Living in London

Today is December 21, the Winter Solstice. That means that today is the day of the year that the sun is farthest south.

More importantly, it means that today is the shortest day of the year. This morning the sun rose in London at 8:05 AM. It will set at 3:55 PM for a total of 7 hours and 50 minutes of sunlight. Of course, I use the word "sunlight" here in a theoretical sense, since the sun has been obscured by clouds all day.

At least for the next six months the days will be getting longer. The future is so bright . . .

(Thanks to Jim Wilson for the picture of nearby Stonehenge, where the solstice is celebrated with a passion.)

[Update: for our friends in Alaska, we sympathise with your darkness. I heard Esther mention on the Whole Wheat Radio audio magazine on Monday that on the winter solstice the sun was going to rise at 10:25 AM and set at 3:30 PM. Wow. That is only only 5 hours of daylight. I will never again complain about our 7 and 50 minutes of daylight again.]