Last night was the first night of the impending winter, with a tangible chill in the air. My fiance was shivering in front of the telly under a pile of blankets - but it wasn't really very cold, probably 10 degrees or so.

Concurrently I am reading a book about the victorian poor, and the descriptions of their ferocious winters are really quite amazing. I wonder how we would cope if we were subjected to a really proper winter freeze like they had back then. Last winter a few days of snow turned my corner of england into a disaster zone, with work and school cancelled and people crashing their cars into ditches every 20 yards. All very embarrasing, especially as our european cousins don't bat an eyelid at 4 months or so of deep snow every winter. And it's only 30 or so years ago that we stopped having proper white-outs ourselves.

This film is similar to the Thames one I posted a fortnight ago, a sort of Betjemenesque visual postcard of a time when British Rail trains could actually get through the snow, with thrilling scenes of hustle and bustle, beautiful machines and urgent music.

I wonder what this winter has in store for us?