Snow turned our workers into shirkers
I noticed that on one day in the recent snowy weather, several schools chose to close and the local council offices either closed or staff went home early. My bank had only two people working, and various shops were understaffed. However, people I know who have their own businesses or are self-employed managed to get to work without too much trouble. This leads me to believe that at the first opportunity to have an excuse for a day off, too many take advantage of it.
By pure coincidence, the landlord of my local said it was his busiest day for weeks. It seems a lot of people who couldn’t make it to work managed to struggle to the pub.
K. Taylor, Southsea, Hampshire Does snow and ice leave much of the population housebound for days on end, or is it the colour-coded warnings the Met Office gives out? How many people fail to turn in for work if there’s an amber warning – let alone a red one? Of course it’s useful to be informed about extreme weather – be it snow, wind, rain or heat – but to market traders and our high streets, these pronouncements are like the kiss of death.
There was a time when TV weather presenters simply reported the coming day’s weather so we could wrap up warm or carry a brolly. Lately, they start their forecasts with a threatening ‘Be Prepared!’ warning.
Colour-coded warnings should be used only for the threat of nuclear or terrorist attacks – not to scare people senseless about the white stuff.
Alan Aitchison, Wakefield Hearing that many schools have been ‘forced to close’ because of the severe weather, my thoughts drifted back to my childhood. It is 50 years since the very bad winter of 1962/1963. I remember it well, with snow on the roofs from Boxing Day to a couple of weeks before Easter. My local junior school was closed for one day that winter – due to the late delivery of coal for the central heating. Britain has not progressed but has regressed. If we could all walk to school five decades ago, and the staff could get to their place of work, why can they not now?
Alan Jarmain, Bolton There is a reason why we don’t cope very well with snow – we don’t get very much of it. Heavy snowfalls in Britain are rare. Those moaning about not having the facilities to clear snow as soon as it falls would soon complain if we spent millions each year on grit and snowploughs – for it all to be used only once in a blue moon. What’s more important is that those who say cold weather is evidence that global warming doesn’t exist neglect the fact that many projections for how climate change will affect us have stated that warming could actually give us colder winters.
B. James, London I see that Heathrow was described as a ‘refugee camp’ as travellers whose flights were cancelled had to sleep on the floors. Welcome to Third World England.
J. Karna, London