The Great British Snow effect
It is at best bemusing and at worst embarrassing the reaction of the Great British public to the advent of a few inches of snow.
A sort of mild panic is triggered in the British psyche whereas some see it as a sort of Armageddon, where they discuss nothing else but their plans to get home, or their plans to get to work.
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A lone shopper walking through the Ironmarket, Newcastle at 9.30 am yesterday. For some, snow falls signify that life goes on as usual
The media seem to get carried away too. Today two documentaries are featured telling of former freezing periods in Britain's history, seemingly screened to coincide with the current snowy weekend.
Then we have those who selfishly panic buy and generally go into the 'siege mentality'.
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God help us if there ever was a catastrophe; some would no doubt rip your hair out to get to the bread aisle first.
Why does Britain grind to a standstill when snow and ice materialise do you imagine; other countries seem to manage? With rail, roads and even airports closing; it's almost absurd.
One taxi receptionist exclaimed last night in war torn fashion that: "There are no taxis duck, the drivers have been through it all day and are exhausted".
Been through what you might wonder, war, famine, plague? No, a day's worth of snow flurries.
You can conclude that the relevant authorities do not make any provision for snowfall and no doubt they cross their fingers that it won't happen. It usually doesn't.
But in the last few years the weather patterns have changed where we have been experiencing cold snaps for successive weeks. So is it time for the authorities to make contingency plans for this shifting climate change?
In the meantime some people should understand what others enjoy about snowfall. The rat race calms down, the earth becomes oxygenated, aggravating traffic is put in its place and we stay indoors and hibernate accepting there will be disruption to our lives for a day or two.
And for the more adventurous, discovering sledging is an outdoor revelation.
Comments
by Backdoored
Monday, January 21 2013, 10:54AM
“errm, I'm just wondering if that last comment was influenced to a degree by the Sentinel's (quote)... "Then we have those who selfishly panic buy and generally go into the 'siege mentality'. -unquote.
The brain -and its health, seems never to be 'far from the considerations of many on this site, and takes lots of stick daily. Not sure if it's a bad thing or not.”
by Erbert87
Monday, January 21 2013, 10:27AM
“dougalcross. Your camp waspish responses remind me of someone who is not all there. Are you the full shilling?”
by jokerjohnny
Sunday, January 20 2013, 11:44PM
“"its thatcher and camerons fault end of.bring back blair and brown more jobs and less immagration ."”
by Backdoored
Sunday, January 20 2013, 4:17PM
“'falling out with their fingernails..' Now I like that; new to me. Filed away in my lexicon of fun expressions.
On another personality trait -miserly, the expression -'he wouldn't give you the dirt from under his fingernails' -I do know of. There must be others referring to the fingernails.
As the Drug Dealer said -on concluding the transaction, - 'Nice One'.”
by dougalcross
Sunday, January 20 2013, 3:26PM
“Poor old A Reader. Simply gave his opinion on the snowy pic, and up pops Soothsayer saying an extremely offensive sooth closely followed followed by 87 yr old Erbert giving his equally offensive
tosh.
Not to worry A R. At least you don't have to live with this pair of sweet-meats, falling out with their fingernails.”
by Backdoored
Sunday, January 20 2013, 2:43PM
“Must add... they also close on one other day -Easter Sunday.. but somehow that day doesn't seem to have the same dramatic affect on the populace. And as I said re the old days -like Xmas Day -they were closed every Sunday an people did what they'd always done 'stayed alive'.”
by Backdoored
Sunday, January 20 2013, 1:19PM
“Stocking up for Armageddon. Every year the supermarkets close for one day -Xmas Day. On the days leading up to it -and especially the day before -a fever descends on the population -and it's really intense. I don't understand it.
When there was no such things as supermarkets -and even when they first appeared -they weren't allowed to open at all on Sundays. So tht meant, in effect, it was Xmas every weekend.
But people didn't react to the closure as they do now. What's changed in the psyche? Is it because they've all become so bored with life -and are now desperate for some 'drama' -even though it has to be 'imagined'?”
by Alberus
Sunday, January 20 2013, 10:50AM
“This picture is a syndicated or library picture. Who knows when it was taken? Last year maybe or 1989. There must be thousands of such shots cluttering the Sentinel archives showing some wretched figure stumbling through the snow. Mr Rafferty has written quite a good article about a subject which is dear to the hearts of British weather fanatics, which is probably most of us.”
by Erbert87
Sunday, January 20 2013, 9:52AM
“No Soothsayer you are wrong. That is a picture of A_Reader on the way to the looney bin on Saturday. He does not know what day it is and in his tiny mind he is walking through slush.”
by Soothsayer2
Sunday, January 20 2013, 9:37AM
“A_Reader, try to put your mind into gear before you put your stupid mouth into action. The article was published on Saturday, and the writer refers to the snow in the Ironmarket 'yesterday', which would have been Friday morning he was referring to. Good God some idiots on here. Or do they just try to have a go at the writer?”