Snow Madness

I'm taking a minute every day to ensure there's bird food out for those shivering little critters. Birdwatching is, however, meagre recompense for missing out on the new year miles. I'd be out there in dat snow like a shot if the ankle would get itself sorted out.

So what's there to do round the house for a bit of cross training in this climate? A range of 'shovel-sports' or 'digthedriveout'. The objective in 'dig' as we call it is to dig until you find something other than the white stuff and then time yourself on exposing a 1 metre square. Different rules apply on north facing or chalk slopes, in highland regions and in the vicinity of pitches with under-soil heating. If entering the team competition, a secondary objective is to ensure that the pile of snow and ice shifted is larger than next doors pile. Watch out for tampering and be aware of the competition trying to add polystyrene sheets to artificially 'bump up' their pile. Marks should be deducted accordingly. Shorter sprint events include 'exposing the path' or 'finding the pond', while those endurance athletes may elect to go for the traditional 'dig out the drive'; Ultra athletes may enter for 'excavate out the estate or farm' (although size does matter here). Don't say you aren't spoilt for choice!!