1) I am injured so cannot drive anyway
2) I am self employed = me no work, me no pay.
3) Have bills to pay
4) Need to earn money
I am walking to local jobs and getting a lift to anything further.
If I was able to drive I would not be risking it.
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My Rod Laver white leather tennis shoes, now decently run in, alas have smooth places on their soles, caused anyway on the left by clutch pedals, that slip on the thick but not very squishy stuff on the pavements. Having no new DMs which might be all right, I changed into the Chinese plastic A$40 walking shoes, almost new, that I got down under to walk to the pub half a mile away.
They were no better, but have wider soles, and thank goodness I still have a sense of balance even after a couple of Leffes. It must be well below zero out there.
Come on Borisovich! Where's all this adjectival salt then?
Seek pavements outside proud prospering shops and under the edges of roofs and overhead motorways. That is my considered advice for the next few days. There were dry bits in the Portobello Road but long bits where no one was doing well enough to clear the pavement.
Never mind your dignity. You don't want a broken bone even if you are a whippersnapper. Nothing like being bandaged up and unable to take a bath to make you smell old.
(Can I stamp on BBD's face after you've finished with him AE? Pretty please!)
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Seek pavements outside proud prospering shops and under the edges of roofs and overhead motorways. That is my considered advice for the next few days. There were dry bits in the Portobello Road but long bits where no one was doing well enough to clear the pavement.
Sadly, M'lud, 'tis a foolish proprietor indeed who clears the pavement outside his establishment, due to the slip and sue brigade.
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Mrs B managed an involuntary and spontaneous 180 in the Mondeo estate this afternoon at the bottom of the only significant hill for miles. Another few feet and she'd have slid backwards into a busy main road. She had her mother in the car at the time who didn't particularly notice and still didn't draw breath from talking even during the spin. Mrs B decided not to apprise her of the nature of the change of direction and drove back up the hill to the corner shop they had just visited on the pretext of having forgotten something. She went in and bought a bottle of whisky..... some of which she is now drinking........
Must put some new tyres of any description on that car soon.
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Lud, Don't bother with the DMs. Been trialling a new pair this week. Nice in the snow and in the car, very warm.
Did at least 4 attempted pirouettes in them between Greggs and the bank this morning. Only 25 yds or so.
Disgraceful, lot's of oldies use this area 'cos of the Post Office.
Ended up walking back to the car in the gutter like some sort of tramp !
AE now of an age where velcro shoes might be useful to him...easy to get off when the ankle is broken !
Ted
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Freelander v. 30 inch drift.
Freellander wins!
Finally the day has dawned when the Subaru is defeated. There now follows a 1 minute BR silence, nobody post please.
Anybody in Bury, I urge you to go to the bottom end of Willow St and witness the glory that is the 3m, possibly 3.5m high snow giraffe that someone has built in their garden. It is right up there with the Sphinx and Burj Tower in terms of human achievement.
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The main roads around me have been cleared (sort of), but my road is a steep incline that has never seen sight nor sound of a gritter. There's still 12 inches of snow on it, so the cars are going nowhere. We walked 3 miles across fields to get to the shops as we'd run out of essentials. (Which could lead to another thread about idiots buying 15 pints of milk and 20 loaves of bread, leaving nothing for anyone else!)
I doubt the road will be passable for a good few days and there is more forecast for the weekend. I'm meant to be getting my new car on friday..think I'll leave it in the showroom.
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Definitely 1 and 6 for me.
In my eyes they've cried wolf too many times for me to take any notice when I'm told that it should be essential journeys only!
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I stopped taking any notice ages ago
I only listen to what the voices in my head tell me
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5. I'm no sort of hero, just a truck driver; but if I don't go to work, farm animals don't get fed.
Been so bad round here that many dairy farms are having to pour milk down the drain because the tankers can't get to them. That's the farmer's living quite literally down the drain, and no they DON'T get compensation for it.
Puts it into context when you hear the city boys whining 'cos they can't find any double cream in Waitrose!
Drove back tonight from Pembrokeshire, having taken six hours to do a two-drop load that I'd normally complete in two and a half. Blissfully quiet on the main roads (there had to be an up-side) but lethal on the by-ways; forget your supermarket car park handbrake turns, try sliding a fully-loaded 8-wheeler tipper sideways, it only weighs 32 tons!
Ice Road Truckers? Pussies!! ;-)
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try sliding a fully-loaded 8-wheeler tipper sideways, it only weighs 32 tons!
