LETCHWORTH REWIND: While this winter has often felt as if it has lasted forever, at least the weather has been rather mild for most of it.

With temperatures rarely falling to the low single figures during the day, and overnight frosts rare, we have been lucky to escape the worst the elements can throw at us.

However, some of us may yearn for a cold snap simply because of the way nature responds.

This evocative black and white photograph taken in 1961 from North Herts Museum, proves that 'winter's aren't what they used to be.'

The following year was known as the big freeze, with many people in our area recalling the disruption caused by extremely low temperatures.

Snapped during a cold spell in the winter sixty one years ago, the image shows people ice skating on the frozen pond at Willian.

While we certainly wouldn't encourage anyone to skate on thin ice if temperatures drop substantially, on that long lost day more than 60 years ago, the winter provided plenty of simple pleasure.