WHAT a day that was! Yesterday's snowfall across Gwent brought with it conditions rarely seen in this part of the world, particularly in low-lying areas like Newport.

Yes, it was chaotic at times. Yes, it took a while for the transport networks to get to grips with the weather.

 Yes, thousands of parents had to make child care arrangements or take time off work at short notice.

But yesterday was also, in a strange way, quite life-affirming.

Many people had to make alternative arrangements to get into work -  walking or using public transport.

And those who did so had stories to tell of strangers sharing the same experience taking time out to chat or just say a cheery greeting to each other.

There were numerous examples of people helping drivers get their cars out of sticky situations.

It was good to see. It's just a shame that it takes a relatively significant weather event for that side of human nature to come shining through.

On the subject of yesterday's weather, some words of praise are due to local authority workers who, by and large, kept the main routes through Gwent open for traffic.

These people are often much-maligned but they did an outstanding job yesterday.

Let's hope we have now seen the worst of the weather and we can return to some kind of normality ahead of the new working week.