Addlesnowed in, in Twenty-Thirtin

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,

and never brought to mind?

Should auld acquaintance be forgot, 

in Aaad-dleee-styne.

Happy New Year Addlestonians! What a turbulent beginning to 2013 it's turned out to be in these parts. I speculated before Christmas that the people of Addlestone might witness some snow yet, however sadly this wasn't to be the case during December. In fact, the climate we experienced remained largely temperate throughout the end of the year; a far cry from what Attel, our original Addlestonian friend would have experienced 900 years ago as he waded through the frosty valley carrying a spear in one hand and a drinking-horn of supermarket value mead in the other. Although, that's no consolation for the proportion of Addlestonians who were repeatedly affected by power cuts from 22nd December, leaving them with no heating at all and causing chicken kormas to stand cold and motionless in microwaves all over town. Of course, it wasn't all plain sailing (or, should I say, skating) outside either, with temperatures dipping to the unrelenting lows of -4°C, giving rise to some precarious driving conditions.

With the New Year came a bout of exciting weather when, from 17th January, Addlestonians were hit by flurries of snow with snowflakes the size of cornflakes, leading to the closure of schools and paralysing our local public transport. The disruption began with a unique variety of snow - a silent, invisible kind specific to Addlestone that led to the outright cancellation of rail services through Addlestone the day before any snowfall could be seen with the naked eye. Such is the imperceptible nature of Addlesnow. 

Needless to say, unlike the snow, reactions came in thick and fast on Twitter:

"So no trains for the people of #chertsey and #addlestone then!"  

"I might understand a reduced service but no service at all even before the snow has arrived seems a little extreme" 

"How can addlestone station already of cancelled their trains tomorrow and not one drop of snow?" 

"Are you joking there isn't even snow yes pt and they canceled addlestone trains all ready omfg HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHA"

Courtesy of @MilesPerLitre

"06.55 Addlestone station. No snow at all. No @sw_trains either, all cancelled"

"Err my car's not iced up or anything. Yet no trains from #addlestone??!! What a joke"  

"No trains running from addlestone, looks like I can't get in for my exam, brilliant" 

"Update on my week of unluckiness: stuck in addlestone with no trains running to Guildford" 

"Emergency timetable has been extended until tomorrow so no trains for Chertsey/Addlestone on Saturday either #surreysnow"

"Looks like taxi into and home from work again today. No 51 bus and no trains again. Why is #Addlestone being singled out?" 

"S***. No @SW_Trains from Addlestone tomorrow. How the feck am I supposed to get to work? Looks like a long walk to weybridge tomorrow"

There was one train that paid us forlorn Addlestonians a visit, chuffing past in all its glory not just through a snow storm, but at the precise scheduled time of 13:29 as pointed out by @CoxeyLoxey: 

"Due at 1329hrs....went through Addlestone at 1329hrs...only train today & tomorrow @ClanLine28 pic.twitter.com/ffDUDxXu"

Seize this chance to re-live that majestic moment which was filmed and posted by @BritishRailTV:

Forced to abandon work and school, some Addlestonians took the chance to capture the action and get creative:

Courtesy of @garyshield73

Courtesy of @chrissiespics

Courtesy of @SurreyAd

Thanks to a few unlawful Addlestonians it was business as usual for the Police who were robbed of all chance to frolic in the snow, but did get to smash a door in:

Courtesy of @rogernield2703

Courtesy of @SurreyPolice

In other news, Addlestone's very own Domino's Pizza opened at 144A Station Road (@AtownDominos), taking pride of place opposite Dominic's Pizza and gathering a loyal customer base within days:

"Me and the fam just destroyed several dominos pizzas. Addlestone dominos is so good. (Maybe better than Weybridge?!)"

An Addlestonian poll revealed a relative lack of support for Domino's, what would become the town's fourth pizza supplier, with 31% for and 68% against (out of an admittedly small sample of 16 people), however we Addlestonians, the forgiving people we are, were willing to put our differences aside and embrace the newcomer with open arms, and mouths. That gruelling one-and-a-half mile journey to the next outlet in Weybridge is no longer a trip we need to make, although I can't help thinking the biggest sigh of relief will be coming from the Weybridge delivery drivers.

In January we also had to bid a sad farewell to the short-lived Nobby's Nibbles only four months after saying hello (that is, those of us who noticed it was there in the first place). All please welcome Luigi's Sandwich & Coffee now occupying the same building on 212 Station Road, east of the station.

What else has been going down in the hood in January 2013: 

Parking Change Plans

Long Haul Pledge by Jubilee Head

Merchant Navy Medals Stolen

Stop the Concrete Jungle! 

And lastly, a look at what rocked the Addlestone of a decade ago.

Do you have any left over photos from The Great Addlesnows of 2013? Share them on Twitter with @TheAddlestonian.

