Friday 2 March 2018

It's snow Jim, but not as we know it!



It’s been rather a strange week, and I’m glad that it’s nearly over; work-wise at least. The over-hyped “Beast from the East” caused some disruption in this neck of the woods but like the model employee I am, I managed to make it in to work everyday; even if the drive in was as times, “interesting”.

We of course, don’t really do snow in the UK, and people tend to panic at the sight of the first snowflake. I accept it has been cold, and on my drive into work on Wednesday morning I was surprised to see the car temperature gauge showing an outside temperature of minus 11ยบ C. This has to be the coldest I’ve experienced here in the UK.

I was left with little choice but to drive in, as although the village where I work has its own railway station, there were no trains running. This wouldn’t have happened back in the days of British Rail, I hear you say, and this is probably correct, but the simple truth is that here in the south, the antiquated “third-rail” system, originally installed by the Southern Railway back in the 1930’s, is extremely vulnerable to icing up, and associated loss of power. The trains cannot run without “juice”; end of!

Being of a certain age I am old enough to remember the winter of 1962/63; the “Big Freeze”as it later became known. It started snowing on Boxing Day (I can still recall looking out our front room window and seeing it coming down), and a few days later, the country was covered by a blanket of snow, with drifts several feet deep in places. Temperatures remained below freezing throughout January, and the following month there was more heavy snow. The thaw didn’t set in until early March.

Now I don’t wish to sound like the Four Yorkshiremen from the famous Monty Python sketch, but my sister and I went to school every day. There were no sissy “snow days” for us, where we couldn’t be driven into school; instead we walked in, through the snow and ice, me still wearing short trousers and my sister a school skirt.

The school playground was a sheet of ice, which meant we could make some fantastic slides. From memory, there were no broken bones, just the odd bruised bottom! Every so often the school caretaker would sprinkle a shovel full of ashes, from the coal-fired boiler, onto the ice, just to create a few less slippery walkways (probably for the benefit of the staff), and oh, before I forget the toilets were all outside; girls as well as boys!

Perhaps because we didn’t know any better, but I don’t recall being cold, miserable or in any way deprived during that memorable winter; instead we just got on with it. When the thaw did finally start to set in, us boys were given a shovel or a broom each and set to work helping the caretaker break up the ice on the playground and move it down into a great pile in the bottom right hand corner.

There have been other cold winters, of course, the last really significant one being in 1987, when parts of Kent were literally cut off for days on end, and the army had to use helicopters to bring in supplies to some remote villages.

So I look back on the past four days with a mixture of bewilderment and amusement. The media have had a field day, and we have seen reporter after reporter standing out either in a snowy landscape or next to a road littered with abandoned vehicles, carrying on as though the world had come to an end.

In a weeks or so’s time I fully expect everything to be back to normal, but before I treat you to some snow pictures, I want to end by reporting there has been one casualty of the snow and that is tomorrow’s (Saturday's) visit by West Kent CAMRA to Old Dairy Brewery down in Tenterden.

I wasn’t booked to go, as I went last year, but it is a shame for those looking forward to sampling some excellent Old Dairy beers at source, and also to our social secretary who put in the work to organise the trip. 

So scattered throughout this post are the snow photos, most of which were taken several years ago during previous snowy winters. Enjoy!

12 comments:

Russtovich said...

"me still wearing short trousers "

That brings back memories! I went to school in London for a few years until the summer of '64. Shorts for me back then as well (we moved back to Canada for the second - and final! - time in the summer of '64).

"and oh, before I forget the toilets were all outside; girls as well as boys!"

LOL, same for me in London. Lily Road School. :)

What a bugger going out in the rain. Did you go back to the massive coat room to get your coat or just hope for the best. Ahhh... good times. :)

"most of which were taken several years ago during previous snowy winter"

Good thing I read that last bit before I started commenting! (LOL)

But, as mentioned in an earlier post, snow at or around freezing can be bloody tricky to drive in. Though that -11C must have been a bit of a shock!

And apologies if I posted the photo below before, but it shows northern Canada (in the mountains) in all its glory. To paraphrase Crocodile Dundee; you call that snow! THIS is snow!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/eCAY6AqTExAoSBMm1

The snowfall that winter was 50 feet. It compacted down to 20 feet; which is the height you can see behind the poor sods who had to dig down into it! (my wife was in charge of the crew; she's the one with the big smile on the left, beside the cook in the white chef jacket and red bandanna on his head).


Cheers

PS - "but my sister and went to school every day. "

Need I after and. :)

Anonymous said...

Yes, we visited the Cotswolds knowing about the impending 'Beast from the East'! It meant that we had bright sunny but fiercely cold days. The owner of the second B&B admired my fortitude, about the weather, because I told him that it is better to have very cold but glorious sunshine than grey clouds and rain! To be fair, on the Monday, it was bitterly cold to the point where we didn't want to leave the car for too long, but it was all worth it. I agree with you about the school days. Why do they close most of them? A lot of folks manage to get to work for goodness sake. Must say, quietly smug that everyone (particularly USA), other than the British, must be fed up with hearing about the snow because now they know how we feel! Cheers Andrea :)

Matt said...

"And you try and tell the young people of today that, they won't believe you!" :-)

Curmudgeon said...

Given that Tandleman has been stranded in Scotland over the weekend, as the Glasgow-Carlisle rail line is out of action, and Mrs Retired Martin has been stranded in Newcaslte for a couple of days, I don't think the "Beast from the East" has been overhyped in every part of the country, although it may not have affected you or me too much.

