Ice in Tesco Bay

I was late back with the Saturday morning shop today, as I wasn't going to pass up the chance of photographing the icebergs in the Tesco carpark.

Ice will hang around for ages where it has been compacted into a lump, for example where a snowman has made his last stand, or in this case where it has been shovelled aside into a heap.  With a bit of insulation, it will keep for a surprisingly long time: many stately homes used to maintain a subterranean "ice house", so that frozen desserts could be prepared in the summer. I'm told my great-aunt sold ice from a straw-covered pit in her Baldock back yard.  As she also sold coal, it must have made for an interesting combination.

Unfortunately, frozen fish doesn't keep half as well, so I felt obliged to head home sooner than I'd have liked.  But these have definitely added something to the Lord Franklin series of ice pictures.  The rarity of snow and ice in these parts means that's a set that may take a number of years to grow to a reasonable size, but that seems appropriate.

Which reminds me that I have bought but haven't yet read The Discovery of Slowness, the highly-rated novel by Sten Nadolny, based on Franklin's life.  That's probably a read for the summer, though.  I've just picked it up and opened it, and a metaphorical chill escaped from its pages, like the mist from an opened freezer compartment.  Brrr...