Snow time for grumblers (UPDATED)
by a_spod on Comments
Well England is engulfed in snow; the worst (in the south) for 18 years. But the week began, for me, with a poor showing: a meagre half an inch piled up on Sunday night. Another half inch accrued Monday afternoon, while I walked the dog (we came back looking like the Abominable Snowman and the Abominable Snowdog; do they have Abominable Snowdogs?) I crossed my fingers and hoped it might last. Snow chance. Tuesday's blazing sun ploughed through the drifts, and by midday Wednesday only metamorphic ice and a couple of hardy snowmen were to be seen outside the shady dells. And I figured that was it: the heaviest snowfall of the year gone up in steam. But overnight we received a second benediction: a 2 inch niveous shag pile was draped over the landscape, concealing sudden dips, sharp roots, and thinly iced puddles under a dimpled white plane. So yes, I tripped a few times and sank knee deep into the snow and shin deep into water and mud when the ice gave way. The trees even landed a few snowballs on me. But hey, it was great. Sorry for those of you submerged in the stuff (and the girl who lost her life): but in a couple of days it will all fade into slush or be compacted into ice or—more likely—vanish completely. And it will melt in the memory as quickly as it does on the ground. So I'm 100% glad that UK Plc grinds to halt whenever Siberian winds venture west. Who wants to pay more taxes so we can be forced to work a day we can otherwise skive? Us Brits work the longest hours in Europe. Snow days should be de jure national holidays: a time for parents and kids to go out and play amongst the white sands of winter. So, as far as I’m concerned, the only people UK not excused from grumbling are those who didn't get much snow, and those, who—like one of the autoteaches here—have been forced into work everyday. UPDATE: Friday rush hour brought another heavy fall. A reading from my ruler indicated 4.5" on the lawn. (I'd estimated only 3", so past estimates are probably a bit low. :oops: ) 2" must have fallen in a hour. Early commuters were sent home by the police as they prepared to close city roads; later drivers would have needed chains on their wheels in order to roll over the undulating countryside. And the local shop ran out of stock. But since Fridays: we've had no more. Of course the clear skies have let Jack Frost lose. Now virgin snow is like gravel, the compacted stuff has been rendered into concrete, and melt water has refrezen as glass. But the sun returned Saturday afternoon, and again this afternoon, so we should be more or less free by Monday, when the next downfall is due; see, even the snow stops for afternoon tea in England. ;)