Respect!!!!
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It's not actually as difficult as it sounds Bobby, and there are times when you have to do it to turn the vehicle round on a sloping farmyard; if anything slurry (cow muck) has a lower coefficient of friction than sheet ice, combine the two and it can get very interesting!
I should add that most farmers put more salt on their Sunday dinner than they put on their access roads.... what's that about stereotypes? ;-)
Edited by Harleyman on 06/01/2010 at 22:51
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Ice Road Truckers? Pussies!! ;-)
That last series, where they're on roads rather than the water....blimey, rather them than me. The 'roller coaster' even looks awesome on the camera footage...which means in real life it must be terrifying.
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Humph hope Mrs B is OK. By the way tonight i am going to follow what a nieghbour is doing putting a blanket over the windscreen/wipers etc. Hope it was a good whisky.
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Oh she's fine thanks ! She likes ice dancing anyway........
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the Dial a Ride wouldnt come down my road, it wasnt gritted.
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I am sure there is a joke in there somewhere.......
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Had no post for two days now I am expected an important delivery too, the passport for the rest of my life :(
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Our postie in his 1 delivery since 22nd of December basically had given up, saying if you want your post, better go to the sorting office.
I think today will be the big day for bumps and bashes in the North today, a lot of drivers this morning had obviously thought "the worst is over, we can start driving fast again".
No that's still ice you're on.
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The ice here in South Manchester is far worse than it has been, not only may people think the worse is over, it is actually far more dangerious than it has been.
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Parked my car up in Bracknell on Sunday evening;cleared a foot of snow off it this morning and started OK. Temp -16C 20 miles away! Dreadful problem getting off the drive and to the nearest road that wasn't a sheet of ice,about 400 yards, then a steady 65 - 70 mph, M3, M25 clockwise and A1 to Grantham. Snow much less in evidence North of Biggleswade and 200 yards of sheet ice to negotiate up my home road to my own drive. Not impressed with 44 mpg against maker's combined stated consumption of 55mpg but you can't have it all!
All my journeys are essential! With the price of fuel and in this weather, who goes out for "Fun"?
Edited by Armitage Shanks {p} on 07/01/2010 at 15:10
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>the Dial a Ride wouldnt come down my road, it wasnt gritted.
Winter tyres needed?
tinyurl.com/yjoq9lm
Sorry AE, I'm jealous, wasn't worth it for me :-(
Kevin...
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Well I managed to get SWMBO and myself to work today on time in her Yaris, the most difficult part was getting off the drive and down my road ( still 6 to 8 inches of untreated snow ) . I turned the car the other way down my road which took a bit longer but avoided the small incline which stopped the Accord yesterday.
Once we got on the treated roads it was a doddle but the back roads and car park at SWMBO's work werepart sheet ice and part thick snow , my office car park likewise.
I have now got a path to the door cleared and sanded and my local independent garage about 100 yards away has kindly allowed our staff to park in his yard. One of our lady employees whose husband is away working lives out of town on a farm.
She awoke to a power cut, shovelled for four hours to clear her access road to get here after feeding and watering her sheep and lambs and arrived at 10 .30 am. Thats dedication.......
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took my lad to work in Dorking at 07:30 this morning (the trains were patchy)
Parts of the side roads were sheet ice about 4 inches thick. M25 clear, A24 dangerous in places around the foot of Box Hill.
The A3 southbound around the junction of the A244 was lethal, It looked like a giant had just brushed the cars aside into the undergrowth, many with bemused owners still sitting in them.
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Just listened to a debate on local radio about all schools closing. Poor parents not been able to work having to look after kids etc. Not once can i recall having to not go to school due to weather. 54yrs old now i must have seen quite a bit in my time. Anyway the debate on the radio went on . What if the power stations were to shut down because workers couldnt get there, even the hospitals, fire stations,ambulance stations. Dare i say council offices. Schools should employ local teachers to teach local kids. Right just done the nightshift of back now for a 2-10 keep safe.
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Schools should employ local teachers to teach local kids.
This is a big problem, not just for teachers....
I have a 25-30mile each way trip to work, fine in the summer, terrible in this weather!
I've been looking for a job nearer home, but no success as yet.....
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it was -17 here last night, roads are now an ice rink.
I see a return of 1979 coming on, sadly without the punk.
