DEEP AND CRISP AND EVEN

Shetland is blanketed in a thick covering of the cold white stuff today, and it all looks very beautiful. The Met Office is not predicting an early quick thaw, and a white Christmas is a distinct possibility. Children are out on the Knab with their sledges, and those grown-ups whose duties demand travel are struggling through the conditions as best they can.

One such group of dutiful strugglers is my mother's helpers, who brave whatever the elements throw at them to give her the necessary assistance in getting to bed at night and up again in the morning. I never lose an opportunity to praise them for what they do. Without them, my mother would be in permanent residential care, and I don't think she's ready for that yet - she's only 93, after all!

My mother lives in a beautiful location, at Whiteness, on the west side of the Shetland mainland, about eight miles from Lerwick. Her house sits among the remains of an old crofthouse, on the side of a green hill, with a commanding view over the head of Stromness Voe and the Loch of Strom. Between the two bodies of water, the main road crosses a bridge, as it threads its way westwards through the hills and voeheads which form the more distant elements of the panoramic vista which can be seen from the house.

One snag about it is the non-classified "home-made" access road which connects the house to the main highway. It is precipitously steep in its middle section, and this presents problems in snowy or icy conditions. I paid my usual visit on Friday (my mother returned from her fortnight's respite "holiday" on Monday, when I was also there) and, in addition to my usual Whiteness "routine", I put a generous quantity of salt on the road, in anticipation of the wintry weather forecast for the weekend. I believe that this remained effective until the dry drifting snow set in late yesterday morning. Now anyone who has to pay a call there just has to leave their vehicle at the foot of the hill and walk up through the snowdrifts - and this is what the helpers are doing night and morning. I raise my glass to them - or I would, if I had one handy. I think the last time I had a glass in front of me was a week past Tuesday!