Ryde Social Heritage Group research the social history of the citizens of Ryde, Isle of Wight. Documenting their lives, businesses and burial transcriptions.
RYDE SOCIAL HERITAGE GROUP
Based at Ryde Cemetery Heritage & Learning Centre. Preserving, documenting and promoting the social history of Ryde on the Isle of Wight.
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The Stillness of Winter

Ryde Cemetery 2 December 2010
Ryde Cemetery 2 December 2010

We had about six inches of snow in Ryde Cemetery on the night of 1st December.

I got up at about 5:30am on 2nd December as I was supposed to be travelling to the mainland for a meeting, but all was still and quiet outside, no traffic sounds at all. When I opened the curtains I could see that the cemetery was transformed by a thick blanket of snow and it was still falling.

I checked the local radio and realised that for a while at least I was going nowhere. As soon as it got light I went out with a shovel and cleared my paths and drive. My house is just inside the cemetery gates so I also cleared the area of the cemetery driveway outside of my garden and the pavement. That was hard work which took a couple of hours and gave me a warm glow.

Then I went out into the cemetery to take some pictures. Apart from a few animal tracks, mine were the first footprints in the cemetery this morning. I felt good to be crunching along on the deep, pristine snow. The cemetery looked absolutely magical and peaceful…

By late morning the buses had started running so I had to go to work.

You can see more pictures of the snow in the Cemetery in our gallery Snow in Ryde Cemetery December 2010 on Flickr. Photos by Janette Gregson & Carol Strong.

Janette Gregson
Chairman
Ryde Social Heritage Group
2 December 2010