General Chat

Ann, when there is six inches of snow on the ground and your car gets stuck on the way out of your drive, skids on the road, etc etc, sorry but would you drive and put yourself at risk like that?

Yes teachers do live a lot further away from their schools these days, and why should they put themselves at risk more than anyone else, especially when the advice in some parts is not to drive at all.

All I'm saying is that we have changed a lot in the last forty years or so, we live much much differently now, and we forget that we cannot carry on as normal, ie driving ourselves everywhere. We can't always compensate by walking instead, as we live too far away, especially compared to how we used to live close to our work, we all had jobs local to us, and usually within walking or at least cycling distance, so leaving the car at home and walking posed no problem.

We rely far too much on our cars nowadays, in a way we never used to. As a society we are not prepared to walk these days, besides we often do live too far away. But we expect that we should be able to whatever the weather and we forget that nature is bigger and stronger than we are.

I too used to go walk to school, even in the snow - but we could walk over fields - much easier than roads - and children went to their LOCAL school - not the (allegedly) better one 5 miles away!
Coats were draped over the fireguard of the stove that heated the classroom. Milk was drunk at breaktime. In the winter the milk would have frozen and the cream would be sticking out of the bottle wearing a gold foil cap! The milk was brought in and placed near the fire to defrost, so we ended up with milk that was warmish one side and full of icicles the other!

I live 2 miles from where I work. I managed to walk intoday - but tomorrow the ungritted roads & pavements will be unpassable.
I moved here 20 odd years ago, and remember men from the council with wheelbarrows shovelling grit onto the pavements.
Now they don't even bother gritting the roads around here. We no longer have a local shop, so it appears everyone - even the elderly from the sheltered housing scheme - is expected to walk one and a half miles - a mile of that on ungritted roads - to the nearest shop!

...and no, I don' live in the middle of nowhere - I live in Winchester - allegedly one of the richest cities - and one with a very high council tax - just above the M3. I can't tell you how galling it is to hear the cars coming from outside the city speeding on a motorway our council tax has paid to grit, parking in the park & ride all day for £2.70, getting on a bus (every 10 minutes) that is usually running, while we (the locals) just a spit away from the park & ride are the first to have our bus (one every half hour if we're lucky) cut, and our bus fare is 50p less than outsiders pay to park their car & go twice the distance on a bus!


sorry - rant over!
considered

hi TW .in canada they can have over a foot of snow in an afternoon .they carry on .there countrys ready for most stuff.here we have a sifting of snow .RED ALERT.when will our country learn lolol

Yesterday was the first time I have ever been snowed now because I could if I wanted walk from my house to get any where we wasnt really snowed, I still couldnt get to work and fretted all night about the big freeze and again being unable to get in today I could but others havent bothered some are geninue and some are not...

Oh you've hit a nerve with me. Yes, why can't teachers get to school?? I have utmost sympathy with those that are truly snowed in, but the whole country???

In the 60s and 70s I would travel to work 12 miles each way from a small village in a car far less safe than modern ones and very little gritting of the roads and travelled in my job seeing banks of snow on either side higher than the car at times where the snow plough had pushed it.

My OH travels a minimum of 130 miles a day to his work base and has been doing this for over 15 years now and never had days off because of snow.

Remind me again why teachers cannot get to school because, forgive me, I don't think most travel 130 miles to work. I think in most cases it is an excuse to get extra holiday for which the taxpayer foots the bill and children lose a day's education.

Hi TW re: village schools,

when I were a lad 1947 ish, in dockland e16
there were 4 schools within a mile of my house two primary (one RC)and two secondary, the '47 snow was nearly up to my knees, the pot bellied stove in each classrom of my school was all that there was.....although the others as far as I know had radiators.
Bob

No didnt know that TW.
I think in times like this though they should be made to help out..if they are fit enough that is. They probably couldnt get out to look for work in weather as bad as this anyway.
I dont know where the snow could go though lol

I can see that Marion, though did you know you have to declare doing any voluntary work at all, and it could actually affect your jobseekers, because while you are busy doing voluntary work you are actually unavailable for job search, so you could lose money.

I'm sure if there were points awarded for volunteering while unemployed, that helped in your search, it would be better than being penalised for it.

TW maybe not help you in every job but at least it would show future employers you were willing to work and would do anything rather than nothing.

Yes Claire, sounds bad lol

I dont' think clearing a bit of snow from footpaths will earn me any brownie points when going for a customer service office job, but I know what you mean.

I'm not sure about 'act of God', I thought that term had been abolished. But if I was to fall on a cleared path, there's nothing to sue the council for, but if I was to fall on an uncleared path, then I might try to sue them for not making any attempt to clear it.

The path at the bottom of my road is like a sheet of glass, outside the shops, because so many people have walked on it and compacted it, then it's thawed then frozen, it's really really dangerous. What's more, if you slipped on it, you're likely to end up in the road in the path of oncoming traffic. Scary stuff. At my end of the road, a mile away from the shops, it's walked on and slippy, but not glass-like, at least you stand a chance here.

Ann some would probably 'fall' or hurt their back. I imagine it would be to do with insurance.
They should be made to help out in times like this though. some might even enjoy being given something to get up for in the am.
Could even give them 'Brownie' points when going for a job.

Marion

Am I right in thinking that a fall on snow or ice is an "Act of God" but if you have made an attept to clear the path then you can be held liable?

I wonder why they don't get those on community service round clearing pavements. Or offer a small sum to the unemployed to do it (without it affecting their benefits).

We have had snow for nearly three weeks now. Its not moving due to it been as cold as -16 some nights. It starts the thaw then freezes.
Council have been very slow in clearing...even in the high streets.
Car just cant get parked easy due to piles of snow.

Theres going to be a lot of damage after too,once the snow comes off the roofs no doubt slates will come off too. There will be flooding too.

Our slabs have all risen up about 2 inches in places and the same goes for the streets.

My MIL fell on Thur and broke her hip she is 83.

To be honest I am totally p*ss*d off with this ruddy snow.

Anyone who thinks snow is great, they need their heads checked lol.

We have done our bit of clearing, but if you clear a bit and somebody falls,they can claim from you.

We should do what they do in China, everyone who is able, gets mucked in,or get the bone idle ones who have never worked, out there and earn their money.

Our footpaths are like glass here, but that didn't happen either. Everyone cleared the footpaths outside their own homes, so it would all be clear for people to walk on, rather than compacting it. Why dont' people sweep the little bit of path outside their homes any more?

We also need to remember that there was a lot less traffic back then to get gridlocked, which also made it easier walking anywhere, this weather nowadays if you walk near roads that are icy you have to be aware that cars etc can skid out of control.

Same here Joy, but in little bits at a time, the first day was the worst for us, though as I say, we have it forecast over the next 24 hours, then again on Saturday.

we have had snow everyday since the 17th december
i have been clearing a path to Strays up to six times a day
i have now given up
her cat stayed here for 5 days
refusing to get her feet wet or cold
we carried her home yesterday lol

spoilt cat

Sheila, there were reports from USA a week or so back, and the situation there is worse than here, everything has stopped, they just can't cope with it, so we're not the only ones.

I do wish people would remember that nature will outwit us regularly, we can't beat it, we can't better it. So just get on with it and accept it. lol

Joy, we've been very lucky in Norwich, only snow showers, and though very heavy, there's still only a couple of inches laying. More on the way later though.