DISQUS

Mac Morrison · 10 months ago

i made it into work - with a little help from twitter, email and mobile web.

James Whatley · 10 months ago

Good job we've got the awesome Ben Smith to assist us all!

http://uk.techcrunch.com/2009/02/02/as-snow-hit...

:)

Kip Hakes · 10 months ago

It is difficult, so many people rely on public transport - and at 6.00am this morning it was already up the swanny - TFL had delays on most of the tube lines, the buses were suspended, and trains were looking shaky. A few hours on and it's only getting worse.. then there would be the epic journey of getting home, with the snow still falling it's not gonna get any better. We just don't have the network in place in this country to deal with this 'freak' weather - rain - yes - sorta ish, snow - no. Even though it has been known about for around a week, everything has STILL gone tits up. Whilst I had fun building a snowman with my daughter I still know that being sat here at home means I won't get paid today - and that sucks. I was due on site with a customer today, but even if I had got through the roads - there was no bugger in the office to work with!

Lets hope it melts tonight... doubt it though!

Ben Smith · 10 months ago

Some of the less prepared services I agree with you about, but this is an 18 year extreme... Do you want to pay for infrastructure to cope with cases this rare?

dashing · 10 months ago

This is all true, at 7.30 we got the text from the school so the whole family just stayed in bed. I then got up and texted most of my employees not to bother to come in. The one who doesn't have a phone walks past my house to get to the office so I intercepted her en route and told her to go home.

But actually I've made it to the the office only to discover that the broadband is down so there wasn't much poitn in most people coming in anyway.

South77 · 10 months ago

We made a snowman (a big one) with the kids this morning. Their school is cancelled. My wife's work is closed. Sorry, Ewan, but that is a RESULT for most people.

I on the other hand can work remotely -- so here I am posting on a message board. Best get back to work, and then get best get a life :)

technokitten · 10 months ago

@BenSmith +1

DominicTravers · 10 months ago

Environmental scientists have long speculated about the weakening of the Gulf Stream. So this winter we have had a taste of what the UK will be like when it fizzles out for 3 or 4 months every winter. Currently I believe it is quite difficult to predict with any level of certainty that this will happen, but it is clearly possible. I wonder if we can sell our fragile public transport networks to the Germans or the Swedes who have techniques for dealing with cold weather.

Mike42 · 10 months ago

Two words: studded tyres.

The Finns live with meters of snow for 6 months of the year. Come winter, everyone puts on studded tyres and does 70 on the motorway just fine. Scary as hell for a soft pom visitor but fun nonetheless. Why TfL couldn't buy some, or even better get some Autosocks for the buses I don't know.

But as Ben points out, with 'serious' snow being so rare in the southern UK, it's not worth the investment for a few days a year out of action.

Actually Ewan, you should be lauding this as a great opportunity for mobile to come to the fore as a remote working tool. My entire team are snug at home, going 19 to the dozen on iChat, Skype, Twitter, WEBEX and plain old email.

Now where's my Cocoa and slippers?

/m

Matt · 10 months ago

It can work both ways. We got the following by text message and email at 7:45 this morning: "Despite the snow today school will still be open. Many thanks." So no excuses!

Neil Hoskins · 10 months ago

An 18-year extreme?! Bull SHIT. There's about an inch here max and half the schools are closed. I agree with Ewan entirely. There's a huge knock-on effect from useless teachers and the lazy bolsheviks who work on the railways and underground: if they can't be arsed then none of the rest of us can do anything.

So.. Canadians and Yanks: come on, now's your chance to really have a go. We deserve it. We are a nation of lilly-livered bloody layabouts who prefer to blame everything on the Poles and Pakistanis rather than getting off our arses and working.

Ewan · 10 months ago

Kudos Neil. I was going to pick up Mr Smith on that '18 year extreme' point as well.

Ben Smith · 10 months ago

18 year extreme nationally. FACT. From the Met Office.

It might only be half an inch where you are, but maybe not where the teachers live.

Mike42 · 10 months ago

Agree. We had over a foot of snow here - I know because most of it fell into my lap while shifting the car first thing. And if where you live is even slightly hilly even an inch of snow or a light icing can make getting your car out of your driveway impossible without a snowshovel and chains or snowtyres. and getting downhill into town would be bloody reckless. Do you risk sliding your normally perfectly capable car into another car or worse or a pedestrian, all in the valiant "Keep Britain Moving" spirit?

People in Canada or Scandinavia are used to it, they have snow tyres, and the local authorities spend lots of cash maintaining the capacity to deal with snow/ice.

When we lived in Texas, an ice storm completely and utterly shut the city down. Nothing moved, anywhere, at all. 5 grit trucks, 5 million residents. So Americans are by no means averse to calling it all off if the weather turns pear-shaped. The alternative is they spend millions to have trucks sitting round for the 9 out of 10 years nothing happens, or suffer everyone having a few days off if a dump happens. One comes from your rates, the other doesn't. Hands up for more rates or more expensive tickets instead of a day off with the kids in the snow? Maybe you are all offering to buy your neighbours a set of snow tyres or a 4x4?

Thought not.

And the comparisons with the war years don't work either. Most people lived within walking or cycling distance of their work, not an hour's drive like many in the UK do now. UK commuting is a massive daily surge in and out of CBD's, and we know that even in great weather, one points failure tips the whole thing into organised chaos. That's what happens when you run a system at 95% capacity - there's no headroom when things go Pete Tong.

So kick back, enjoy the snowy magic, have a good whinge and mutter about the good old days and how soft everyone is now - we'll all be back to doing 85 nose-to-tail in the damp grey rain soon enough.

/m

acurrie · 10 months ago

Don't feel too bad... The Mayor of Toronto called in the army over a snowstorm once:

http://www.thestar.com/article/569102

:rolleyes:

Krystal · 10 months ago

lol, good ol Mel, noooooooooobody was better ;)

jamesbody · 10 months ago

I continue to be amazed at how pathetic our UK population have become when faced with a dusting of snow.

For those of us who live out in the country, the morning routine was hardly affected this morning - just brush the snow off the top of the Landrover and off on the 13 mile cross country ride into Salisbury.

Everything was fine until we got into town where the seemingly feeble city dwellers were all over the place!

Pah! It makes one want to move out to Canada in order to leave the feeble Brits behind!

Krystal · 10 months ago

Not sure if you could cope with the mobile industry here :)

Rax Lakhani · 10 months ago

London Telegraph?!

Ewan · 10 months ago

I've started calling it that, Rax, because of all the folk who've emailed me from abroad not quite getting what Telegraph I'm talking about. Despite the links!

Rax Lakhani · 10 months ago

All makes sense now... I thought I'd missed a new freesheet launch!

edgar1013 · 10 months ago

we got blindsided with 2 one and half foot storms already.
a total of over 55 inches have fallen here in Boston so far this winter. :\