In the winter of 1983-84, I moved from Prince George BC to London ON. I drove a VW Rabbit diesel with Puff the lizard in a carrier beside me. It was an unconventional trip to be sure. I vividly recall being threatened with bodily harm after stopping at a small town bar in search of a coffee near last call on a Saturday night. Apparently firing up the coffeemaker was holding up the beer pouring and time was running out, making some thirsty locals very unhappy.
We encountered a snowstorm that, coupled with my less than stellar driving, sent me into a spin on the QEW, leaving me facing oncoming traffic and unable to restart the Rabbit. At a time like that, if you panic, you’re a goner. I finally got the beast going again and got out of the way in time. Puff slept through the whole thing!
But snow in London was a completely different thing altogether. Winter hits here early and stays. I recall attempting to get up some hill or another in a surprise spring storm and my little VW chugging past spun out cars to my right and left. I felt like the only survivor of a Stephen King-type scenario.
I thought of this today as I returned an email and asked my friend Peggy if they had snow in Dundas yet. Just a dusting. The same answer I’m getting from everyone outside of London, these days. On our drive to KW last night we thought we were in for a snowy one until we got out of London city limits where the flakes all but stopped. It’s not good or bad, it just is! And while winter has yet to make its presence known in many areas here in London, it’s definitely settled in for a good, long stay.