Snow in Scotland

[cessna152towser]

I see where you are coming from on this Anne, there is certainly a culture here which says get to work at all costs. During the 2001 winter blizzards while I was Magistrates' Clerk at Duns one day I was unable to travel the 38 miles to court due to the weather. I contacted the police and advised them of the importance of the journey and was told by them that the journey was impossible. The prosecutor was also snowed in and I agreed with him by telephone to defer all the cases till the next court. The Bar Officer lived close to the courthouse and at my telephoned request he fought his way through deep snow to stand outside the court to tell anyone who turned up that the court was postponed till the next date. No public or lawyers turned up, not even the keyholder to open the courthouse. Yet someone who was due to appear in court that day took exception. I was in due course hauled before three judges in the High Court in Edinburgh and reprimanded for not being personally present in Duns that day and for continuing the cases by telephone as this had not been a public proceedings. The minimum legal requirement would have been for me to have met personally with the prosecutor at the doorway of the court building in Duns. Convictions were quashed because of the flawed procedure. With hindsight I should have anticipated the worsening weather and stayed overnight in Duns from the previous day. Fortunately two private solicitors lived locally in Duns and after the event and to avoid repetition one was commissioned to act as Magistrates Clerk in an emergency and the other to act as a Procurator Fiscal in an emergency.
Having said that, sadly there are some people who exploit the weather and stay away from work in wintry weather even when it would be relatively easy for them to get there.

[piperdbh]

I enjoy a good snow, but not a paralyzing one such as you're having. I hope it warms up a bit to thaw you folks out.

[Tony]

Last real snow I remember having in Glasgow (moved in 1980) was on New Year's Eve/Day around 1977 give or take a year.

Most Americans I talk to tend to think of Scotland as a very cold place with tons of snow every winter and are always shocked that it's not the case - at least for the Central belt. We get worse winter weather here in Philly and we almost get used to it. The City more or less shuts down at more than 6 inches.
People to the North or West of here would laugh at our attempts to cope. People to the South would marvel. All depends on what you're used to.

Good luck over there.

[Creeker]

I was in Ireland last year during, what I were told, was the first blizzard and ice storm in twenty-five years. And with very few plows and salt/gravel trucks it's treacherous. Just walking on the street was an ordeal. Good luck.

[EagleJCS]

Sounds like it's time to break out the Zamboni's. If the plows are turning the roads into skating rinks, may as well have smooth ice to skate on.

[Pleater]

One thing which causes real trouble, even when there was only 6 inches of snow if it were all laid evenly, is that the wind blows it into drifts, so you might have half a mile of almost clear road, then a snowdrift several feet deep and many yards long.It takes a lot of effort to clear, and takes only a few hours to reform even if it doesn't snow again, though often it does.I used to own a house on a corner and the only time there was any significant amount of snow I could not see out of the window or get out of the front door as the wind piled up the snow to within a foot of the tops of them. The back was completely clear, which was a good thing as it was the only way in or out for almost a week.Anne the Pleater :ootd:

[Lallans]

You Brits having trouble with ploughing and gritting should pay attention to a recent Canadian news story: the City of Montreal is currently experimenting with the waste byproduct from the processing of sugar beets to melt snow and ice. Apparently they've noticed that the stuff doesn't freeze right down to -30 degrees and the hope is it'll be a better alternative to our current practice of salting with calcium chloride.

I remember seeing fields and fields of the things in the UK; it may be time to get mashing....