Wednesday 23 December

I rose at 6 am and after breakfasting with sister, I took the 7.15 bus back to Schiphol airport. The railways were back to 80% of normal service, and I was able to make good time to Arnhem. It took me an hour and a half, only 15 minutes longer than normal, to cover the 75 miles. I only had to wait for 5 minutes for the no 21 bus, which wound its way through northern Arnhem, past large piles of dirty, swept up snow, which covered the bus stops. Alighting from the bus in my dad’s home town landed me in a foot of snow. I reached my father’s house at 10 in the morning. In the afternoon, we went for an amble in the forests and the Heathlands outside the village. It was calm, no wind, but when we came into the open Heathlands the wind did put in an appearance and made it feel very cold. The road that ends on the edge of the moorland was covered in snow, and had not been used for a few days. Normally, dozens of people come here every day to walk their dogs. On warm days, the smell can be quite unpleasant. A jogger overtook us on the cyclepath (only used by a few people since the snow fell). Did I say there was 8 inches of snow on the ground? Sunset was at 4.30, an hour later than I am used to. Although the day started misty, if not foggy, the sun came out at 3.30, giving us a clear end to the day. I had a very early night, as I was completely whacked.