SNOOOOOOW!

Interesting how when two inches of snow hit the United Kingdom we come to a complete and utter abrupt halt. Yes, the nation who conquered half the world and created the International Language slows down when snow hits. Isn't this the ultimate irony?

TRANSPORT CHAOS they yell from every rooftop, MAYHEM AND MAJOR DISRUPTION flashes on our TV screens. Superlatives being banded about from every alcove of the media. Even Geoff Hoon justifies the governments position, "storing snow ploughs and extra gritting salt would be expensive, when the snowy weather is so unusual". How expensive Geoffrey? More expensive than the incredibly shocking Olympics 2012 logo, or not? This happens at least once a year Geoff - it's not unusual in the sense that it USUALLY happens aroung this time it's not like we live in Australia and it's been freak snowfall in the height of July. Aren't we meant to be stimulating the economy, and how can we do that with millions not at work just because salt will be a 'bit' expensive. Surely the damage to the economy would outweigh the cost of salt? Or maybe that's me making an assumption that salt is expensive and the economy isn't important.

Schools called off, people calling in to work citing "excessive snowfall" for the reason that they can't make it in to call centres. National Express quickly generating auto-messages so that people like me have to wait in an even longer phone queue than normal just because some spotty-faced teenager can't muster enough energy to sweep the snow off his BMX cycles two miles and sit down with a headset to tell me whether I can get the train from London to Brighton today. Is this right? The kind of snowfall we had recently is the kind that Scandinavians laugh off in their sleep. My Aunt lives in Oslo, and I notice that her Englishness is being phased out of her when she tells me that she made it into work with fifteen minutes to spare WHEN there was 12 Inches of snow barricading her door and her car wouldn't work until she'd put on all four snow chains and anti-freeze in the engine. A descendent of Robert Scott she may be but it still doesn't explain why she can make it to work when Dave Smith from Chester considers two inches of snow to be the beginning of the next Ice Age.