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

It's been snowing continuously here since early Friday morning and is still snowing. There is about a foot of snow now. Yesterday people were still wading through, traffic still moving, adults pulling children on sledges. Today it's really quiet. One person just went past, clambering through the drifts. The children and students will be out later with snowboards and sledges.

DD is under 8" of snow over in Sheffield and on a steep hill.

I agree totally with Maimie. I think there is a bit of a myth about Britain being the only country that stops for snow. There comes a point where an icy 2/3inchs of snow is as disruptive to travel as 10inch or more. You car will just slide about. Then people abandon them ,the roads get blocked and the gritters etc cannot get through to clear them and its chaos. People should take notice of the weather forecasts when there are warnings of severe weather.

MargaretX Fitting winter tyres in this country can invalidate people's insurance.

Scottish grannies I note that Bags has not posted this morning although she is usually one of the early birds. I wonder if she – and possibly some other Scottish grannies – have no power today because so many power lines are down. Of course, she might just be having a well-deserved lie-in – I hope so.

Here in our part of the East Midlands we usually get off quite lightly. Your post about Sheffield brought back memories Nellie, as it's my neck of the woods (and where my heart is). It's an absolute killer in the snow, and I remember some very scary moments as the car slid down the slopes. Those 'seven hills' so close to the Pennines can make for some very treacherous driving conditions.

It's been snowing and blowing for about 36 hours, but there's only light coverage because it all blows away. I wonder where it ends up. On Thursday night I came out of a theatre to a tremendous gale and at home the bins were all over the patio. Then the snow started, but it's mostly that miserable drizzly snow that doesn't look as mesmeric as the big fluffy flakes.

There is no snow here this morning but the wind has been bowling the empty wheelie bins around all night. Have been watching the weather forecast because I am babysitting tonight and need to get to DS's, main roads are usually passable but DS is on the top of a steep hill and needs a 4x4 to make it to the top. DS is only 45 minutes from me but sometimes it can be like another country.

We are currently on the M4, on the way home to Devon from Oxford. The weather changes so rapidly that it would be difficult to be ready for everything! It was snowing, quite heavily, when we left Oxford; now (in the roadworks near Bristol!) it is a dry-ish, grey day. And I expect it is raning in Devon

I remember one snowy day catching the bus as normal to school which was 11 miles away and going down sideways on one of the steepest hills in the area. It was scary but we got there - but came back a different way if I remember correctly!

Businesses seem to manage to stay open as do hotels, hospitals, surgeries and shops. So why do schools close at the first snowflake? Much to the disappointment of us pupils [we weren't called 'students' in those days until we went to college / university] in those days our school stayed open throughout snowy periods - and it was a rural area! Today I gues the slogan is 'H & S rules!'

I don't think it is fair to lump all of Britain together here. The North of England, Scotland, the Pennines etc do not grind to a halt until the Cockbridge to Tomintoul road is so impassabe that even Mrs McThing cannot get out to clear it. It's us in the South - and I include myself, since despite my hardy Scottish upbringing, I have spent the last 43 years down here and quake at the prospect of snowy roads as much as the next "soft" Southerner!

Yesterday evening I ventured out to visit my new grandson in west Cheshire and found myself driving through a blizzard on the way back home to south Manchester. The three lane M56 was only clear in one lane, with no lighting along a very long stretch. Thankfully, an Eddie Stobart truck came along and I tucked myself behind it for 15 miles, otherwise I am sure I would have ended up stranded. The snow was piling up so quickly. Got as far as Manchester airport and there was no sign of snow. What a relief to get home.

There are snowploughs in Scotland. I saw one in Dundee this week, spraying out grit and salt behind too. It seems that the general opinion in the South of England has been that the investment in such equipment wouldn't be worthwhile for events which may not even happen once a year.

We were in Sheffield for the winter of 79 which was a nightmare of snow and ice for three months, but things still just about kept going. Then we moved to Bournemouth and wondered why everything stopped for half an inch of snow.
Bizarrely here today it is 15 degrees, sunny and warm enough to work in the garden in a t-shirt.