The temperature is dropping, the festive season is fast approaching, and although Christmas is set to be very different amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, there’s still one question on everybody’s lips.
Will it be a white Christmas this year?
For many of us, snow is synonymous with Christmas time and the phenomenon of a white Christmas is something that has been obsessed over for decades. We all know Bing Crosby famously dreamt of it, and it’s not uncommon to see movie/TV scenes, advent calendars and greetings cards all decorated with snow-filled landscapes of a white Christmas.
For most parts of the UK though, Christmas is only at the beginning of the period when it’s likely to snow.
Snow or sleet falls an average 3.9 days in December, compared to 5.3 days in January, 5.6 days in February, and 4.2 days in March.
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According to the Met Office, White Christmases were actually more frequent back in the in the 18th and 19th centuries before before the change of calendar in 1752, and with taking climate change into consideration nowadays, we are actually more likely to see snow between January and March than in December.
But when can we expect the first flakes to fall here in the UK this year? And what exactly are the odds of snow arriving on Christmas day?
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Here’s everything we know so far.
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What is a white Christmas?
When most of us think of a white Christmas, we picture blankets of snow covering landscapes for miles around, right? Well according to the Met Office though, a Christmas can in fact be white if at least one solitary snowflake falls in a specific location during the 24 hours of Christmas day.
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That’s it.
Traditionally, the Met Office would use its building in London to decide whether it had been a white Christmas.
However as the concept and popularity of betting has increased over the years, several other locations were added to the list, and these include:
Buckingham Palace
Belfast (Aldergrove Airport)
Aberdeen (Pittodrie Stadium, Aberdeen FC)
Edinburgh (Castle)
Coronation Street in Manchester
The Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.
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When was the last white Christmas in the UK?
According to Met Office figures, the last widespread white Christmas in the UK was in 2010, when 83% of weather stations recorded snow on the ground, and there was also a significant snowfall in 2009 when 13% of stations recorded snow or sleet falling, and 57% reported snow lying on the ground.
Although technically, the last white Christmas was on Christmas Day in 2015.
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A total of 10% of weather stations recorded snowfall, but none of it actually settled on the ground to create the classic snowy scene we’ve all come to know, and this was also the case in 2016, when 6% of stations recorded falling snow, and in 2015, when 10% of stations saw snow.
Perthshire in Scotland currently holds the record for the deepest snow figure, seeing 47cm of snow on 25th December 1981.
How likely is a white Christmas?
Although it’s actually quite hard to predict at this point, the Met Office say a snowflake has fallen somewhere in the UK on Christmas Day on 38 occasions in the last 54 years.
This means a Christmas is likely to be white at least every other year, on average.
Widespread snow is much rarer though, as there has only been a widespread covering of snow on the ground recorded at 40% of weather stations in the UK four times in the last 51 years, and forecasters won’t be able to predict an accurate forecast for Christmas Day until around five days beforehand.
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So the jury’s still out for snow in Manchester this year.
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What are the latest odds?
Regardless of the difficulty of early predictions, that hasn’t stopped the bookies from chiming in.
Those with their eyes on the prize may have seen that Ladbrokes’ has just shortened its odds for snow to fall anywhere in the UK on December 25 to 5/4 – down from 6/4 earlier this month, with Alex Apati – spokesperson for Ladbrokes – saying: “Punters dreaming of a white Christmas look destined to get their wish later this year as we strap ourselves in for a record-breaking cold winter ahead.”
Paddy Power seems to agree too, with its spokesperson Amy Jones admitting: “In the words of Game of Thrones, winter is coming and it seems we may be adding to the craziness of 2020 with snow at Christmas.”
And Coral have claimed that Edinburgh and Newcastle are the cities with the best odds and are most likely to see snow at Christmas with odds of 3-1, and spokesperson Harry Aitkenhead revealing: “Autumn’s been mild but winter looks wild. We have enjoyed a mild autumn but winter is going to arrive with some freezing temperatures.
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“We have slashed the odds to just evens [and] that it is our coldest on record.”
You can find more information via the Met Office website here.
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Andy Aspinall issues update on Tom’s eye poke injury and calls for changes in the UFC
Danny Jones
Andy Aspinall – father of Manc martial artist Tom Aspinall – has shared a lengthy video interview on his son’s YouTube channel discussing the latest regarding his son’s eye injury.
More importantly, as a concerned parent, he’s also called for better safeguarding and/or tighter rules in the UFC regarding fouls and, in particular, eye poking.
In case you missed it, this past weekend, the Greater Manchester MMA star took on French fighter Ciryl Gane in his first title defence since being named the undisputed heavyweight champion. Unfortunately, the main event match had to be cut short after Aspinall was left unable to see following an eye poke.
