8:13 am. Temperature -1C (30.2F).

The remains of the light snow covering of yesterday.
There are squirrel and bird tracks on the garage roof.
I went up to the (very cold!) loft bedroom to take the photo.
We have turned off the radiators in the rooms we are not presently using, to conserve energy costs.
Yesterday afternoon I went off to Pilates and the class was very reduced due to the weather.
There were two of us who then stayed and had coffee and a chat afterwards.
Stephen had an invitation to have a catch-up with his former boss, who lives within walking distance, so he spent the afternoon there. They always got on well. R told him that he had broken his leg last September when he fell over a low wall in his large garden. His wife was indoors and watching television. He had gone outside for a smoke and tripped. (He is 6 feet tall and a stocky build).
Fortunately that part of the garden could be seen from his neighbours and after some time one of them was passing. They alerted his wife, who called for an ambulance.
He then was lying there for over 6 hours till it arrived.
It transpired that his leg had been broken in two places, as it hit the low wall, requiring an operation. He was in hospital for 2 weeks. (Amended mistake of time in hospital).
I had only said yesterday morning to Stephen who had an early appointment at the dentist in town, (Sutton Coldfield) to take care if he was walking there. (Takes him about 25 minutes walking quickly).
He decided to get the bus instead there and back.
Our NHS is on the verge of collapse.
But with the next wave of strikes growing apace, Ambulance men, Nurses, Teachers, and others, I just keep wondering how on earth can our cash-strapped, teetering economy pay for it all?
I have every sympathy with those who work in the NHS, knowing some doctors first hand, who are stretched to breaking point, and other professions, teachers being one of them.
We all need to help each other, and there are many many of you out there who are doing that quietly and without a fanfare. The fact that Food Banks are growing apace is indicative of how bad it has become.
I have so much for which to be thankful.
But I will now take even greater care on days of frost and snow.