Well, snow has been falling today in the Thames Valley - the most for nine years, apparently. On the plus side, it is helping me get geared up, psychologically, for Russia. Although I hope that the trains are running tomorrow morning as I need to go back to the Consulate and collect my visa. If there are no trains, I don't know how I'll get there. And if I can't get there, I can't fly on Friday. How ironic would that be - my trip to Russia sabotaged by English snow!

As for the weather in Russia at the moment, well. This is what the BBC website had to say: "More than 20,000 people across Russia have been left without heating as temperatures plunge to record lows. Russian news agencies report that thermometers plummeted to -37C in the Moscow suburbs overnight on Tuesday."

That's really reassuring.