SNOW,SNOW,SNOW,SNOW ......

[Still Kate]

Dear All,
I haven't been on the board for a few weeks due to trying to devise fun and games for a 2 and 3 year old. The snow has fallen here.... lots and lots and unfortunately our government has completely b*llsed up and can't cope. Hence the South of England ground to a stand still last week as the roads were impossible, couldn't walk on the pavements, all the schools closed, the shops ran out of basic stuff like bread, I haven't seen our milkman in days.... we'll probably find him come the spring!  .... You get the idea. And yet the USA, Russia, Germany, Sweeden, Denmark etc get tons more snow than us and life carries on as normal.
Our roads and lanes are like skating rinks and when I ventured out yesterday I found it really hard to keep my footing on the thick ice on the pavements. Apparently, we have run out of salt grit ....despite the fact we dig it up in this country.... we've been shipping it abroad. Isn't that sensible! And don't even ask about the Health and Safety Laws. If a business clears the snow from in front of their building then they are liable if someone falls but if they leave it and a little 80 year old lady falls over and breaks her hip then no one is liable so no one can get sued. How crazy is that!
I knew this country was in a  right old mess due to our national debt being 40 billion and counting but for us to totally go to pieces for 12 inches of snow is madness.

Ok, rant over. Hope you all have a happy and healthy 2010.
Love Kate. XX

[Labrys]

Even some places here in the US are struggling with severe cold this year.  Some places have had issues with ice---so cold that the salt applied doesn't melt it; so windy sand applied blows off.  So it isn't just England.

In many ways, I think the economic issues and the wars are distracting us from a huge infrastucture problem here.  Bridges are aging, levees on rivers are minimal, and locally, we have a dam ready to fail and flood a major industrial area. 

Attention has not been paid to maintenance of what we refer to as "civilization"...and things could get less than civilized in a hurry as a result.

[Lark]

It's finally warming up here just a little bit.  I live in a 200 year old house and when the weather gets really cold we can't use the living room at all.  So my access to the computer in the living room was right out for several days until it finally got above freezing outside.  Today it got warm enough that it melted all the snow, and also thawed out the drain from the washing machine so I could get laundry done.

Did I ever mention how much I detest winter?

-Lark-

[MyValenwind]

This made me just want to move to England. I really don't wanna do anything else but roll around when there's inches of snow outside. Then I also enjoy driving in bad weather. Oh, the dilemma. :o