It is tough NOW. So how are we coping

betterlife

well ive just walked home from getting my son from school and the snow has finally hit torbay. kids are very excited as we dont really see much snow here, they want to make a snowman but its only about half a cm deep lol. very cold though glad i made chicken soup yesterday so we are all going to snuggle up with some in a bit and some nice crusty bread.

Hollyberry

nannaC wrote: »

We often get power cuts in our village so Like most other OSr's we too have a stock of candles, and our trusty old primus ready. One of the beauty of having open fires is that come the power failures we can always make a meal/drink. The funniest thing though is during our last power cut Grumpy Grandad filled our lovely old oil lamp with paraffin instead of lamp oil, coooooooooooooo it didn't have make a big light till he put it out, must say if they ever make extinguishing an oil lamp, an olympic event then Grumpy's our:rotfl: sure fire:rotfl: GOLD MEDAL WINNER:T

That's a fabulous vision; I hope the eyebrows (and all other vital parts) remained intact!

As other posters have stated, I am starting to feel more and more that we are returning to the 1970s. My memories are a bit sketchy, as I was only a small child at the time. My mother was working for the electricity board, and I remember the little timetables that came through the door telling us if we were at high, medium or low risk of a power cut. I was always a bit put out if we were at high risk but had no power cut.

Mum had to go into work to deal with phone queries about the power cuts. I remember that her office had to use lamps even if the power happened to be on at the time. Otherwise people would complain if they could see lights on in the electricity board or the showroom underneath, assuming that they had some magic switch to keep their own power on when everywhere else was dark. (I also remember in times of galloping inflation that mum seemed to have a payrise every week, but that's another story.)

My nan was living with us, and she had a burnt old pan that she kept for use on the open fire in case of power cuts. We ate few of big soups that winter... When I wanted to go and play in the dining room, nan would light me a very small fire as a treat, and would cover the dining room table with blankets to make me a warm nest. It was one big adventure for me, but I can't imagine it was so great for the adults.

Today I keep my big candles near the fire, our lamps fully charged, and an old pan in the cupboard just in case. Since we've been here, there's only been one power cut, but it was good to drag out the Scrabble, wrap up in a blanket, and set a pan on the fire for a coffee later.

elizabunny

Well, I can absolutely understand having a healthy repect for snow on the roads when driving. I can even accept that snow could disrupt trains and planes. What I cannot understand sorry if I'm being dim here, but how does snow affect the underground and prevent it from running DS2 has been stuck on the wrong side of London, miles from where he's meant to be because of severe disruption on the underground! Why?

Does anybody have any idea?

Burp_2

Burp wrote: »

This is so worrying to know things haven't even got to their worst yet

My OH is still unemployed ... and has been since October clinging on by our last string this month

I really really hope something turns up soon

Just an up date because I must've seemed all doom and gloom these days

My OH has now been offered a job and fingers crossed if it all falls in to place he starts next Monday

I hope things are starting to look up for others to

Burp x

THIRZAH

I can't remember schools shutting due to snow when I was a child-even in 1963 when we had snow for weeks.It was different then though. The head teacher lived in the school house right next to the school and all the teachers lived in the village.

It was cold then. The school was heated by coke stoves so only the bit of the classroom by the stove was warm. The school milk-which we had to drink-used to be frozen in the morning and we had to put it by the stove to defrost.

ifonlyitwaseasier

elizabunny wrote: »

Well, I can absolutely understand having a healthy repect for snow on the roads when driving. I can even accept that snow could disrupt trains and planes. What I cannot understand sorry if I'm being dim here, but how does snow affect the underground and prevent it from running DS2 has been stuck on the wrong side of London, miles from where he's meant to be because of severe disruption on the underground! Why?

Does anybody have any idea?

because although it's called the underground it isn't all under the ground.

several of the lines are above ground for at least part of the route.

hth

HockeyDuo8083

I bet those power company fatcats are loving this weather just now:mad:

Hope everyone is managing to stay warm:o

Hollyberry

elizabunny wrote: »

Well, I can absolutely understand having a healthy repect for snow on the roads when driving. I can even accept that snow could disrupt trains and planes. What I cannot understand sorry if I'm being dim here, but how does snow affect the underground and prevent it from running DS2 has been stuck on the wrong side of London, miles from where he's meant to be because of severe disruption on the underground! Why?

Does anybody have any idea?

My guess is that the bits of the underground that are in fact overground are snarling everything else up with frozen points etc. I used to be a daily commuter, and I remember that significant bits of the Northern Line for example are actually overground. And I assume that if the Northern Line is playing up, passengers in the middle of London are transferring to other lines, and those are suffering with overcrowding and delays.

Think a proper Londoner will give you better info, but that's my best guess.

Edit: and has already done so.

elizabunny

ioiwe and Hollyberry -thank you. I guessed there had to be a logical answer, just couldn't think what it was:o.

the_cat

elizabunny wrote: »

Well, I can absolutely understand having a healthy repect for snow on the roads when driving. I can even accept that snow could disrupt trains and planes. What I cannot understand sorry if I'm being dim here, but how does snow affect the underground and prevent it from running DS2 has been stuck on the wrong side of London, miles from where he's meant to be because of severe disruption on the underground! Why?

Does anybody have any idea?

Also they will be running with only a handful of staff available. They all have to get to work by road etc after all.

OH has just got home from London. Most of the tube lines are suspended but he managed to get on a very restricted Circle line train. If your DS can walk to any of those stations he should hopefully be able to get to near to where he needs to go. They usually try to keep to circle line going more than the others as it can help more people that way

HTH Cat