Snow Joke

Phew, Britain sweats! Snow has fallen over much of Britain today, with as much as 15cm predicted in parts of the South East. So get your cameras primed for Christmas Card pictures and gird your loins for a really annoying day of disrupted travel.

Grit Your Teeth

I have already been on the BBC website and while the scene outside my window is lovely, I know I have about an hour's digging to do to get my car out to be able to drive to the station. Having great foresight I did not buy any grit from the Garden Centre as my wife had advised as I am very sceptic of weather reports and it looked cold but fine yesterday afternoon. There was pathetic effort at snow last night so I felt smug that any preparations for snow would have been wasted effort.

However, I have been out and walked up our access road to the road that links us to the outside world and sure enough the Council Gritters had exactly the same attitude as me. The road is covered with about 6cm of snow, no salt has been laid down beforehand and the walking conditions, let alone driving, are treacherous.

Great start to the day.

Digging Myself Out of Trouble

So I have been frantically emailing my appointments today to give them due warning that plans may get a little disrupted due to lack of planning. Naturally, I have blamed this on Council workers sitting in front of the TV doing nothing all day yesterday and being totally inadequately prepared for the snow. Typical Britain - a couple of snowflakes and the whole country grinds to a halt; Gatwick is shut and trains will of course be bypassing stations as they will not be able to stop on icy tracks, so better not take them out. That or there are 'Different kinds of leaves' stopping the trains getting through.

Yes, I know I am part of the problem - I will have to dig my car out and gingerly negotiate the minor roads but it is an established fact that we as a country, with all our sophisticated equipment for predicting weather, seem incapable of acting upon the information and so diminishing the effects of slightly unusual weather.

It is, of course, about the fourth or fifth time in a matter of months that we have had a good smattering of snow BUT this time it has struck on a Monday morning. Expect mayhem on the roads and various travel services.

Coping Methods

I shan't insult our intelligence by saying the obvious - but I will. The fact is that you go to any other country in Europe and about ten feet of snow poses about as much of a challenge as an England cricket team playing Australia.

Ah well, it's time to brave the day. Good luck everyone. Wrap up warm - if you are travelling far, make sure you take a look at the road reports, stick a coat and torch in the boot, have a bottle of water and some dry biscuits with you, a shovel, a team of Huskies, a tent, and a blow up Sir Ranulph Fiennes to lead you danger just in case.