near Tibbet's Corner at the top of Putney Hill gives an idea of the areas that hadn't been disturbed by pedestrians: lots of pretty, fluffy snow. Now it's all turned to treacherous ice and London is hoping that the second wintry wave approaching on Thursday and Friday doesn't redouble the disruption.