Driving home today it felt like dusk even though only 4pm, but low grey skies full of snow created a sense of early nightfall. I even felt a touch of nostalgia driving through swirling snow, surrounded by empty, snow-blanketed fields.
At one point I could see two dark, distant figures building a snowman in a vast expanse of white. Not that we’ve had much snow here, only enough to cover almost everything but the roads.
It wasn’t so much a nostalgic sense of old-fashioned wintery scenes, but a reminder that we once coped with minor snowfalls as a matter of course. We dealt with snow and ice as part of coping with life in winter. We weren’t even as well-equipped as we are today, yet there was satisfaction to be gained by getting on with things without fuss and bother.
Not so much satisfaction now though. People don’t appear to want it. Local schools closed early round here. Only an inch or so of wet snow but nobody is even slightly surprised at the closure.
There is something seriously wrong with the public sector. Abdication of responsibility seems to be the norm, together with the abandonment of anything resembling a public service ethos. There is satisfaction to be gained by coping, but no, they don't want it.
7 comments:
I'm appalled every winter when I read about people stuck in the snow somewhere who reckon it's OK to drive into the snow with no warm clothing aboard, nor emergency food, nor Thermos of hot drink, nor robust footwear, and not much fuel in the tank. Stupid prats.
First of all, individuals and families coped, or they died. Then we set up governmental agencies to share the strain of coping. They coped with the big stuff, and families and individuals usually managed to mop up the risks that got through. That was the era I grew up in. Main roads were gritted, weather forecasters did their best, and my dad turned out to push neighbours' cars out of snowdrifts, and my mum salted the path outside our house once my brothers and I had shovelled up the snow.
Now, government agencies have given up, and people have lost the ability to think ahead and look after themselves, largely because they got used to agencies doing it for them.
Unions are one cause, and I think fear of litigation and losing your job is another.
I used to drive around 35,000 miles a year, and just hated the snowfalls, because as far as I was concerned, I left many yards in front of me to allow for a skid, or a car in difficulties, but there was often a mad idiot still right on my back bumper, with no hope of stopping without bashing into me if I'd made a mistake.
Glad you got home safely, but Derbyshire in the snow is just beautiful!
It was clearly the wrong type of snow.
Well there was no snow to be had when I went to bed, then a good five inches when I woke up. I went on my arse going out to clear the car with a broom and pulled a bloody muscle, so I had to clear the path too, as we have deliveries coming today.
Then I got the car stuck behind the post office, but managed to free it off eventually.
My winter kit (@Dearieme) had gone back in the attic in early February, so the best I had was good boots, but I had to change them after the post office as they were too big to drive in.
Now I'm at work and the sky has cleared, so once again, it snowed just enough to be annoying, before buggering off again.
Not feeling very nostalgic for snow this morning, but I do miss by big 4x4 pickup truck
dearieme - every winter on the school run I notice how many parents seem to be poorly equipped for bad weather, especially shoes. Smart car and rubbish shoes - quite common.
Sam - I remember all that too. There was something healthy about it, although we probably didn't know that at the time.
Scrobs - yes it's remarkable how many drivers don't understand how icy conditions change stopping distances. You are right though, Derbyshire in the snow is beautiful. Saw some of it this morning.
James - for schools it's always the right kind - day off snow.
Bucko - I hope the pulled muscle isn't too bad. Not what you need this weather. We had few extra inches here this morning and I had to clear our car with a broom too because I had a hospital appointment. Thought it might be cancelled but the doctor got up even earlier than I did to miss the traffic.
A K Haart - It will heal, thanks. I've done the same one in the past, I seem to have a weak spot. Good that your appointment wasn't cancelled, I thought the doctors were worse than the schools. Result
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