Although this is an illegal move in the sport, not only could it not be proved whether it was accidental or perhaps even intentional, as some have speculated on social media, but the only outcome was for the bout to end in a no-contest. Updating fans online, Andy reiterated priorities, dubbing this “just a job”.
🚨BREAKING🚨
Tom Aspinall “𝙎𝙏𝙄𝙇𝙇 𝘾𝘼𝙉’𝙏 𝙎𝙀𝙀” out of his right eye following Ciryl Gane’s double eye poke at UFC 321, his dad Andy has revealed 😳
“His right eye, he still can't see anything.He said it's just grey.
As you can see in the main clip above, Andy says that the Atherton-born fighter still “can’t see anything” out of his right eye, describing his sight as little more than “just grey”; meanwhile, his left eye is said to be at roughly 50% vision, having struggled to get more than a few rows down on a Snellen chart.
Essentially, the short version is that after the pain of the controversial eye poke, the muscles in his eye still aren’t healed and will be going for even more eye tests, including an eye test.
However, arguably the most salient points to take away from the video were those regarding his son’s overall welfare and the safety of the sport, as it is clear that Andy was talking chiefly as an understandably worried father rather than his coach.
“For me, everything is about his health. It’s not about the fighting – that’s just what he chose to do as a job”, he says, also clarifying that he isn’t accusing Gane of any ill intent, personally, and that the referees need to have more powers when it comes to fouling.
He also reminded those watching that the Wigan native has a wife and three kids to think about, stating, “This is just a job that he’s doing at this period in time, and he’ll do another job”, before going on to add, “What [will] it take?” for the UFC to get stricter around fouls like these.
You can watch the most recent update on Tom Aspinall from his dad, Andy, in full down below.
Andy Aspinall also had plenty to say in terms of what the UFC can do to better protect fighters/improve the rules.
Andy also made a point of suggesting once again that Tom should maybe turn to boxing instead of MMA, not only because of the added safety measures but because of the bigger paydays.
Do you think the UFC needs to be more stringent when it comes to not only protecting its fighters but also the rules and punishments surrounding serious fouls, such as eye pokes?
AND, alternatively, do you think Tom Aspinall would be well-suited to a boxing ring?
In the immediate aftermath of the injury, he was the first to admit that “this is a dangerous f***ing sport”; whether or not coming this close to permanent damage has made him reconsider, only time will tell.
Featured Images — Official Tom Aspinall (screenshots via YouTube)
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Greggs confirms Festive Bakes return date as it unveils 2025 Christmas menu
Emily Sergeant
Greggs has unveiled its Christmas menu for 2025, and that means the Festive Bake is back again in all its glory.
The UK’s most-popular high street bakery chain has officially revealed its festive food and drink offering for the 2025 season, and there’s a few brand-new goodies joining the lineup this year, along with the return of some undeniable fan favourites.
And of course, nothing spells Christmas at Greggs quite like the Festive Bake, right?
The chain’s classic crumb-coated pastry filled with chicken, sage and onion stuffing, and sweetcure bacon in a creamy sage and cranberry sauce goes down an absolute treat each year, and is a serious fan-favourite, so it’s no surprise it’s made a comeback for 2025.
Thankfully for plant-based foodies, the Vegan Festive Bake has also made a comeback, but this year under a slightly different name – the Vegan Lattice (Festive Edition).
Greggs has unveiled its Christmas menu for 2025 / Credit: Greggs
Despite the new name, the flavours have stayed the same, as the Vegan Festive Lattice is puff pastry filled with savoury-flavour Quorn mycoprotein pieces, sage and onion stuffing balls, and vegan bacon, finished with a mouth-watering cranberry and red onion sauce.
Another returning Greggs festive favourite this year is the Christmas Lunch Baguette, which is a freshly-baked baguette ‘jam-packed full of festive flavours’, alongside last year’s newest addition, the Festive Flatbread – which is filled with sage and onion-style chicken, sweetcure bacon, mayo and cranberry and red onion relish.
When it comes to sweet treats, Greggs really does take some beating, as the lineup is full of tasty cakes, muffins, biscuits, and more.
Some of the stand-out newbies this year include the Gingerbread Muffin, and the Christmas Mini Caramel Shortbreads, while returning for more is the indulgent Chocolate & Hazelnut Flavour Doughnut, the Christmas tree and start-shaped biscuits, and of course, the classic Sweet Mince Pies.
The festive drinks lineup this year includes the popular Mint mochas and hot chocolates, and the Salted Caramel Latte.
Gingerbread returns for 2025 too, and you can get Gingerbread Lattes both hot and iced, as well as a Gingerbread Flat White.
Emily Sergeant -
25th November 2020 
