The air was warm and sunny, and in Abingdon temperatures reached 16°C — the warmest day of the year so far. In the Market Place the outdoor seats were in demand. A group of touring motorcyclists rolled in and parked up together. In the centre of the square a busker sang Dirty Old Town. I don’t think it was intended as a comment on Abingdon.

Daffodils are coming into bloom in groups. The weir path has reopened, restoring the circular walk that had been cut off by high water and a walkway risk assessment.

Beside the Thames the floodwater has begun to retreat. Where it has slipped back from the meadows, the grass and walkways are smeared with mud. Vegetation has a tidal smell — like seaweed left behind when the sea goes out.

A yellow weather warning was in effect across parts of the UK today, including southern England, linked to Storm Goretti. This led to the cancellation of some events, with heavy rain arriving in the early evening and overflowing gutters.

Had the temperature been lower and the precipitation fallen as snow, it could have been spectacular. As it was roads turn splashy, and reflected the lights.

The street Christmas lights remain on, although the Market Place lights have now been switched off, it being a couple of days after Twelfth Night. The wind has not been particularly strong so far, though conditions are unsettled and it could change.

Last night was the coldest of the year, with temperatures falling to between –5 and –10°C. Snow was falling when many of us woke in Abingdon this morning. It settled on roads and pavements.

Some shop windows still carry their seasonal snowy displays and for once have been matched by the conditions outside.

Town council staff were out gritting paths across the Market Place and in the town council parks.

They were also busy updating the notice boards with the latest posters.

One of the events being advertised is The Snow Queen. For a few hours at least, Abingdon seemed to be under her spell.

Yesterday was hot, and people were glad of the water fountain in Roysse Court.

Down by the Mill Stream, birds not usually thought of as water birds had joined the ducks and moorhen and swans

— drawn by the need to drink or dip their feathers.

It wasn’t a weekend or school holiday, but there was already a queue of people glad to find the open-air pool open.

The lone parent swan family are surviving. Having lost one parent, there are still eight siblings — already in the water, they come ashore in search of food.