krusewalker Posted November 23, 2008 Report Share Posted November 23, 2008 A couple of years ago, whilst I was in the midst of a life that involved thick snow on the ground for 2 weeks when living in a country called Denmark, having arrived one night at an airport whereby the pilot circled the runway for half an hour whilst grounds-men were frantically try to scrape the runway, but twas not to be, so diverted to an airport an hour away to be efficiently shepherded onto large coaches that made a breeze of driving along the most treacherous roads thru a wild driving blizzard in pitch darkness alongside other Danes whom didnt seem to have trouble driving easily amongst the conditions, I noted to Anne how Good Ole Blighty housed newspapers emblazoning huge front pager headlines "Siberian Weather To Hit The UK" in advance of the one day of a light covering that mushed the day after shut the country down! Boy, did we have a giggle. It somehow seemed to sum up the worst in British Culture. Well, de ja vu: A had another good giggle yesterday: I couldnt believe my eyes, had to double take. Shopping in ASDA: newspaper headline: "Siberian Weather To Hit UK". Forgive me, cannot remember the precise wording - it night even have said Arctic, not Siberian, which would be even funnier. Cannot remember if it was the Mail or Express. Meanwhile, Im looking out my window at this dab of ice that someone has dug out of their fridge and deposited on top of my post box! Seriously, how to do we expect to be taken seriously by other countries with Real Weather! I am awaiting the 'Saharan Heatwave' headline next Summer now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boosboss Posted November 23, 2008 Report Share Posted November 23, 2008 Talking about the weather! How very British of you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krusewalker Posted November 23, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2008 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ranirottie Posted November 23, 2008 Report Share Posted November 23, 2008 perhaps they meant a Siberian summer! x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happylittlegreensquirrel Posted November 23, 2008 Report Share Posted November 23, 2008 simply our infrastructure is not designed for prolonged snow because unlike some countries we don't get an annual period of heavy snow its down to money , if you know you are going to get 3 + months every year of a certain type of weather than its cost effective to have a system in place that deals with that and every thing from cars to housing is built with the knowledge that it will be happening annually when I worked on the railways we did spend a lot of money , time and resources in dealing with snow and ice ( its ice thats more of a problem ) but for example and have some specialised equipment however I would not have spent 30 million + on a special train capable of dealing with 2 foot of snow because that might only happen every 10 years On the other hand we did spend money on special trains that are capable of cleaning the lines of leafs because every year autumn comes and the leaves fall down onto the lines ( you can't cut the trees down ) and leafs compacted on the line form a sticky paste that can stop the signalling working and make the brakes fail on the train. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nettie Posted November 23, 2008 Report Share Posted November 23, 2008 Martin, I really get the impression from a lot of your posts that you're not very keen on the UK in any way, shape or form. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mum24dog Posted November 23, 2008 Report Share Posted November 23, 2008 its down to money , if you know you are going to get 3 + months every year of a certain type of weather than its cost effective to have a system in place that deals with that and every thing from cars to housing is built with the knowledge that it will be happening annually Even then it's not foolproof. Last year I was in Toronto and there was a snowstorm that I didn't think was particularly bad. (We used to get worse in the Peak District when I was a child.) Prepared for such conditions or not, there was still chaos on the roads. Pam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mum24dog Posted November 23, 2008 Report Share Posted November 23, 2008 Martin, I really get the impression from a lot of your posts that you're not very keen on the UK in any way, shape or form. Surely that can't be true? He couldn't stay away. Maybe it's a case of "The grass is greener"? Oh no, sorry, he once accused our countryside of being too green. Anyway, sensible reply from HLGS. Pam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanishPastry Posted November 23, 2008 Report Share Posted November 23, 2008 (edited) steady on ladies it's not so much that the country is not geared up for snow, it's the fact that the media hype it up to be something it clearly isn't, like Arctic or Siberian. Edited November 23, 2008 by DanishPastry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happylittlegreensquirrel Posted November 23, 2008 Report Share Posted November 23, 2008 it's not so much that the country is not geared up for snow, it's the fact that the media hype it up to be something it clearly isn't, like Arctic or Siberian. I think its because we are not really geared up for snow and ice that the media get all excited because more than a few inches does cause traffic chaos for example Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siadwell Posted November 23, 2008 Report Share Posted November 23, 2008 I think this man sums it up brilliantly Michael Macintyre Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanishPastry Posted November 23, 2008 Report Share Posted November 23, 2008 :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krusewalker Posted November 24, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 24, 2008 Surely that can't be true? He couldn't stay away. Maybe it's a case of "The grass is greener"? Oh no, sorry, he once accused our countryside of being too green. Anyway, sensible reply from HLGS. Pam No, i was saying wasnt enough of other colours. Love that Michael Macintyre video - spot on! LOL. There are some brilliant comments on the Daily Mail thread....quite a few people, Brits and other nationals, saying how rediculous the reportage is. For example,' blanket of snow' - someone pointed out you can see grass in one of the photos! Pictures of white vans stranded. Im thinking: not treacherous driving conditions, but treacherous White Van Drivers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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