Weather (slightly off topic)

[Essexgungefan]

Getting more snow where I live. Pic taken just outside my house...

After February's snow this has (literally) got to be the icing on the cake!!!

So what will everyone be doing when the snow settles (if they indeed get it)

BTW my car is on the left...

[ralph]

Having lived in northern-Norway for many years, I sometimes collapse in a fit of uncontrollable disbelief at the degree of chaos caused as soon as one snowflake hits the south east of England. Lets face the facts. Britain is a north temperate country jammed between the maritime and continental weather influences. Some times (admittedly, less often in the past 30 years) the continental influence wins and it snows here. Also bears still shit in woods and, when he is not bothering vulnerable Irish choir boys, the pope is still a Catholic (albeit with a Nazi background - can't wait to see him try and answer the US immigration form!!). If the maritme influence declines through the disappearance of the north Atlantic drift (ironically caused by global "warming") then Britain will REturn to being dominated by a sub-arctic climate. Hopefully that will cause all the soft southerners to piss off to north Africa (apart from all Daily Mail readers who will presumably (and hopefully) have to shoot themselves), leaving Britain to be ruled by some form of Caledonian/Geordie coalition (or what is presently called the Labour Party), still of course dressed in t-shirts and shorts.

My personal feeling is that the weather media are (post Michael Fish hurricane cock up) blowing (pun intended!) every weather event out of proportion causing unnecessary panic in certain parts of the UK - or in certain post 1946-7, 1962-3, 1979 generations. I would like to support my theory by having spent twice as long driving home tonight with cars driving at half the normal speed without a single snowflake in sight (but with endless weather reports forecasting the end of the world in some form of Arctic driven armageddon). It should be bloody snowing in Britain in December for christ sake!!

Off for a very cold shower.

I.M. Jolly

[BillShipton]

Yes, we have some snow even here on the seafront but no biggie.

I think the Met Office do issue Severe Weather Warnings as an arse-covering exercise but in this world full of Mail-reading moaners can you blame them?

[andy250]

Yes, it makes me giggle, they are currently panic buying in tesco, as we had about 1cm of snow in Manchester!!!!

Ralph. I love the I.M.Jolly name had me giggling.

regards

Andy

[Richard]

I thought the uniform of the Northern British male was the string vest?

Richard - resident of Cumbria for many years (won't be able to go back now though!)

[Essexgungefan]

Believe it or not, I never moan about it being too cold!

I'm too young to remember 47, 63 and 79(year I was born). but I remember 1985/86 and 87 had some very cold winters. In Feb 86 it never got above freezing and in Jan 87 the snow was so thick some little villages got cut-off!!! And after watching some of the weather clips from those years its obvious how little fuss was made around then about cold days/nights and how much media coverage and OTT weather forecasts (severe/extreme weather) we get nowadays when we get a bit of snow

[Hayley]

There was quite a lot on the A21! People were crashing all over the place and I came down the hill into Flimwell sideways on opposite lock (I knew playing all those Colin McCrea games would come in handy one day!). But I am not a 'weather chicken', though I do prefer it warmer than this!

Hayley x

[wampony]

I hate the f@/*ing snow, how are you supposed to play in mud when you can't even see it, then when you find it it's all frozen solid!!

I like spring better-april showers and all that.

[ralph]

Yes, it makes me giggle, they are currently panic buying in tesco, as we had about 1cm of snow in Manchester!!!!

Ralph. I love the I.M.Jolly name had me giggling.

regards

Andy

Ah well ... err not my invention I'm afraid. A blatent rip off of Rikki Fulton's Reverend IM Jolly (on You Tube). He went down an absolute storm (pun intended) in Tromso!! Blew (pun intended) the audience away.

[Richard]

My memories of Norway include the incredible road tunnels, including one in Tromso which included a three way intersection with a traffic roundabout in the middle. No doubt there are many other examples of their farsightedness.
Apparently the Norwegians did the sensible option of using the North Sea oil money windfall to improve the infrastucture and get lasting benefit rather than fritter it away on tax reductions which were quickly forgotten as we did in Britain!

My seasonal greeting - BAH HUMBUG!!!!!!!!

[pieclown]

You know it is called the WORLD wide web. I here in the central USA, had fun a few weeks ago with 26 cm of snow. I like Richards posting about snow tunnel. I have seen them for homes, but not for cars in photos.

[Richard]

Sorry if I misled you pieclown. The tunnels I referred to were cut through the mountains and not just for snow avoidance. There is very little level ground in Norway for road building and the country is deeply indented by fjords, so most traffic used to go by sea on a shipping line called 'Hurtigruten' meaning "the fast route" as it was the quickest way to get from South to North and vice-versa. Now they have impressive bridges, tunnels, etc. even though the Hurtigruten is still operating successfully.

[pieclown]

OOPS, I put my face in that mess. Oh well, thanks for the clear up, Richard

[wetdressfan]

I don't know what all the fuss is about.

I don't really remember which year is which, but we have in the past had some bloody good winters over the last 30 or so years.

I remember coming home from school, donning old jeans and going sledging night after night wet through to the undies for many a winter. Then I wonder where my interest in getting wet comes from.

There have been memorable occurences, probably the early eighties was the first, when school was cancelled for several days. All the kids got there, the teachers didn't.

Then there was one where the snow was so deep, wellies were not tall enough, and a bus went past slinging slush on all the kids walking to school. Ah well, wet again.

The last big one I remember was 1995, when it started about 3pm. By 5.30 the country was gridlocked, a normal 45 minutes journey took me nigh on six hours, mainly 'cos folks in the UK have forgotten (or never learned) how to drive in snow. A week later it started again, and what did we get......panic.

Anyway, that panic buying is a good excuse to buy in bulk for the next session, on the pretence and using the cover that it may be several weeks before you can get out again.