It's cold and I have a cold. It's not quite as cold as some parts of Russia where the temperature is now -36C, but -4 is cold enough for me.

The Met Office have issued a Level 3 Cold Weather alert, so that we all know that there is a 100% chance of cold weather. I think we know already actually. They talk of a little snow on Saturday during a transition to warmer weather. Looking at other forecasts, they predict that it will remain very cold for several weeks, but with only a little snow, certainly where I am.

The sea looked almost solid this afternoon, even though it was heaving and spitting white foam on the rocks. Not a nice time to be a mariner of any kind. Unless of course cruising the Caribbean!