It's snowing

We don't get a lot of heavy snow in this part of the world (surprising really when you consider how far north we are - on the same latitude as Siberia, I think - it's all to do with the Gulf Stream keeping us warm). Anyway, at the moment we are getting some of that Siberian weather, and all our buses are off the road. This means that thousands of people have had to stay home from work (including yours truly). I have to say that six inches of snow looks really pretty, but it is a pain not being able to get to work at what is a really crucial time for me. Bex is annoyed too, but for a different reason - she had booked some time off, only to discover that her organisation has closed completely because of the weather, and everyone else has time off too - without it being taken from their annual leave allowance.I made the mistake of not checking the news this morning and struggled up the hill to the bus stop, slipping and sliding on the ungritted pavement. I stood for quite a while by myself, waiting for a bus. A guy tramping by on the other side of the road called out to me that no buses were running, but I found it hard to believe. Naturally there was no information at all on the electronic noticeboard. I struggled back home down the slidy hill and put the TV on (after Bex had gone out and cleared the snow which was blocking the satellite signal) to find that it was true - ALL London buses were cancelled and 10 of the 11 tube lines were shut down too (not that that mattered to me - I can't get to work by tube). It does seem crazy that we can't cope with what to most cities this far north would consider a sprinkling of snow. If the gulf stream switches off (as is predicted as part of global climate change) it would be like this all the time in winter, and that could happen overnight, apparently. Shouldn't we start preparing?

Happy thought for the day. The boiler is working :-)