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Hello Everyone,

Elle, in sympathy with you, we had a power cut that lasted over an hour ! Don't know the reason though.

Hi Rusty, Have just come back from the village - Sunshine is nice but boy is it cold ! We had minus 3C last night and things are not going to improve for a few days - in fact it's supposed to get even colder; Seems to be similar to your weather non?
Problem : a lot of vegetation is nearly in bud (very early) , so hope it will not affect the shrubs etc...

Good afternoon, Pigale!
I think you have it slightly colder than me!
Beautiful day here, and tomorrow should be the same.
The plants are forward here too.
Must think it is Spring!

Good afternoon, Rusty!
A bright afternoon here as well! Still bitterly cold, about 3C, but going to be worse tomorrow morning when it will only reach -1C!
It hasn't been all that warm indoors today either!....... the sparky obviously needed the electricity off for most of the time.... brrrh!
We are only just warming up now that the central heating has kicked in again and we are back to the temperature set on the thermostat!
Manual activity since the eletricians left - such as dusting and hoovering (ugh) - has helped restore our body temperatures to normal!
The electrician - and his son - have done a good job and we are well pleased with their work.
They have gone off now to a wedding late this afternoon!

A very easy London crossword for you , Malone and Pigale (and anyone else interested).......
Union leader leaving well-liked part of London (6)


Hello, Pigale!
It sounds as though it is even colder where you are! I don't mind the cold outside, but it was bit much indoors this morning without the electricity on!
Surprising how quickly the house became cold without the c/h!

Good afternoon, Elle!
That's good you are happy with the sparky!
Good tradesmen can be hard to find.
Now, Elle, come on! 3°C is not bitterly cold!
A tad chilly, perhaps!
I have your clue, I think.
I think the tree is in London, anyway?

Elle, thanks for the easy London clue. On the Times For The Times website, the blogger says 'Perhaps not the most famous part of London. Would love for Northerners to be thrown a bone just once with, say, a part of Middlesbrough referenced in a Times Cryptic'. And so say all of us!

Malone, I am with that blogger!
The Times needs new blood amongst its setters!

Elle, the translation of the word in French will almost give you the name of my house !

Rusty, I'm afraid it's not just the Times. I saw 'Tipping Point' (an ITV quiz show) last week and one question was 'On a London Underground map, what colour is the Jubilee line?' This isn't what I'd call 'general' knowledge!

Good afternoon, Rusty!
It is comparative, I think....? If we suffer a biggish drop in temperature, even though it might not reach as low as yours, we shall still feel a big difference and feel very cold?
Or of course, I might just be "nesh".......?
Poplar is in East London - in the Tower of Hamlet, which featured recently in a crossword clue, didn't it?
I have never been there , but there is a programme, "Call the Midwife" - televised on Sundays evenings - which is based in Poplar.
This series is based on the memoirs of Jennifer Worth, who wrote a trilogy of books describing her work as a district nurse and midwife in the East End of London during the 1950s.
These are true stories - I have read these and found them interesting and informative.
Speaking of the tree..... a huge poplar - I think 60 ft tall - fell down in a Square (cannot recall the name) in Kensington a few years back....narrowly missing an occupied children's playground and succeeding in squashing a lot of cars. No -one was hurt. The devastation was in all the News!

Hello, Malone!
I am thinking that strangely enough , Middlesbrough came up in conversation very recently on the PCT.
I cannot remember in what connection? Whether or not it was crossword related?
Perhaps Rusty can recall?

Pigale , "Peuplier"?