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Snow Day!
Topic Started: Feb 6 2009, 08:04 AM (100 Views)
Pamela
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Molly
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Ah, you gotta love Swindon! Last night they closed their remaining bus service at 6:00 pm because of the prediction of heavy snow. The main roads were completely bare and sidewalks slushy on my way home through work. There was about two inches of snow on the ground remaining in my area.

The predicted heavy snow never happened. Freezing rain alternated with light snow. Then it was snowing properly when I got up. I was listening to the forecast to make sure bus service was still expected to go on through the day since one service closed itself yesterday and the other was closing lots of their routes. So fifteen minutes before I'm due to leave, hiking boots on, putting my lunch in my bag - it's announced - Thamesdown buses are closed! No transportation available to work for me!

Let me look out my window again...maybe THREE INCHES of snow on the ground! I could probably exaggerate it to a total of five if I look around real hard. OMG!

Damn, I need a ROFL smiley here... :rolleyes:

EDIT: Here's a link to a hilarious article with an accompanying, priceless photograph...
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Castamir
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We had quite bad (though I'm sure I remember worse snow, even though everyone else is declaring it the heaviest snow for 18 years...) on Monday and Wednesday. Proper compacted snow on the roads, none of yer slush.

What did the good people of Rugeley do? They went about their business as normal, totally ignoring the snow! Unfortunately the roads were carnage as a result, saw about 4 accidents on my way to work, why do some people think they can drive normally in the snow? hahaha
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Pamela
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Molly
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I'd have to agree with you so far that today's snow doesn't yet look any worse than Monday's in this region. I'll admit that some areas in the outskirts will have had snow that hasn't melted since then and would have quite an accumulation by now. That is outside the region however and no excuse for the city itself.

I hear you about the accidents. Even at home we get idiots who have access to winter tires but don't use them, and end up plowing into other cars, telephone poles, etc. I appreciate you don't have the snow-removal equipment that we do. However you have had it snow a little every year I've been here and since I assume it happened before my arrival, it should still be enough to make those with an average IQ to realise that you have to drive a little more carefully.

Or has the average IQ dropped recently?
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tarlyn
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Pam they do the same thing in Vancouver hahahahahahah!!!!!! My wife's cousin lives there now and she finds it hilarious, given the fact, well you know how much snow we get here ;)
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Castamir
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I think the problem with the UK and snow is, yeah, we get it every year for a couple of days, but we have no concept of preparing for it, because it only happens for a couple of days. What local authority wants to pay for a shed load of road salt and storage if it's unlikely to be that bad for more than a day or so. For the same reason we don't all have snow tyres. Even when it's really bad, the main roads are normally clear from the heavy traffic after a few hours, so you don't really need them. Plus people are on the whole, pretty stupid.

We also look forward to it. We don't want to work when it happens, we just want to build snowmen and throw snowballs at cars. So the smallest excuse to not work is grabbed with both hands. Meanwhile it's treated by the media like some kind of natural disaster, because they have nothing better to talk about other than the 'credit crunch'.
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Pamela
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Molly
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Jon's dad had explained what you've said (well, not the stupidity part :P) part to me when I arrived and saw my first snow fall, which barely coated the grass before disappearing less than 24 hours later.

I do get that it's a rare occurrence; I just have to giggle over the hype surrounding it. Yesterday I saw a headline about a baby almost being born in a 'blizzard' in southern England. Guys, seriously... :rolleyes:
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tarlyn
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I think my snow removal contract is for 250 cm of snow. After that it's extra, just to give you an idea of how much snow we get here, Cas.

NOt sure but last year we must have gotten close to 400cm of snow ;)
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VAN
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Wow Steve! In Italy snows every year but not too much, there is very much humidity to my city and when it snowing melts in max 3 days.
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Castamir
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The odd thing is, in the north of England, and in Scotland, there's snow a lot more often, it's also deeper and in the highlands a lot more dangerous. But because they are used to it, it never gets a mention.

It only makes the national media when the soft southern shandy drinkers have a dusting of the stuff. Then it's the apocalypse, apparently. ;)
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Pamela
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Molly
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Well, yeah, 'cause we don't have horse and buggies down here, and our work places aren't in the barn up the hill!
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