Paul Bailey said...

It could have affected me Mudge, as I had trouble getting my car off the drive. We live two thirds of the way up a hill, and as the council no longer grit our road, it was like a skating rink. That's what I meant about an interesting journey to work, but once down into the town, and onto the main roads, the drive was alright.

Just read Tandleman's piece. From what I've seen of the forecast, Scotland's got a few more days of the cold.

Anonymous said...

I share so many of those memories of 1963 Paul, but do you know, I'd forgotten all about playground (and pavement) slides. We used to slosh pans of water onto the tarmac in the dry cold, and I must admit, the odd adult did take a tumble as a result.

I was in Macclesfield/Manchester for 1987, and it sounds like you had that worse than we did there. As I recall though, Shropshire recorded -28C in January 1982.

The wind has swung to the south here in Cardiff where I am just now, and there's a rapid thaw, which is as well, as this city seems to have no snowploughs (seldom much call for them) and the place just shut down on Friday, (bar its pubs and restaurants etc. I'm pleased to report.)

Ethelred The Unsteady said...

Could have sworn I filled in the name/url option above. Oh, I see, if you hit publish before you do the reCatcha, it deletes your name!

Paul Bailey said...

Typo duly corrected, Russ. As for trips to the outside school toilets, I don’t remember stopping to grab a coat, but as most calls of nature would have been answered at playtime, I would have been wearing one anyway.

Yes, the snow in that photo you attached is definitely “proper snow”, but you’re not telling me you shifted 20 feet of it by hand, with just shovels? Or are you?

Hi Andrea, I’ve just enjoyed reading your post about your Cotswolds visit, and have posted a comment about my own trip to the area, which was probably 35 years ago! I must make a return visit, especially as your photos brought back happy memories of a good holiday there.

I’m not sure about the schools closing. It may be because some of the staff have trouble getting in, but most people managed it at our place; including our latest visitor from Kyoto!

Ethelred, it’s nice to here from someone else who remembers the “Big Freeze”. Playground, or pavement slides wouldn’t be tolerated now, but probably just as well for those where age is catching up on us.

South Wales has never struck me as an area prone to snow, but it just shows the unpredictability of the British climate.

Finally, and as Matt has reminded us, that immortal line from the Four Yorkshiremen, "And you try and tell the young people of today that, they won't believe you!"

Russtovich said...

"We live two thirds of the way up a hill, and as the council no longer grit our road, it was like a skating rink. That's what I meant about an interesting journey to work, but once down into the town, and onto the main roads, the drive was alright."

Where I live sounds a lot like where you live. :)

Luckily I'm not partway up a hill; but I do have to negotiate at least one hill in order to go anywhere (at the bottom but with a few ways to go over the hills). Long story short; Dec 28, 2008 (my birthday) - my wife's in camp up north and I realize I have no Guinness in the house! (back then it was my go-to beer). Tried going up three different nearby streets without success (due to the snow/ice). Finally had to go all the way to the end and of my street and up the hill on the main road (which was plowed), only to find the first three liquor stores I get to have no Guinness as the delivery truck hadn't made its delivery due to the weather! I travel all the way downtown (4km - LOL) to find a liquor store that has Guinness. Oh, and while it was snowing at the top of the hill, downtown (by the water) it was raining. :)

Cheers

Russtovich said...

"Yes, the snow in that photo you attached is definitely “proper snow”, but you’re not telling me you shifted 20 feet of it by hand, with just shovels? Or are you?"

Well, first off, I wasn't there. :)

But, I just spoke to my darling wife and she confirms the group pictured in the photo did indeed shift all of that snow by hand, with shovels. They were flown in by helicopter every day for three weeks (and flown back to base camp each night). They dug until they found a building and a piece of heavy equipment. Then they could start using the heavy equipment (plus shovels still) and stay in the building (as flying back and forth by helicopter gets to be expensive!). :)

Here's one guy getting a truck out they can then use:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/RFYBLVgnu5O6MVy92

And here's one where they've started to clear the area with a piece of equipment:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/qnnZcMOqoFLxWP243

If it's any consolation my wife is now vexed that she can't locate some even better photos from back then (2007).

Oh, and finally, once they got enough of the camp open, they decided to make sure they weren't reburied by the surrounding snow:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/L03Uh8C0O5CsnHGf2

Cheers!

Paul Bailey said...

Thanks for sharing those incredible photos Russ, and please thank your wife as well. For us in the UK that is an unbelievable amount of snow, and I'm amazed the roof of that hut didn't collapse under the weight of it all!

I'm not surprised it took the team three weeks shifting that lot by hand, and I take my hat off to them all.

The snow has disappeared now from southern Britain, at least, so the journey into work should be back to normal - apart from all the yummy mummies clogging up the roads with their four by fours, as they ferry their little darlings to school. Let them walk, like we had to!!

ps. I like your tale about the trouble you went to in order to obtain some Guinness. There's dedication!

Russtovich said...

"apart from all the yummy mummies clogging up the roads with their four by fours, as they ferry their little darlings to school. Let them walk, like we had to!!"

LOL. We have the same thing over here, and my brother complains about this in northern France as well. It's universal! :)

As for the roof of the hut, there's a reason most building in areas of lots of snow are A-frame types, and usually of metal so the snow can slide off easier.

With regards to the Guinness, I wouldn't be as dedicated now for the Irish stuff; but I would for my favourite bitter. ;)

Cheers