John Beatty on the Iceland volcano

In February, some of us caught John Beatty on his Wild Vision tour, sponsored by Rohan. Little did we realise that a month later he would be an eyewitness to the eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland. He was subsequently interviewed by John McCarthy on Excess Baggage, the Radio 4 travel programme.

New rituals for the British summer

The BBC website on emerging trends that say much about Britain in the 21st Century: new rituals for the British summer.

Out of the mouths.....

Thought-provoking cartoon by Ros Asquith from guardian.co.uk.

Snowfall in Leicestershire

The BBC Leicester website has a great photo gallery of shots taken round the county: Your (Leicestershire) Snow Pictures.

Presenter breaks snow teapot

On video, weather presenter Carol Kirkwood breaks a snow sculpture of a teapot.

Let it snow!

Fed up with the cold weather and having to defrost the car and/or watch your footing on icy pavements? Charlie English is someone who is obsessed with snow. In an article in today's Guardian, Secret lives of snowflakes revealed, he reviews a new book from a leading snow crystal scientist, published in a bid to persuade the world that no two flakes are exactly alike: Snowflakes by Kenneth Libbrecht. Check out the accompanying gallery of snowflake images.

Reflecting on the uniqueness of snowflakes (and ourselves) brought to mind:

Who has told every lightning bolt

Where it should go

Or seen heavenly storehouses

Laden with snow?

Who imagined the sun

And gives source to its light

Yet conceals it to bring us the coolness of night?

None can fathom

Indescribable, uncontainable

You placed the stars in the sky

And You know them by name

You are amazing, God

Incomparable, unchangeable

You see the depths of my heart And you love me the same

You are amazing God