Spare a thought...

11 February. A light dusting of snow on the terrace. In the south of France. Surely this can't be? People are lining up for refunds. We're in a gentler micro-climate than our surroundings, so it doesn't last long. Still, most everyone who's moved here will tell you it's colder than they thought it would be in winter.

On the other hand, here's what our dear friends Robin and Elina have been battling in Baltimore, Maryland. The worst winter on record: over 2 metres of snow so far.

The storm that crippled Washington, DC had its epicentre in Baltimore. The shovelling never ends. No one's going anywhere. Robin said a snow plow got stuck in their narrow street, so a bigger one came to the rescue. It also got stuck. Then arrived the mother of all plows, which did the trick, but brought to mind a Russian doll effect of ever-increasing monster snow-rescue machinery.

Baltimore is on the southern side of the Mason-Dixon line. It's not meant to get weather like this. When Robin first moved there almost 30 years ago, I was envious of her mild winters. She used to laugh at how badly the locals drove if an inch of snow fell. Now look. You begin to wonder if it's down to climate change, and if in years ahead, scary thought, we'll see similar scenes out our LFH windows?

But for now, intrepid souls, Robin and Elina haven't lost their senses of humour. Hope you can hang up the shovels soon!