Boxing Day Snow At Bagpath – An Evening To Remember.

The winter of 1962/3 is something which I will certainly never forget, I was aged 12 at the time.

I was at my Gran and Gramp Telling's bungalow at Bagpath which was just across the Stroud valley from Thrupp where I lived.

It was just after teatime on Boxing Day 1962 when it started snowing and from the elevated front room window of their bungalow I could see that the snow had started to fall on the lane below, it was a truly magical scene well lit by a roadside lamp. It was different to the usual snowfall. The snow flakes were like cotton wool and were the size of golf balls, they were so light and fluffy and they took such a long time to land on the ground.

Within minutes the snow was several inches deep and my uncle who was with us for the Christmas get together started to get concerned, he had to get off the hill and get home. He had an old Reliant three wheeled ex-butchers van with motorcycle type forks which was now also covered with soft snow. After a quick brush down of his van and goodbyes said, he was gone. How he got off the hill and home safely I will never know.

This was truly an evening that I will never forget and it still brings a tingle to my senses just thinking about it. And what was a bonus for a 12 year old was that the snow stayed with us for almost three months, well into March. Sledging, snowballing, building snowmen and igloos and not having to go to school!!

A truly memorable experience – Happy Days !!!

Graham Wright

Stonehouse