Snow erh!
By Monkey1
January 26 2013
Once again we experience a bit of snow and the country grids to a halt. Roads close so we can’t take our children to the schools that are also closed, and we can’t even get to the airports that are closed to get away from it all. We can’t even watch a game of rugby at Kingston Park. Yes we are mocked by other countries, both those who endure much more snow, and even those who have no snow. Oh they do like to laugh, but are they justified in such mockery?
I think perhaps not. You will find that those who laugh at our sprinkling of snow & point to their own vast drifts of the stuff, tend to forget that they can rely on their own snow, can plan for it year after year, and design their lifestyles to suit their weather patterns, and very predictable weather patterns they are too. They can stop gritting roads, let the snow build up, and put snow tyres on their cars which will stay on for months, confident that tomorrow they will wake up & the snow will still be there.
We can’t do that. If snow arrives we can put on snow tyres but by the time they are fitted the snow will probably be gone. We have to make do with tyres that suit the weather we have almost every day, all 12 months of the year, that is wet roads and dry roads, and very often both. That means that unlike these countries that have reliable snow, on the rare occasions that we do get the stuff we have to dust off the trusty old snow plough & try to get the roads clear. That in itself is no easy task, our 250,000 miles of public roads is more than Sweden, Norway & Switzerland combined.
We live on islands which are sandwiched between the Atlantic on one side and the cold North Sea on the other. Our weather can come across from the USA one day, then the Arctic, and the Mediterranean after that, often all three in the space of a few days. That makes our weather a little unpredictable to say the least. It is rarely extreme, and those who mock will point to countries who cope with very hot summers and very cold winters, but in reality it is much more difficult to deal effectively with weather that varies from one form of mild crap to another all year round.
Despite this unpredictable & frequently inclement weather we do at least try to get things done. We try to play cricket in the summer even though we know games will be called off because of rain. We play football and rugby right through the winter, knowing that we won’t always succeed in getting the game started never mind finished. The glorious British stiff upper lip sees us surfing in wet suits and bloody cold water, at least we try. Not many rugby games will be snowed off in Finland this weekend because they were never going to happen anyway.
We even try skiing over here, and those that mock when we try to drive on snow in our cars with summer tyres are equally scornful about our attempts to set up ski resorts. We never know if there will be enough snow to ski up in Glenshee or Aviemore in the coming winter, but if there is we will have a go. What people forget is that it was the British who invented skiing as we now know it, indeed most winter sports were invented by the Brits. A party of Brits staying in St. Moritz decided it would be quite fun to slide down the icy mountain on a tea tray and thus began the Cresta Run, the rest as they say is history. In the 1870s the St. Moritz Tobogganing Club led by Major Bulpett laid the foundations for the future of competitive sled racing of all types. This nation which is claimed not to know what to do with a bit of snow has found some pretty good uses for it over the years.
So perhaps we are too hard on ourselves. Instead of doing ourselves down whenever it snows, maybe we should have a bit of pride in the fact that we do at least try to carry on as normal no matter what the weather. It snowed last weekend and rendered the pitch at Kingston Park unplayable. Like Jonny Foreigner we could have given up for the winter, stayed indoors and done nothing until the thaw except occasionally venturing out wearing lots of fur coats to touch moose. Instead we got the shovels and the barrows out, and like football, rugby and hockey clubs all over Britain we tried our best to play the next game. It wouldn’t be comfortable, it wouldn’t be pretty, but we would bloody well have a go at getting it played. Everyone got stuck in, Dean Richards, the squad, back room staff and of course the supporters. There was even a couple who turned up who had never been to KP before but saw the clearing operation on the news. Bless their thermal socks. I roughly calculated that we had 1,000 cubic metres of snow to get off the pitch, weighing 160 tons. This had to be carefully lifted, one shovel at a time, and barrowed away without wrecking the poor sodden pitch. It was a mammoth task, it looked impossible, and in the end it was impossible, but at least we tried.
Despite the cold, the slush, the mud, and probably rain too, tens of thousands of people will put their shorts & boots on this weekend, and will get out there & play competitive sports. That is what should make the news, not the few things that get snowed off. Be proud of the fact that no matter how unpredictable the weather, we will always have a go.
Oh and if you are wondering about the title, erh is Cornish for snow.
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Spent Thursday on cross country skis in the countryside just west of Durham. Had a fabulous day. Going up to Scotland next month with skis, bike, golf clubs, special whisky tasting glass! Whatever the weather I will have a brilliant week - in the true spirit of your piece!
Despite our best efforts at KP this week I think we had enough snow yesterday (on Teesside at least) to have caused the Pirates game to be postponed anyway. Hopefully the pitch will be OK for next Friday.
I've been out in Penzance this afternoon, without a coat and wearing flip flops, no socks needed.
Trip to Scotland sounds just up our street John. We like the West Highlands in winter, but with little one on board this year we will have to miss our trip to Glenelg. Have a whisky for us while you are there please.
Spent a good few New Years Eve's in Glencoe. Turned out for a scratch Glencoe 15 against Fort William one New Years day in the 70's. Didn't realise that ice could take so much skin off!! It will be my pleasure to toast you and all the hard work you do for everyone on our site. Do you have a favourite that you would recommend? As you like the Isles maybe a Talisker or a Caol Ila?
Glencoe is a fine choice, and right now will be at its best. It is hard to describe Glencoe, I have a reasonably large vocabulary but it is difficult to use mere words to describe a place which makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up in that way. With a deep covering of snow it is a truly impressive place to be. Some of the snow I have seen up there makes our recent weather look like no more than a heavy frost.
In fact, was it ever much on T?
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013:01:27:19:38:35 by Robs.
If there ain't no rugby to write about......
Quote:we had to post a story of some sort up or the site would automatically shut[/quote
Really? I thought there had to be no new topics for a fortnight before it shuts down?