WE THINK THAT IT'S COLD IN THE U.K. BUT ..........

NIAGRA FALLS ..........

On six reported occasions (1883, 1896, 1904, 1909, 1936 and 1947) , the water flow over the American Falls has been totally blocked by ice and ceased to fall, but only once has this happened to the much larger Horseshoe Falls (originally known as the Canadian Falls).

There appears to have been nothing terribly unusual about the winter of 1847-48 nor the onset of Spring in March BUT, when the local residents awoke on the morning of 30th March 1848, something felt wrong.......... indeed,something sounded wrong. There was silence. No roaring water filled the ambient background as it had every morning. Many rushed to the falls and saw rock and ice. The Niagra river had stopped flowing and both the Horseshoe Falls and the American Falls had stopped falling..................

........... and here are some more extreme weather photographs from more recent times........

That looks a bit like my car under there !!!!

THE GREATEST MYSTERY IS NOT THAT WE HAVE BEEN FLUNG AT RANDOM BETWEEN THE PROFUSION OF MATTER AND OF THE STARS, BUT THAT WITHIN THIS PRISON WE CAN DRAW FROM OURSELVES IMAGES POWERFUL ENOUGH TO DENY OUR NOTHINGNESS.

ANDRE MALRAUX

(1901-1976)

Jackie