School holidays are over and, to the extreme disappointment of my son, there was no snow across the festive period, round here at least. Good job too, I hear you cry (although, as I write, it’s said to be imminent so maybe it’ll have arrived by the time you read this!)

Anyway, the snow was very much in evidence 30 years ago at this time, as these pictures and words from the Watford Observer of January 11, 1985 show:

“Children from throughout south west Hertfordshire discovered there was snow time to lose when they woke on Sunday.

“Waiting to greet them was an inviting blanket of snow guaranteed to fill the final days of their Christmas holidays with all manner of fun and seasonal excitement.

“As the snow continued to fall and the freeze set in, they swiftly began to exploit the possibilities of ‘snow culture’ with some fanciful examples of the snowman-building art.

“The more vigorous contented themselves with snowball fights, and parks throughout the district were dotted with children racing down slopes on everything from custom made sleighs to old tin baths.

“The icy weather looks set to continue and police have advised motorists to take note of a Government survey which found a staggering 40 per cent of cars break the speed limits on Britain’s motorways. It also found 30 per cent of coaches broke the 70mph speed limit while half of the articulated lorries on the roads broke their 60mph limit.

“In general, police advise drivers to allow more time for journeys during the snowy weather and say people should travel only if they have to.”