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Snow Stops Play! #

Posted by Paul Gunstone on February 6, 2009, 8:48 am
Message modified by board administrator February 7, 2009, 10:35 am

Hiya Gents,
Any of you guys got a council as shite as ours? I'm currently sat at home on me laptop because they failed to salt the roads & we are currently cut-off from the surrounding area! There has been no sign of a snow plouge or anyone making the effort to clear our main roads!! This may be fun for the kids, but with a tax bill about to be paid & vat due end of February, this ain't helping matters!!! Sorry for the moan, but it does get yer goat sometimes when we all pay our council tax on our homes, council tax on our garages and yet we can't get in or out of either!!!
Off snow balling now,
Gunner.

Re: Snow Stops Play!

Posted by Graham Bullock on February 6, 2009, 12:07 pm, in reply to "Snow Stops Play!"
Graham Bullock

We have not been so bad this time but a few weeks ago we were the same as you. The main street of our village was not cleared for four days.

Evidently they had been using a new type of salt/grit on the main roads and it wasn't working so they had to keep doing them and not the local roads. The new salt/grit was covered in a sticky goo to prevent it blowing away on frosty nights but it doesn't work until it gets run over by vehicles so the salt breaks out, trouble is if it snows before it gets run over then the salt is sealed in.

Graham

Re: Snow Stops Play!

Posted by Tom Williams on February 6, 2009, 7:43 pm, in reply to "Re: Snow Stops Play!"
Tom Williams

To be honest, the volume of snow that has fallen is unusual, especially in he south of the country.It seems a unfair to blame the councils for everything. It appears these days that so many people live a long way from their workplace.
My daughter is an accountant, one guy in her office has been walking 9 miles each way to get to work.
What has been interesting is the amount of wimps appearing on news bulletins saying they are staying at home for safety reasons, to listen to them you would think they were talking about sledging to the South Pole.
My wife spent some years teaching in rural Canada. They were geared up for the snow, but even then she found the quickest way to school was on skis. They close schools only if the temp. goes to -25
My brother in law in Canada emailed to say its just warmed up to -5 deg. Needless to say, he uses studded tyres at this time of year. Try buying those at your local Kwik Fit.
Canada gets this weather every winter for about 3-4 months, we get it maybe once in 15yrs for a couple of weeks, its stands to reason we aren't going gear up for it.

Re: Snow Stops Play!

Posted by Paul Gunstone on February 6, 2009, 8:03 pm, in reply to "Re: Snow Stops Play!"
Paul Gunstone

Hi Tom,
Our problem was that we only live 1 mile from our garage & could not even get to the end of our street! I called all my local suppliers who were also cut off & none of their drivers could even get onto the main roads to get into work?? I could have walked to work, but I chose to ride my WR250F Enduro in instead at around lunchtime. Snow was over a foot deep in our yard, several trees/bushes were down across the lane to the Garage and there was no sign of any customers at all, so I came back home in the warm! So god only knows what's going to happen if we get another covering over night???
All the best for now,
Gunner.

Re: Snow Stops Play!

Posted by martin young on February 6, 2009, 8:16 pm, in reply to "Re: Snow Stops Play!"
Martin Young

gunner
i live in the middle of nowhere (ask neil

)
so when it started snowing here on monday afternoon i thought ah well snowed in
between monday afternnon and tuesday night we had 4 gritter lorries go past!!!!!!!i was amazed
martin

Re: Snow Stops Play!

Posted by Paul Gunstone on February 6, 2009, 8:34 pm, in reply to "Re: Snow Stops Play!"
Paul Gunstone

Yo Martin,
I think they were probably OUR 4 from B&NES council! I honestly don't know what is going on up here at the moment, but lets see what tomorrow brings

Gunner.

Re: Snow Stops Play!

Posted by Andy Evans on February 6, 2009, 10:46 pm, in reply to "Re: Snow Stops Play!"

"but with a tax bill about to be paid"

Thats why your road hasn`t been gritted Paul, your late paying your tax

Andy E

Re: Snow Stops Play!

Posted by Paul Gunstone on February 6, 2009, 10:50 pm, in reply to "Re: Snow Stops Play!"
Paul Gunstone

Hi Andy,
I reckon you are right! Seriously though, you'd have thought with all the previous 'mild' years that they could manage to stock pile a decent amount of salt ready for the bad weather like we are getting now!
Gunner.

Re: Snow Stops Play!

Posted by Pete Mutlow on February 6, 2009, 11:30 pm, in reply to "Re: Snow Stops Play!"
Peter Mutlow

Hi all,

Although i wasn't snowed in (Council pays local farmers to clear our village roads) I was dreading going out on Monday. Trying to conduct diagnostics by the road side in snow is a bit trying at the best of times. Matters are made worse when customer has vehicle up drive (facing the wrong way to connect to the back of my van)with two other cars behind it which have to be moved in a foot of snow. Only saving grace in these conditions is that customer plus wife and kids plus obligatory dog are not hovering about getting in the way.

