Well, it’s been a fun week for anyone needing to get out and about.
Those either smug or disappointed at missing the first blast of snow that brought the South to a halt earlier in the week will probably be out building snowmen as I write.
But it’s not been difficult to keep warm, with the amount of hot air coming out of the mouths of people whinging that lots of slippery stuff stops them getting around.
I don’t blame the authorities for the chaos – it’s been years since we had a decent dusting down south – but that doesn’t explain the legions of idiots.
Firstly, the ones who compare the UK with other countries better prepared to deal with snowy conditions. When you get heavy snowfall as infrequently as we do, I’d prefer the inconvenience of there being no buses and ungritted roads rather than large portions of my council tax paying for winter tyres for buses that will be used once a decade and piles of salt that may never be needed. I’ll take the ‘snow day’ and work from home, now I’ve finally sorted the broadband (long story.).
All professional, office-based businesses should be set up so the majority of workers can comfortably work from home anyway.
And that brings me onto the second point. Most of the legions of idiots I referred to seemed to be careering down the hill outside my flat at a speed completely at odds with the conditions. I’d say 90% of the accidents that occurred this week could have been avoided if each new driver spent an hour on a skid-pan learning about car control and how easy it is to lose control in difficult conditions. Maybe then people would have thought better of braving roads that were clearly dangerous, and accepted that the sensible option was maybe to leave the car where it was.
