London is especially magical with a festive sprinkling of snow.
In a new book, simply titled London in the Snow, the capital of the 1930s, 40s, 50s and 60s is captured in that enchanting window when the snowflakes have settled, and haven't yet been churned into slush.
In this series of crisp, black and white shots, ice-caked bobbies go about their beat; Charlton Athletic and Chelsea play on despite there not being a visible blade of grass on the pitch; milkmen battle the elements to get bottles delivered on time; and London Zoo's Rusty the elephant helps his keeper shovel the snow.
There's a stoic sense of 'the city must go on', although judging by some of the skid marks on the street, there were one of two treacherous moments.
As Lucy Davies says in her introduction to the book: "Whether now, or 50, or 100 years ago, snow comes like a blessing, its thick fall a type of grace. It covers blights and eyesores (nature's version of vaseline on the lens, perhaps), it softens clangs and shouts.
"In London, the effect is all the greater: the emptiness all the more pronounced, the silence all the more strange. And Londoners — even the oldest and most seasoned — never cease to be astonished by the world they have woken up to."
One of the most noticeable things from the photos is just how many Londoners back then seemed to have their own skis and sledges — many of them presumably fashioned at home.
They also knew how to have a snowball fight; in one image, youths hurl clumps of ice at one another in Trafalgar Square, some of them wearing shorts!
It's a reminder that throughout time, the gift of a snow day has given Londoners an excuse to act like kids — whether or not they are.
London in the Snow is published by Hoxton Mini Press
We featured this book because we know it's the kind of thing our readers will enjoy. By buying it via links in this article, Londonist may earn a commission from Bookshop.org — which also helps support independent bookshops.
