General Chat

Just heard on the news that councils are running out of salt and grit well I must be going around with my eyes closed cos I have not seen any signs of the roads around here being gritted.

lynn

We live on a back street terraced house and the road is just a block of ice .
It is realy thick too .

The main rd is not too bad but still not realy clear .
I thought after last year they would have learned from thier mistakes and stocked up properly this year

We saw our first gritter this winter last night.I don't know anyone who has seen one .
I heard that people are buying cat litter if they can't get salt for driveways.

When is this country going to learn that this sort of thing can happen any winter and we should be perpared. hope the sc have go the extra winter payments.

At Stockton-on-Tees we have had snow, and ice, since 17th Dec. Thankfully, pavements on High Street have been kept clear but the big problem is getting off our estate, especially walking to the bus stop, which is only about 100 yards away from our home. I have four times cleared snow from the bird table in our south-facing garden. Yesterday I coated a brown bread crust with fat from the roast duck we cooked at the weekend, broke it into pieces and put it out for the birds. Within a couple of minutes I chased away TWO CATS stealthily approaching in spite of electronic bird scarer.

Gladgran - hello from a fellow Stocktonian.
I haven't driven my car since the week before Xmas because of the snow & ice. No signs of it easing up in next few days. Probably have to get AA out after all this!

Pity we've been told we cant sue the councils over this. Is this one of the perks of the job, gritting whats mine first.

we have had no snow but heavy frost but for the firt time since we have lived here 7 years they have gritted our road, have seen the gritter out all day today round the town and the side streets.

Our council are just ritting the bus routes, which makes the side streets very dangerous, like a skating rink around here.

round here in middlesbrough they have kept the main town clear
but the estates are shocking

Our cul de sac is very slippery despite there being no significant snowfall for days, it's all very well the main roads being gritted but as others say, if you can't get to them what's the point? O.h.'s b.i.l. has an extra job, he is on call out to drive the gritters and has been very busy of late. Wish we could redirect him round this way tho. Not even a grit box nearby and there are no pavements in this close only roadway so the cars driving over the icy slush when it thaws a bit packs it down hard to re freeze later on.

I daren't go out, have cancelled an apptmt for dentist tomorrow as I am terrified of falling over again. O.h. is having to take the car for work as it's too slippery to cycle on the side roads here.

Gladgran, I had to smile, I put stuff out for the birds and the hedehogs in case they wake and look for their usual supply of peanuts but despite a cat scarer the local cats come and steal stuff, even peanuts I think, during the night, Basil a ginger and white one seems not to care about the cold and happily comes out at night.


I do wonder why you are putting food out for the birds if you have an electronic bird scarer tho lol

Try and stay upright folks, especially you Mac, stay home if you can.

Lizxx

Old Geezer

am in Nuneaton just outside of Coventry and still no snow but forecast for overnight

our council have plenty of grit..i can't imagine what they are saving it for

a rainy day???

Are they going to sell it to the Russians Stella???

lynn

Tina, that's typical isn't it?

I have been feeding hedgehogs for months now so I have to keep putting the peanuts out as if they get used to a food supply they often wake and come to get some food, rather than hibernate fully. I haven't seen one hedgehog for three weeks, except on one slightly milder night when one of mine came, but the peanuts disappear anyway. Either the hedehogs are dashing out for a feed and rushing back to their warm hideyhole or our resident mouse and rat are getting very fat altho it seems to be the mornings that the main lot of nuts go so probably some brave birds coming up to the patio to feed. There are bags of nuts and fat balls hanging from trees at the end of the garden and lots of stuff on the bird table and I soaked a crust of bread in left over fat from some cooking I did, and put that out for the blackbird, on the ground near where he sits a lot so he could have a good feed.
I hate to think of the birds dying of cold so hope they are all tucking in at various times, we have a robin and some tits as well as the collared doves, and a dunnock and blackbirds and the odd starling.

LIzx

My sister x inlaws who live around the corner from me ( and I might add have been very good to me since I moved up here) feed the birds and get all sorts in their garden, very caring couple.

Still no gritters.

lynn