In the bleak midwinter

In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow,
In the bleak midwinter, long ago. (C.Rossetti - 1872)

Wonderful Victorian stuff, of course, because although she was writing a Christmas poem - it's not likely that it could represent a night at any time of year in Palestine 2000 years since.

But one of the sounds of Christmas - of course, is King's College Chapel Choir singing the resultant carol - especially to the tune by Dr Harold Edwin Darke.

This was a 12 foot high pyracantha in the back garden - until this morning! It just snapped with the weight of snow.