Conditions are so bad I decided not to have a bath as the bathroom is freezing and a fault on our heating system (suspect a relay) means we cannot have the heating or hot water on the at the same time, there is an element in the hot water tank which is getting no power. It means the boiler has to warm up both the water tank and the heating. This is fine in normal weather but not in the current -8c.
Just told a 72 year old customer who wanted to drop a laptop off not to bother, it is too risky for him, I am looking out of the backstreet behind my bedroom window and can see cars dumped in the middle of the road because they have got stuck.
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-18C here (North of Stoke on Trent).
Spent a fascinating 30 mins watching cars turning out of a right angle T junction - one way traffic only and up a very slight incline - maybe 7 degrees? Road was partially covered in hard packed snow.
Almost every car started off with far too many revs and spun wheels for first 20 metres.. including a large ugly Pajero.
It was so cold ice formed on inside of windscreens at 11.30am...
No problems in the 106 or yaris: I cleared the entrance to our yard and garages .. Just as well as snow is very hard today. Looks like only urgent drivers only in car parks but schools all open and main roads gritted as Staffs Moorlands expects snow in winter. Side roads are never gritted so of course range from impassible to extremely icy.
We have had only 20cms of snow so a mild winter apart from the frost..
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>>> -18C here (North of Stoke on Trent). <<<
My Brother lives up that way - Biddulth, he managed to take the missus shopping the other day in his funny little Agila- with a sharp shove from a kind neighb.
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.....took my lad to work in Dorking .....
I used to like Dorking as well but I find at my age its difficult to Dork for any length of time.....
You got the sledge with you AE ? Get onto Box Hill and go for it . Mind out for the speed trap at Mickleham Bends on the A24.....
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The camera was obscured by ice and snow.
Really good snow man tho outside the italian.
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Altea Ego:
Your dog Fifi is in the telegraph:
tinyurl.com/yec3v2r
"A dog shows what he thinks of the weather outside his home at West Byfleet"
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Errm jibif, I think you may need to brush up on your birds and bees?
Fifi is a girl. That mongrel was cocking its leg....
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dangerous in places around the foot of Box Hill.
But a heck of a lot more dangerous toboganning down Box Hill, as I and three junior boxsters were yesterday! I reckon about a foot of snow on the hill. Great fun!
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Clearing your path / drive or the pavement in the UK and what do some other countries do / demand.
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8443745.stm
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This is where I live in Truro ~ www.flickr.com/photos/43576259@N04/4254421480
Nothing like 'upcountry' I know, but, this road would usually be fairly busy @ 4-30pm.
The vehicle coming up is a 4X4 pickup.
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I wish people wouldn't clear snow from their paths. I work on domestic deliveries and the places where you risk a broken neck are where the path has been cleared of snow and left a thin film of moisture to freeze into a skating rink. Much safer walking on the snow itself.
Fair enough if people have grit to put down, but nobody has.
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We always have a bag with 12kgs of salt and grit in the garage for winter.
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I was annoyed to see on TV tonight some smug Head of the National Association of Head Teachers. Reporter was pointing out the amount of schools closed, why do they need to close, why can 2 schools half a mile apart have one open and one shut?
The guy just turned round and said "when the Police and Authorities are telling you essential journeys only and as a teacher you try this and crash, who do you think is going to be sued?"
What a load of nonsense!!! I mean, I fully understand the argument that you can't have 200 local kids walking to school to find out that only 3 teachers have been able to make it in as they live further afield. Thats fair enough but why give the answer he did!!! Grrr!
Its like the schools who send the kids home as the boiler has broken down and there is no heating, so all the kids immediately go out and play in the snow!!
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This is annoying me too, all my local shchools are still shut. I can't see any reason for it, keep the kids inside, maybe host assemblies if their is a teacher shortage.
I hope our taxes are not paying for teachers days off.
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who do you think is going to be sued?
Fear of being sued is a major reason for school closures.
The situation is ridiculous of course, but if courts keep making stupid awards to litigious people, schools are going to close.
In parts of the USA, I believe that they have (or had) regulations that stipulated that school days missed because of bad weather had to be made up in the holidays or on Saturdays. That would concentrate the mind wonderfully!
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>>Its like the schools who send the kids home as the boiler has broken down and there is no heating, so all the kids immediately go out and play in the snow!!
you mean you never knew how to sabotage the classroom boiler? Oil fired ones were great, you used to stuff a sweaty football sock in the air intake outside, and the incomplete combustion would fill the classroom with black oily soot stuff. result, next morning your hated classroom of choice was out of action.
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