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Snowmen Of Yesteryear

January 25, 2021
by the gentle author

Yesterday we raised £6,773 of the £10,000 we need to pay for the Judicial Review of the Bethnal Green Mulberry Tree case at the High Court. Thankyou to the 103 readers who have contributed. Please spread the word to your family, friends and workmates. CLICK HERE TO SAVE THE BETHNAL GREEN MULBERRY 

While staying at home during the lockdown, I have been watching the snow falling outside and recalling the transient souls of those long-gone East End snowmen of yesteryear that I was able immortalise with my camera.

At first I came upon them in yards and gardens, but before long they were scattered all over the parks and open spaces, lonely sentinels with frozen smiles. Snowmen are short-lived beings and many of those I photographed were just completed, only to be destroyed shortly after my pictures were taken. Yet when I returned later, I often found they had been reconstructed, and – as others appeared in the vicinity and the creators sought to be distinctive – a strange kind of evolution was taking place.

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Snowfall at Bow Cemetery

12 Responses leave one →
  1. January 25, 2021

    Great pics of thee snowe men I see in my crystal ball you had snowe in London

  2. January 25, 2021

    Oh what a wonderful collection: i particularly love the snow dog. Seeing these ‘transient souls’ made me feel quite teary. Thank you. (I am longing to see snow on the beach here in Aldeburgh but it only happens if it blows in over the north sea).

  3. January 25, 2021

    How cute! One would like to invite some of these Fellows home. Especially the sad one and the little one sitting on the bench.

    A few days ago there was a blanket of snow in front of my flat. All the Children in the Neighbourhood were busy building Snowmen. Within a short time, there were suddenly eight different ones! What is always sad are the following days of melting…

    Love & Peace
    ACHIM

  4. Jill Wilson permalink
    January 25, 2021

    Charming photos and some lovely characters – my favourites were the mother and child snow person, the snow dog and ET. And the depressed looking snowman by the railings made me chuckle – perhaps he knew his what his fate was a going to be in a day or two…

    And it was great seeing the footage of the children out and about yesterday enjoying the snow which must mean more than ever this year after weeks of lockdown confinement.

  5. Annie S permalink
    January 25, 2021

    Love the snowmen ❤
    Very pleased to hear the donations to help save the tree have started off so well!

  6. Robin permalink
    January 25, 2021

    Hilarious! Made my day. Thank you, GA.

  7. January 25, 2021

    ACHIM SAID IT ALL…! Love & I add my sincere wishes to all for peace.

  8. Linda Granfield permalink
    January 25, 2021

    Awwww……..a snow babe-in-arms. How sweet.

    And the various twig hair styles are a lot of fun!

    Thanks, GA, for the wonderful ‘Disappearing Art’ show. Stay warm!

  9. January 25, 2021

    These wonderful pictures remind me of my childhood!

  10. Bill permalink
    January 25, 2021

    The snowman/snowwoman/snowperson as expressive art! Very nice.

    Makes you wonder what snowmen of past ages looked like.

    The only commission the young Michelangelo had from Piero de’ Medici was a snowman in the courtyard of the palace. What could that have looked like?

    Thanks for the great pictures!

  11. Frances permalink
    January 25, 2021

    The snow bear, snow dog and stick moustache are especially appealing… I wonder if there’s enough snow in London at the moment to result in splendid new snow creations?

  12. January 25, 2021

    Some wonderful snowmen characters here. I think they put a smile on everyone’s faces

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