The Mini Freeze
The Big Freeze seems to be over but now we seem to be having a Mini Freeze. During January (2010) there was a sustained period of very cold weather with a low of -23° centigrade (according to the car thermometer). Now, towards the end of February, we are having another cold spell although this time the temperature is only getting to about -15° centigrade.
Life on Earth
I vividly remember the scenes of Japanese Macaques enjoying an outdoor hot bath shown in David Attenborough's ground breaking 1979 BBC television series Life on Earth. The macaques' natural habitat is the northern, and moutainous, cold areas of Japan which is why it gets it's alternative name of Snow Monkey. Bathing in the natural hot springs would be a welcome relief from the below zero (centigrade) winter temperatures.