Living in London

All over London we have noticed onate metal boxes labeled "Grit." When you open it you find, well, grit or sand. The boxes started to appear in late December, shortly after winter officially arrived. A Google search has turned up very little. Are they for anyone’s use (we assume yes). Does the city move them in for the winter and remove them in the spring (we assume yes again because we never noticed them before the last few weeks).

It is mid January and the weather has been moderate here lately with lows in the 40's (Fahrenheit) and highs in the mid 50's. Just how cold is it going to get? Can we expect the streets to be covered in sheets of ice some morning?

The grit boxes are so ornate. It’s a quaint and wonderful place, this London!