Just looked at weather forecast. Hmmm. Looks like I will be soon rooting out shorts and tee shirt!

Happy days and keep warm

Pete M

Re: Snow Stops Play!

Posted by Mark Murphy on February 6, 2009, 11:53 pm, in reply to "Re: Snow Stops Play!"

"Trying to conduct diagnostics by the road side in snow is a bit trying at the best of times. Matters are made worse when customer has vehicle up drive (facing the wrong way to connect to the back of my van)with two other cars behind it which have to be moved in a foot of snow." ............makes me glad I'm not mobile, other side of the coin. instead I've got roof over my head, waste oil space heater, 4 techs to share the weight (and profits but not the overheads) rates, mortgage, customers saying I CANT MAKE IT HAVE YOU LOOKED OUTSIDE, (south east ireland) (not that bad) ah don't you just love this job

Re: Snow Stops Play!

Posted by Andy Mason on February 7, 2009, 8:28 am, in reply to "Re: Snow Stops Play!"
Andy Mason

Sat here on saturday morning, surrounded by snow and ice, answering the phone to customers saying they cant make it because of the conditions, am I completely barking to have travelled 9 miles for this??.
Andy

Re: Snow Stops Play!

Posted by Steve Nicholas on February 7, 2009, 9:10 am, in reply to "Re: Snow Stops Play!"

I managed to fit in a bit of work this week and one customer forgot I was picking his car up so that didn't help the ole cash flow either.

Fortunately, I had already 'phoned my tax office mid-January and arranged to pay the tax in instalments.

Beloved and I planned to head off to Cornwall this weekend anyway to see No.2 son, who lives down there. That is all cancelled now so, hopefully, I can get some work done next week when we would have been away.

The roads have been terrible! Had I been able to get to pick-up cars (which I do a great deal) then the risks of driving a customer's car in these conditions would far outweigh the possible gains.

Buses weren't running yesterday so I took Beloved in to work - it took an hour to do the 8 mile round trip and the traffic was not that heavy. She walked back in the afternoon.

I have also done some walking...see the link My walk to work

Regards,

Steve

(With acknowledgements to Mr J. Clarkson for the term "Beloved" ... and she is, muchly).

Re: Snow Stops Play!

Posted by martin young on February 7, 2009, 6:31 pm, in reply to "Re: Snow Stops Play!"
Martin Young

gunner
since last night we have had three gritter lorries go past but we have no snow or ice
martin
ps i did stop one and suggest certain people in bristol need gritting
he said "bugger off they dont pay enough!!"

Re: Snow Stops Play!

Posted by Paul Gunstone on February 7, 2009, 8:06 pm, in reply to "Re: Snow Stops Play!"
Paul Gunstone

Hi Mart,
You aint heard the best one yet! On the local news this evening, a councillor (who just happened to be a woman) states " we would like to thank the Cornwall Councils for lending & shipping 500 tonnes of salt to our depots" So looks like Cornwall has plenty, B&NES, Glouschester & Whiltshire councils have next to none?????
Gunner.

Re: Snow Stops Play!

Posted by Michael Whitworth on February 7, 2009, 8:50 pm, in reply to "Re: Snow Stops Play!"
Mike Whitworth - Administrator

Martin,

Trust you to rub salt in his wounds!!

Re: Snow Stops Play!

Posted by Paul Gunstone on February 7, 2009, 9:45 pm, in reply to "Re: Snow Stops Play!"
Paul Gunstone

Trust you Mike!
Better brace yerself though, looks like it might be coming your way??
Gunner

Re: Snow Stops Play!

Posted by John Wallis on February 9, 2009, 11:03 pm, in reply to "Re: Snow Stops Play!"

Southern softies.....Salt Grit!!!

We get ten foot of snow every year here in Northumberland and just get on with it wearing our bearskins...Spanners sticking to our hands...No whale blubber left for the fire.

We were doing brake downs last week with crampons and Ice axe and that was just the tea machine that packed up.

Joking apart the south have got it a lot worse than us this year for a change. Chin up spring's just around the corner and the nights are starting to stretch out.

JW

Re: Snow Stops Play!

Posted by Ed Kaps on February 10, 2009, 5:13 pm, in reply to "Re: Snow Stops Play!"
Edward Kaps

Hi John
How do you land your plane in ten foot of snow?, or do you look for a frozen part of the Tyne and go for it just like the Yank did?.
Ed Kaps

Re: Snow Stops Play!

Posted by John Wallis on February 10, 2009, 7:49 pm, in reply to "Re: Snow Stops Play!"
John Wallis

Hi Ed that was my uncle Chesley Sullenberger Wallis the 3rd. He taught me well

Hope you're well

JW

Re: Snow Stops Play!

Posted by Martin Stackemann on February 11, 2009, 3:01 am, in reply to "Re: Snow Stops Play!"
Martin Stackemann

Hi Steve nice scenery looks cold though,send me a picture in the summer time when the suns shining that'll make feel better when i'm having tea break chewing on my sandwich,thats if the customers stop coming in and let me have one

.Martin

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