SNOW!!

[4F]

Anyone see the 10 o'clock news last night, the Westminster reporter was reporting from opposite the commons (on something else, not the weather) and in the background was a perfect, storybook snowman - big ball for base, smaller one for chest, smaller still for head, top hat, sticks for arms, stones for buttons etc. I was laughing so much, I can't remember the story!

Yeah I saw that, I was just waiting for someone out of shot to lob a snowball at the camera / Mary Nightingale mind you in here white outfit you probably would not notice a direct hit.

 

[Arch]

Yeah I saw that, I was just waiting for someone out of shot to lob a snowball at the camera / Mary Nightingale mind you in here white outfit you probably would not notice a direct hit.

Must have been a different report, the reporter I saw was a chap... Might have been the same snowman, perhaps they were queueing up to use it...

 

[Arch]

So even though my wife and I could both walk to work, my wife is having to stay at home. Likewise all the schools around here are closed so if the kids were of school age it would be the same problem.

True, and I wasn't trying to be critical. It's just that people have come to rely on cars, because the infrastucture has come to expect car use. Your location sounds a bit rural, I was thinking of people either in big cities like London, or who live in one city and work in another - because they can, easily (normally).

Schools closing is stupid. I've just heard a headmaster on the radio saying he got in early and cleared the paths etc, why can't others?
If some kids can't get in because of living rurally, fair enough, their parents are probably stuck home too anyway. But if kids can get in, and even a skeleton staff, they should open. Even if they end up unable to teach, and spend the day on snowy playground duty. (unless of course it was 500 kids and one teacher or something like that)

 

[dellzeqq]

I've just tried the hybrid. If I ever recover my good humour sufficiently to give you all a good laugh at my expense I will. But don't count on it. All I can tell you is that when the sun hits the snow, and it melts and trickles down hill.....

 

[tdr1nka]

Schools closing is stupid. I've just heard a headmaster on the radio saying he got in early and cleared the paths etc, why can't others?
If some kids can't get in because of living rurally, fair enough, their parents are probably stuck home too anyway. But if kids can get in, and even a skeleton staff, they should open. Even if they end up unable to teach, and spend the day on snowy playground duty. (unless of course it was 500 kids and one teacher or something like that)

I think it's a combination of infrastructure, health & safety and individual decision to take a day off rather than have to make an effort. This goes for the transport failure in London too.

Miss tdr1nkas school closed as teachers were not able to get into work without public transport plus there would have been no school lunch available as the contractors who deliver the meals were not operating.
In my day we went to school in snow like this, teachers lived locally and if we were not educated were at least kept busy, oh yes, and lunch was prepared on the premises.

 

[PrettyboyTim]

I think people are a bit harsh on schools for closing. They have to make the decision very early in the morning and neccesarily have to be pessimistic about how the weather will progress during the day. If local public transport or local roads are causing problems then it may be very difficult for the staff to get in, let alone the pupils. Most pupils live close to their school but staff may live considerably further away.

They need to be careful to ensure that they don't end up in the situation where the weather worsens and they find themselves in the position of having to close the school at lunchtime and having to get parents to come back in early and pick the children up.

Obviously, because these decisions need to be made so early, the weather often proves to not be as bad as first thought.

Compared to most institutions, schools have a much greater responsibility to their charges. Whereas a company might say 'come in if you can', and then tell the employees to leave early if the weather gets bad, the school can't do the same because they are still responsible for the children's safety.

 

[PrettyboyTim]

Oh, on Monday I phoned my boss if I could take the day off as holiday so that I could play in the snow. He was very accomodating.

My Wife, kids and I had an enormous amount of fun:

http://www.planettimmy.com/2009/02/02/fun-in-the-snow/

 

[trio25]

I got out into the hills, not as much snow as the lucky folks down south, but enough for some snow biking!

 

[Arch]

I guess I'm seeing schools from the convenient perspective of not having children....B)

Still, I don't remember us getting more than an afternoon off due to snow when I was a kid... (ironically, as in those days, more kids had one parent at home anyway. Now, when more and more households have both parents out to work, and it's more problematic to keep kids home, schools seem to close more often)

 

[col]

Its almost all gone now, barring some crispy bits in the shade. Im wondering if its true when they said its here for the week?