why does Britain come to a standstill because of bad weather?

I think it is a lot to do with "The 'elf & safety Brigade" not the fact that we are wimp's.

it certainly gives the country something to talk about! The last time I visited my brother in Spain he cautioned me NOT to talk about the weather over there because we British get so 'boring' going on about it (his words, not mine). Personally I believe the weather's a very interesting phenomenon and as such SHOULD be open to discussion:-) When the next lot of sunshine happens, in the summer (maybe) I certainly will be telling everyone I meet what a lovely hot day it is, it'd be considered rude not to...

If it's any consolation, I have heard that Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport was closed this week and public transport was off the road in Paris, though I don't know about the Metro - several lines are overground.

Why not? It gives "Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells" something to harrumph about, it is much more fun to play sardines with toal strangers on one of the few trains out of Euston in a snow storm than have a seat all to yourself, it is much more fun to be stuck indoors on GN instead of being out and about - Oh, that one's true!

total strangers, of course!

I do think we think it is just Britain!

In areas of the world where snow and ice is a regular and longstanding feature of the climate then the infrastructure is well prepared to cope. People in these places automatically prepare themselves to manage the weather conditions (chains for car tyres, clear /salt their own paths/frontage to property & business etc etc). Local government dept. have invested in snow ploughs/gritters etc.because equipment regularly used.

Because annual severe snowy weather is not a given across GB we find it harder to cope. Think we are getting better..more proper snow shovels and grit available on the high street..this was not the case years ago!

I was at boarding school in the 1963 snowy winter and was jealous to find out my cousins at day schools had extra days off school due to snow..so not new! Perhaps because we all live under greater pressure re work, more families where 2 parents work, greater use of transport: planes/trains etc we notice the disruption more? Also media brings it into our home whereas in the past it may not have been reported so widely.

i

One head teacher was on radio & said if a teacher fell and broke a leg or a child fell and broke an arm it was an 'unacceptable' risk. I think it is fear of being sued rather than 'elf and safety driving this apparent wimpishness.

If it was our DGC who cracked their head open or broke a bone on an icy playground we might think differently!

However I think it is the 'the general public' who have complained, moaned & threatened to sue over genuine accidents etc that have caused some people responsible for the safety of others (e.g.heads, doctors etc) to be over-cautious.

When I was a HT I always felt if it was something I would be happy for my own kids (latterly grand kids) to do then I could go with it! But many occasions I had to deal with angry parents..why did I not ban chase games at playtime/ why do the children change for PE in the same room (oldest child was 7)/ why did children play in the snow.... I could go on!

p.s statistics show that very few threats to sue actually get anywhere and those that are pursued are rarely successful. It is only the cases of true negligence that should get to court.

Tis true we have become far more litigious than we used to be, no wonder with all the ads for insurance companies and lawyer ads saying
'Have you had an accident at work?'
I agree that schools are afraid and also, I suppose we are a more fear conscious nation for our children, fear they will be hurt, abducted and so, want to hold them close because of what we see on the media. We are perhaps too over protective now. Isn't it sad that today a child can't go out on a bike without an adult, I remember cycling out and about on mine, my legs and face brown and drinking water from a bike bottle thinking myself the bees knees.
I remember the days when we kids would go out to play in the mornings, nip home for a buttie and then out again. I can remember hearing my mother shouting my name a field away or a block or two away when it was time to come home for tea and bed. In the school hols it seemed sunny all the time and even in the snow we would be clad in wellies and wearing ld soaked mittens and rag arsed back sides from slidding on bits of wood or old trays down the snow drifted roads.
We were lucky I suppose in that way. My mum's warning to me was never speak to strange men and don't take sweets from anyone.
I remember laughing with some of my friends when a man flashed in his crubby old raincoat in the park, it wasn't scaring just funny. nowadays not really funny of course and certainly could have been much worse.

I think the school closures are justified here in the country - the travel is so unsafe on windy country lanes. Teachers also have trouble getting in; and the HT needs to consider how the children are going to get home if the snow continues. No-one in the village has been up the lane to day.

