The Big Chill: Grit Art, Vimto & emergency custard

London buses dripped in the garage, planes stayed marooned on runways and high streets were abandoned as one in five of us stayed home with the school kids to watch the UK's heaviest snowfall in 18 years.

Economic analysts forecast that all-in-all 'Snowmageddon' will have cost the UK economy some £1.2bn - so was there any upside?

Douglas McWilliams, chief executive of the Centre for Economics and Business Research, says that our 'Arctic Incident' would actually benefit certain sectors of the economy: "Consumers spend more on heating and on warm clothes, and any accidents or structural damage leads to increased spending on repairs."

In the meantime though, unoccupied City traders busied themselves building rival snowmen in Paternoster Square, whilst Nurses at St Thomas's hospital in London were delighted to receive 'not just any' consignment of luxury cakes and sandwiches when snow closed Marks & Spencer's nearby Victoria Station branch.

Supermarkets were also smiling - Asda reported a 40% leap in sales of Vimto and Ribena, and a 10% pick-up in whisky sales, whilst Tesco launched 'Operaton Snowplough', clearing shelves to make room for supplies of emergency custard, as well as pies, soup, thermal socks and brandy.

So what is Snow? Contrary to popular belief it is NOT frozen rain. Snowflakes are created inside clouds when tiny ice crystals collide and stick together. Most snowflakes melt on their way to the ground and fall as rain. (So rain is actually melted snow, not the other way round!) Only when the air near the ground is cold enough will snowflakes fall as snow.

All snow crystals are six-sided (hexagonal) and no two snow crystals have ever been found to be identical. Some snowflakes can grow to be 5-7 cm (2-3 in) across.

What affects the size of snowflakes? There are lots of different types of snow, as skiers know only too well. When it is very cold, "dry" snow falls - the ice crystals do not stick together easily and the snow is fine and powdery - in very cold dry conditions ‘diamond dust' ice crystals may fall. At less cold temperatures near freezing point, "wet" snow falls and much larger snowflakes form, especially if there is no wind.

When fresh snow is moist enough to stick together, snowrollers may form on hillsides or in large fields. A ‘snowroller' is like a cylindrical snowball in shape and is blown by winds of more than 32 km/h (20 mph) until it grows too large to travel any farther. Snowrollers can reach nearly 1.5 m (4 ft) in diameter.

White Christmas in Salthouse (a month early!)

This week, Christmas hit North Norfolk - a month early - with scenic snow falls in Salthouse on Sunday and hog roasts, mulled wine and carol-singing at the now famous festive lights switch-on in Holt on Wednesday.

Accordingly, our in-house snapper cast off thermal mittens and braved frostbite to capture a few timely snaps for those of you not lucky enough to be here (or get a parking space after the 'barricades' went up on lights night).

There was a credit-crunch-busting atmosphere in Holt with a great turnout of families on parade to make the most of this free event.

We did not see Auntie Pearl but Razz the clown gamely entertained the troops outside Benbows with his trusty conertina. Meanwhile, a top-hatted eight foot stilt-walker strode through the town, shadowed by a scuttling entourage of diminutive lantern-bearers.

Fewer 'Star Wars'-style light sticks and flashing LED rabbit ears may have flown off the stalls than in previous years, but the spectacle of intrepid juniors scaling the ice-wall outside the Nationwide Building Society more than made up for it. (Maybe someone told them there was a child trust fund pinned to the top).

PS Many thanks to all those customers who braved the crowds and dropped in to the gallery to share a spicy cracker, mince pie and glass of wine with us. It was lovely to see you!