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I spent a very pleasant couple of hours last night in a coffee shop next to Broadcasting House with Carole O'Kane, one of the Blueprint producers. We were finalising the script for the second programme in the series, before the voice-overs are dubbed on Sunday afternoon. When we left the coffee shop, a car passed us and Carole noticed a dusting of snow on its roof: "Oh, look, that car has snow on its roof. Has it been snowing?" We'd just been working on the section of the programme dealing with the Ice Age, so we had a joke about that and said goodnight.

By the time I found my car and made one stop at a shopping mall, the Ice Age looked like it was returning. Today's news . So much snow seemed to fall so quickly, that I had trouble getting my car home. In fact, I had to abandon it at the bottom of a fairly steep hill that leads to my house and walk the rest of the way home carrying my new DVD purchases. Other drivers did the same. Before giving up and parking the car, I found myself being pushed (well, not me -- the car was pushed) by two complete strangers; and afterwards I was pushing someone else's car. Everyone was in remarkably good spirits; but that's snow for you -- it seems to bring out the latent child in all of us.

The Free Presbyterians were supposed to elect a new Moderator at their General Presbytery meeting tonight, but they've parked that . I'm expecting some commentator to perceive divine intervention triggering the weather conditions which have caused the postponement of a meeting to select Ian Paisley's successor. Watch this space.

Why is it that an evening of snow can bring parts of Northern Ireland to a standstill? By contrast, tens of thousands of voters in snow-white Iowa left their homes last night to vote for a black man who is running for the presidency. . I don't even own a snow-shovel, but after last night I'm buying one and keeping it in the boot of my car.