We were warned it was coming, but the arrival of the white powder stuff still
takes us by surprise and causes chaos. I have one son at home delighted that his school is closed, and another feeling cheated that his classes are still on – as well as the parents evening tonight.
Geoff is particularly anxious, he is hoping to catch a flight to Dubai later today to visit his son and is relying on public transport to take him to Heathrow Airport.
As I write this, my younger son has returned home from school in joyful spirits. Only a handful of teachers turned up and then sent the kids home. So James and his two buddies, aged 14, promptly started walking the five miles back to our Cambridgeshire village. They were given a lift home for the last half of the journey when they were spotted by a friend’s mother. Both his friends mothers are at work and unaware of these changes. Lucky for them, I am working from home today and can supply bacon sandwiches and hot chocolate throughout the day. There is really no excuse for the school’s poor communication, so many others informed local radio which was our only source of information.
I expect we will later head for the only rise in the flat Fenland landscape – Cherry Hill, in the shadows of Ely Cathedral, armed with our sledges. It will be heaving with excited, snow loving, grinning kids. It is so amusing to watch them speeding down the hill, some on them on dustbin lids or even bin bags, anything they can lie on and launch themselves from.
So why are our lives turned upside down when it snows? Are we the laughing stock of the world, unable to get to grips with gritting roads and ensuring a weather-proof infrastructure? How has your day been affected by the snow? Will Geoff’s flight take off?
Hi Ellee thanks for the call and the mention. Its looking like I should attach some skis to my huge bag (28Kg of bookbinding equipment! that my sons future wife left behind when they emigrated). Lets hope the flight goes, Don’t fancy a night at Heathrow.
Hills Road school was very well organised I had an email last night from them.
Geoff, That is incredibly well organised of Hills Road. I bet Emily was pleased of an excuse not to sit her Spanish oral test too.
Now why is it that kids won’t wear wellies when they play in the snow? I had to buy James a pair for a school trip to some WW1 battlefields, but he insists in going out snowballing in his trainers and I know he will return home with soaking wet, freezing cold feet.
David wants to play chess later, so it will be quite a disruptive work day for me. I’m just glad I’m around and can enjoy the snow with them.
What I like is when those happy smiling cherubs throws a matey snowball at you. You respond by impacting one in the ball of your fist so its an ice ball ,moving to point blank range and throwing it straight at the kids head. Then stuff a load more down the little sods jumper and send the , by now crying , litle brat back home to mummmy with lacerating sarcasm stinging his ears.
Happy days ….
( Wet cold and Grinchy)
I have photographs of the snow on my two main blogs. It looks as though the only people it affects are those Mercedes-Benz drivers who can’t drive as they have:
1. No idea what a manual car is
2. If they have a manual Mercedes, they don’t understand cadance braking, double de-clutching or other reversing uphill in snow and ice because they don’t ubderstand that the reverse gear is the strongest.
3. A combination of the above
4. They are plain stupid
Hi, Ellee. I think it depends where you live in Britain. When I was a teenager we lived in Bristol and we just carried on through most snow, but when we moved to London everything stopped at the first snowflake! When I was teaching, as soon as the kids saw snow through the window, to them, that was the end of the day: “What time we goin’ ‘ome, then?” Then a couple of years ago I had an ESOL class full of Muslim ladies who had never seen the stuff, so outside they ran and danced about in their veils! It can hit you hard if you have to get somewhere for work, have to visit someone in hospital and the buses stop or if you do an hourly-paid job, though. Here it has snowed only once in the memory of most people and that was 3 years ago. You take care when it gets slippery, Ellee.
It’s terribly amusing to watch from Moscow.
Brits are such wusses these days it’s hard to imagine they ever led the greatest empire in history. Our firm’s HQ in London circulated an “extreme weather” email last night. Imagine the hilarity as it comes up on screens in Moscow, where it is a balmy 15 degrees Celsius below zero and all is well.
Last year we all went to work and no schools or airports closed when it was minus 40 degrees Celsius (it was colder than the Antarctic in the street outside my office). No problem at all.
Britain should spend some more money employing brawny men and buying snow ploughs and stop wasting money on Elf ‘n’ Safety officers and Gender Awareness Counsellors. Absolutely pathetic. You should all be ashamed of your effete selves.
I’m off in a mo to East Barnet – where a by-election is taking place today. We are defending a seat and the Lib Dems were at it in the snow at 4am delivering “Good Morning” leaflets. There is also a by-election in Croydon. Turn-out in both is *very* low. Fingers crossed that win win both seats.
I think I may go outside and make a snowman in a bit! Now why did I give my sledge away so many years ago!
Why aren`t you in school like the rest of us Justin? Do you have private wealth?
It seems James was too quick in jumping to conclusions about school being closed, he misinterpreted his teacher’s comment about how he felt they might all be heading home soon as the go-ahead to do so, when that was not the case. Lots of other school kids also came home thinking the same.
Tom, I bet you don’t even wear a vest or overcoat in those blistering cold temperatures. We obviously need a few Muscovites to come and get us sorted – but please ask them to leave the polonium behind!
I do, Newmania, I do; I’m married to a doctor!
A Doctor !!!Cooeee big bucks . Suprised he couldn`t do better than you..I mean your very nice and everything ,…but still..A DOCTOR.
BTW I `ve go this shooting pain …….
Unfortunately uni wasn’t cancelled today… but my seminar is over now anyway!
Most of the snow has gone away now, which is disappointing. I was going to build a snowman!
Afternoon Ellee,
D’you know I really thought you were referring to Guido’s hangover!
I must read your Blog more regularly!
Kind regards,
S.
No snow here, so school was on and getting to work was no problem either. Funny but kings lynn never seems to get the snow, not that i am complaining…..
No snow up here in the distant north, either.
Could this be a benefit of global warming, and can I claim an environmental tax rebate as a result?
I was filled today with nostalgia, the happy memories of having a legitimate excuse to skive school.
MUM: Are you going to school today?
TEENAGE JOE: No, it’s probably cancelled, Mum.
And now you have to get up and earn a crust regardless.
Why don’t they grit the pavements these days, either?
We all turned up this morning, but got no thanks for the trouble it caused us.
Justin
I met the Lib Dem cabdidate in the run up to the General Election of 2005. Standing next door in Finchley, I was invited up one evening to East Barnet.
The gentlemen concerned had difficult in being brief!
Virtually nothing up here in Cumbria! Just a light dusting on the fells.
The voters in East Barnet voted in the Snow – and voted for US! (-:
Now sampling the delights of wintering in Dubai, in the 70’s clear skies swimming in the outdoor pool. Its great! Photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/geoffjones/sets/72157594526706487/