The report on child happiness that I wrote about yesterday has been published, and although I didn't know this, talks about the fact that selfishness on the part of adults is leading to unhappiness in children.


Here, about 10-15 centimetres of snow has fallen overnight and it is still snowing heavily. My children were in and out of the back door from about 4.30, playing in the snow. They were under strict instructions not to make a noise, and didn't, but they did trail in wet snow through the kitchen and hallway and let the arctic winds in.


I didn't realise, but from about 5.30 onwards it was snowing heavily. As dawn broke on a garden about 10cm deep in snow, I realised how heavily the snow was falling. And is still falling, a couple of hours later.

My children had begun to disbelieve the existence of real snow. We've had the odd snow shower, but often the forecast for snow has been followed in our area on the outskirts of London with a short flurry and then nothing but cold temperatures, while news pictures have shown people in other parts of the country frolicking in snow.


But today is different. The snow is nearly knee deep for her, and still falling heavily. Heathrow has closed, London buses are off the road, and half the tube has closed down.