Church, Walk and Roast

This morning we went to the 9.30 service at St Peter's, the church on the outskirts of Droitwich which we first went to on Christmas Midnight. Although the snow had deterred quite a few people from venturing out there was still a reasonable congregation. Numbers were swelled as there were two families whose small babies had recently been baptised and they were being officially welcomed this morning. Afterwards we stayed to have a chat over coffee.

On the way back we diverted into town so that we could pick up some more milk from Morrisons.

The temperature was now much warmer and the snow gradually disappearing - as a result the supermarket was very much busier than yesterday! No doubt, once they had seen the sunshine, quite a lot of people wanted to catch up on their shopping!

The afternoon was largely a reading time. Later, Mike prepared the roast dinner for tonight whilst Christine was sorting out some images for a leaflet that she is working on for the diocese.

Although there had been quite a heavy shower, by half past four it was sunny again, despite the dark clouds in the distance. Mike opted to go for a short walk up to the junction and back.

Crossing the canal bridge he could see that most of the snow on the towpath had melted but the deep drift we mentioned in a previous blog could still be seen, taking its time.

The entrance to the marina and the canal was still generally iced over but it was pleasant walking conditions and the threat of rain soon disappeared.

At the top, by the road bridge, several ducks could be seen walking on the ice. (The scuttled to the comfort of shelter from moored boats as Mike arrived with camera at the ready!)

Tracks of birds on the surface made intriguing patterns.

This one looks as if a duck had walked out and then swam back - or perhaps the other way around.

Mike found a stick to investigate the ice cover. Here is a picture of what happens when the stick is poked into the ice. He found that the first couple of cm was quite slushy but below that was a thick layer of much more solid ice. Hence, when ducks or other birds walked across, they did not fall through but left clear impressions.

After returning to the boat Mike completed the dinner preparation and we very much enjoyed our roast gammon joint with all the usual accompaniments, followed by a strawberry sponge pudding.