I was talking to a Polish girl at work today and although she has lived in this country for ten years she still cant get over how a bit of snow can make headline news and bring everything to a standstill.When she was a child she had to get to school in FOUR FT. of snow,the buses run,as do the trains,schools shops and everything is business as usual.She told me that most places dont have snow ploughs,the farmers all get together and drive up and down the roads all night to keep them clear.

Our problem? A mixture of health and safety nonsense with a media who go into a frenzy over just about everything.

I really am amazed how a bit of snow can shut down England these days. Compared to the amount of snow we used to have in the 40s and 60s this is nothing.

Yeah, same here - I saw the list of closed Schools in Cardiff today when I was in the computer room looking on the BBC website in a break between lectures, and there were hundreds! Yet conditions were fine to walk or drive anywhere, as long as you didn't mind getting a little cold or wet due to the snow (or cleaning your car of snow)...

Must admit the hype the media have given during the last few days has been a bit over the top and really not quite accurate as far as forecasting goes. I commute to Shrewsbury and found it easy getting into work this morning with clear roads.

Farmers are used in this country to keep non-gritted rural roads clear and viewing the news tonight some of their tractors seemed to rival council equipment in Brigenorth today in clearing a road stretch. We are a very small, heavily populated island which relies heavily on road transport network to keep us ticking over.

Cant see many vehicles getting around in four foot of snow as the above quote implies perhaps Polish vehicles have a very high wheelbase!

TRACTORS

They must have a hell of a lot of Tractors!
So there we go Farmers of britain, take heed!

Of course, you might also say the following about Britain

- a cold snowy snap, coming in the middle of an extremely mild winter, was extensively and accurately forecast before it arrived

- roads and paths have, by and large, been gritted in advance. I was pleasantly surprised on Wednesday night, coming home by train from London, how thoroughly station platforms and walkways had been treated, for example.

- when there is snow forecast, we take the precaution of SAFETY FIRST. We don't know precisely how deep the snow will be, so - to avoid accidents to children, the most vulnerable group in society - there is a blanket closure of schools to avoid unnecessary journeys and reduce traffic volume.

- at the same time, we have experienced few if any interruptions to our essential services - electricity, water, sewerage, gas etc.

I'm sick to the back teeth of all the moaners I have been hearing over the last day or two who take our measured and sensible response to the snow as yet another excuse to attack Britain and the British people. So what if they go to work through 4 feet of snow in Poland. They don't have anything like the same level of population density and pressure on roads and services that Britain has, especially since most of them are over here now anyway. And pronouncements from the CBI and their ilk that our economy is losing billions of pounds because some people have had a bit of time off work are too ludicrous for words.

It took me 90 minutes this afternoon to drive just over four miles. Roads out of town were gridlocked virtually. It was the worst traffic I've known in 35 years of commuting and yet compared to winters past I didn't think that conditions were too bad. The gritters were out on the main roads but drivers were slipping and sliding on slopes on the other roads causing tailbacks.

Maybe if the English car drivers had winter tyres and not just standard (summer) tyres and maybe if they actually cleared the roads here (and not just grit them, which doesn't really help much) then maybe we wouldn't have carnage on our roads with a mere few cm's of snow!!

I'm sorry Town Walls but this country is a joke when it comes to snow. And I'm a patriotic chap. But I can see the problems we have and not being able to deal with a bit of snow is one of them.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6343871.stm

Read the very last paragraph. Even the government admits that we could do better in this sort of situation.

You called? ;)

SO WHY WAS SHREWSBURY GRIDLOCKED ON FRIDAY.

A JCB fOURTRAC can go just about anywhere in any conditions,the yanks can keep their Hummers.

The Swedes dont use salt or grit they drive on packed snow for about 5 months,a big old Volvo with chains is a formidable beast.also a driver who knows how to drive in those conditions.

Thats why we see JCB Fourtrac's clearing our roads, NOT !

I agree with you whole heartidily TW! Poland is Poland, not the fifth richest nation in the world such as you know who. In this i mean the pace of life is slightly different in Poland