An Addlestonian Autumn

The Autumn months are now well and truly upon us and we've reached that time of year where a dwindling summer which picked up deceptively towards the end (some call it an Indian summer, I prefer Addlestonian summer) has come to a definitive end. The leaves are turning golden, the nights are longer and everyone's wearing at least one layer of clothing. Addlestonians did get the chance to bask in the odd gloriously warm and sunshiny, sometimes even tropical day during August though, giving some of us that long-awaited chance to walk up and down Station Road with a t-shirt slung over one shoulder, leaving what was exposed of us to turn our favourite shade of scorched red. We might not have all had the time to put on a fully-fledged barbecue at such short notice but we could have a good crack at cooking ourselves.

Those of us who weren't happy waiting around for the fickle yellow ball in the sky to pay us a visit set off for other parts of the world, leaving not just the perimeter of the M25 but the whole British Isles in search of fair weather. It seems a radical solution but it really works, or at least some of the time. On returning from my chosen corner of the Costa Blanca I discovered on Twitter that, against all odds, a like-minded Addlestonian had chosen the very same holiday destination as I had after both remarking on a severe downpour of rain that had flooded the roads and cleared the beach in seconds. The storm had been in Addlestone the day before, but hunted down our great minds eventually.

August and September also marked the end of the Olympics and Paralympics, which inspired the nation right until the end with four spectacular ceremonies (no tribute to Addlestone to speak of, but I'll let it pass) and countless outstanding displays of sporting talent, not least exemplified by team Gold Britain. After seven years of cynical grumbling and in some cases downright despair of London 2012, the Games which kept Addlestonians and those from beyond glued to their television screens ended on such a high so seldom felt by this year's host nation that we're left without a clue what to do with ourselves now. It might have been nice at the time if the Torch relay or road cycling had graced Station Road, but at least a St George's college schoolgirl was given the chance to carry the Torch 20 miles away in Harrow. Now, following the summer-long excitement, the patriotic flags that once adorned the buildings of Station Road have been moved elsewhere, and along with the rest of the country, Addlestone ticks along as before.

One bright thing that did pay us a visit during August was the International Space Station, which could be seen sweeping over Addlestone in the hours following sunset as pointed out efficiently and reliably by @CoxeyLoxey on Twitter. If you didn't manage to catch a glimpse of it, then be sure to keep an eye out next year. In fact, why not demonstrate what agreeable folk we are by gathering as a town and waving?

During August I also asked Addletweeters what a suitable nickname for Addlestone might be. Bronx of Weybridge was the first suggestion I received. "How about the Town of Almosts" suggested one Tweeter, alluding to our local treasures Primart, Nandi's and Dominic's pizza. One Addlestonian proposed The Town too Tough to die, referring to a 1942 western film of the same name set in a town called Tombstone. The Town too Tough to Diet followed shortly after. One Tweeter proposed a twinning with District 9, a South African slum inhabited by extraterrestrial refugees, while another went for the short and sweet Asbostone. If Runnymede Borough Council was thinking of rebranding the town with a slogan, look no further for inspiration than this paragraph.

September brought with it (confirmed) rumours that a couple of our empty retail units are to be filled at long last, and you might be surprised to learn what will be filling them. Are you ready? Brace yourselves:

Starbucks and Domino's Pizza. 

Now, where have I heard those names before? Oh yes, everywhere! 

Despite the ubiquitous nature of Starbucks I expected a few more positive reactions to the prospect of another coffeehouse in the town and appreciation of its cosmopolitan pizzaz that some coffee-lovers find it so attractive for. Nonetheless, it ruffled the feathers of a number of Addlestone-based Tweeters...

- There's a Costa, isn't that enough?

- Not until we get a Nero

- What??!! Where??!! Not that I actually like Starbucks much but wow

- #CafeRouge required 4that

Word of Domino's arrival proved even more controversial...

- I was told Domino's were moving in. Another pizza place is all we need

- Seriously? Where is it moving in? Addlestone is literally just a fastfood outlet now

- Poor Dominic's [pizza] that's all I say, right opposite!!

- Another takeaway f*** me like there's not enough already

- Domino's aren't they already here. We're a Macky D's away from being the takeaway capital of Europe

- I'm sure it will fit right in with Pizza Hut and Dominic's pizza that's already in the town. Lol

- As a former Addlestonian this does nothing to encourage me to move back! #toomanytakeaways

It's true that with Pizza Hut, Addlestone's own Dominic's Pizza and, unmentioned above, Papa John's all within a mere 300 yards of each other, Addlestone isn't short of establishments to grab a pizza. I was curious to know whether Runnymede Borough Council truly thought that Domino's would be a positive addition to the town, so I posed the question to them (Twitter: @RunnymedeBC). I wouldn't like to put words in their mouth, so I'll interpret their month-long silence as ongoing deliberation.

Addlestone's new arrivals seem to be a hot topic, so I'll return to the subject as more unfolds. For now though, let's welcome a few other recent newcomers:

Nobby's Nibbles (212 Station Road)

Stanley House Chinese (174 Station Road)

The Beauty Room (85 Station Rd) 

I'm sure we'll get to know these better in the coming months.

Take part in the poll below to indicate whether you would like to see Starbucks or Domino's Pizza in Addlestone town. Also leave a comment or tweet your views to @TheAddlestonian!

Would Starbucks be a positive addition to Addlestone?

Would Domino's Pizza be a positive addition to Addlestone?