You are right of course, my comments are merely comments.

juneh no, you're absolutely right. I remember everything you've mentioned, including the flashing man and never coming home, except to eat. I am fairly fearless now, happy to travel anywhere alone etc. I wonder if children now will be, having been so protected? Yes Mishap school closures are justified if children have to get to school on windy country lanes, but how many do? I travelled 5 miles to school when I was a child and can never remember the school being closed. I remember the joy of the snow, snowball fights en route and making slides in the playground.

I think it is perfectly normal that bad weather stops traffic and keeps people at home. Obviously as much should be done by the authorities as possible, but in the end, we live in a world with extreme conditions. Before technology, people knew they would sometimes be snowed in and unable to go places, so they made contingency plans. A firm with such draconian rules that workers are expected to turn up when transport is down, is disgusting. People should be allowed to stay home.

Here in Queensland Australia, in the sub tropics, we are all expected to have a disaster kit: emergency food and water, a battery radio, candles, camping stove etc, for power cuts, or floods which can cut off entire suburbs. There are protocols in place for fire danger too.

Last such disaster was 2 years ago when floods cut us off and the electricity was cut off too. It could have lasted more than a week, and we were prepared for this, but luckily it only lasted a day and a half. The bloke next door had a generator, and gave us some space in his freezer for our frozen stuff.

Neighbours automatically help each other.

Joan that sounds worse than snow! And while the radio and television are telling us that there is an official red/amber weather warning and to stay at home, why does the rest of the media then have a go at people who do, alongside pictures of stranded cars and blocked roads?

Because the rest of the media is stupid?

mishap I just realised you mean windy as in bendy and not Gale force winds.
That now makes much more sense!

Nellie I thought it meant gusty too!

Thanks for your comments, I suppose modern living is possibly blighted by health and safety. But in so many areas change has definitely not been for the better. I used to be a nurse years ago and we were never allowed to wear rings other than a wedding ring, definitely no earrings and hair had to be tied back securely, that doesn't seem to apply today, where is H & S in nursing?

We have just been called from school to go and collect youngest two DGCs as the school is closing due to the heavy snowfall,how do parents who are at work cope with this I wonder they must really have a good backup team on standby,there is no after school club arranged as the playleaders will have to leave early on account of the weather being bad on the Motorways.

glamma, according to news broadcasts over the past few weeks, most of Northern Europe has also been at a standstill. Is it comforting to know it isn't just us? What was reassuring this week was to see snowploughs at work in Scotland.

It would help if winter tyres were mandatory. If all traffic keeps moving even if very slowly there are not as many accidents. And then in the UK the wind is such a plus factor. Here in South Germany the snow fall downwards and lands nicely on the ground. I remember at home in Yorkshire that snow blew in sidewards and built up walls of snow against the back door.
Anyway although few schools needed to close there has been a lot of disruption on the continent. These days when planes land and lift off in a tight minute to minute schedule the slightest snowfall causes chaos.
Perhpas the media are not so hysterical about it.

Last week here in Normandy all our schools were closed for four days. The prefecture cancelled the transport and that was that. There was some gritting, but not much apart from the main roads. We were snowed in for four days. Nobody seemed to be criticising the authorities much. People who were stranded were incredibly grateful when they were eventually rescued.
What strikes me watching the UK coverage is that people seem to behave as if they have some sort of entitlement to travel no matter what. Then their cars get stuck and they complain because the gritters can't get through. I listened to quite a few stories of people in the south of England who had no real need to travel, but had set off completely unprepared and were moaning furiously because they couldn't get through.

When we were at school, the school was always open in the morning, but if there was a heavy snowfall before midday, the school bell would ring three times to signify a half holiday at which there would be much rejoicing! Country children were able to get on their buses and trains, the rest of us went home and played on our sledges - or had a snow fight. Those were the days of stay-at-home mums. At night we could hear the snowploughs going round.
I see it is now snowing gently again but there isn't enough here for a snowman or a snow fight.

I can remember days when we were sent home from school after lunch because the snow was settling. Of course in those days most mothers were at home. Travelling to work wasn't such a problem because most people worked close to home. My father cycled to work and could probably have walked if necessary.

A friend of ours who lives near Nice rang last week and said they'd had a sudden snow fall and he'd nearly crashed when he hit the layer of ice under the snow. No suggestion of any gritting.