Frozen figures

By sheer chance I came across the following paragraph from The Whitstable Times and the Herne Bay Herald dated 1 July 1871. “London has again been visited, since the thunderstorms of last week, with intensely cold weather. On Monday morning there was a sharp frost. So cold is it in the suburbs on the banks of the Thames that the strawberrypickers, who do their work at 3am in the morning, have gin served out to keep their fingers from being benumbed.”

I can see why no one mentioned global warming in those days! The fact that medieval Londoners held their Christmas Fairs on the frozen Thames for many consecutive years must also cast doubt on current ideas regarding global warming.

Perhaps it is simply a temporary blip on the meteorological calendar.

ARCHIBALD A LAWRIE Church Wynd, Kingskettle, Fife