‘In The Bleak Midwinter’.
21st December 2024
‘In the Bleak Midwinter’ . Verse 1 checklist line-by-line for today:
‘In the bleak mid-winter’ – Yes, it was definitely bleak and it’s exactly mid winter (the solstice). Good start!
‘Frosty wind made moan’ – Another yes. It became cold, and the wind did moan (roared?) and so did I. So, factually accurate, I guess.
‘Earth stood hard as iron,’ – On balance, that’s a no. Firming up above 1000m but not down low.
‘Water like a stone;’ – Negatory. See above.
‘Snow has fallen, snow on snow,’ – Yes, but not profoundly. Sleet to start then some distinctly un-festive showers of punishing graupel.
‘Snow on snow’ – Repetition. But yes, more snow later in the afternoon and again overnight tonight.
‘In the bleak mid winter long ago.’ – Poem was written in 1872 – so looking back at winters earlier in her life? The ‘Little Ice Age’ – circa 1830 to the close of the 19th century – coincided with the author’s life span.
With apologies to Christina Rossetti.
(Above) The Post Face of Coire Ardair and Lochan a Choire. Bleak. (But only through the filter of modern winter hillgoers’ eyes? Strictly speaking, Victorian-era Rossetti would have a found a cold and very snowy landscape bleak. Probably.)
(Above) More bleakness. The Pinnacle, Easy Gully and the Post Face. Easy Gully doing its best to look like a quarry in it lower reaches. Some snow blowing around above 1000m and some minor drifting but quite a lot of lee slope scouring too in the powerful, turbulent and capricious airflow.
(Above) Much bleakness. The crags of the Inner Coire of Coire Ardair plus of course the high bealach known as The Window far right. Little or no new wind-drifted snow here. The occasional old snow patches below 900m were still moist and soft at midday. The summit of The Window is at circa 950m.
(Above) Not entirely bleak. The ESE to SE aspects in Coire Chriochairein. Somewhat whiter here but a lot of what you see is very thin superficial snow.
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