General Chat

On Boxing Day I had the great misfortune to get stuck on the Wirral in the snow.
Everything was fine until the world and his wife decided to play that dimwitted game of "let's go for a drive in the snow" and then promptly get stuck as they could not work out how to actually drive and keep moving. Are some people just plain simple?
Is it particular to that area or do people all over the UK suffer from snow blindness?

Isn't the Wirral where all the WAGS live ? Someone should put out a sign to tell them to use their Range Rover Evoque when selecting a motor for the snow. Too bad if the shoes and bodywork color don't match.

I was supposed to go to Sheffield and decided against driving there. Wonderful invention the weather forecast! Instead I went riding. Remarkable creatures horses not troubled by snow.

I don't think people are simple so much as they tend to see life as if through a version of reality provided by TV and computer games. In this alternative reality mobile phones connect deep inside office caverns and transfer encrypted files at huge speed (Spooks), cars whizz through crowded city centres at top speed (Bourne) or even the snow (Wallendar).

a prosperous new year to all

Being a Scot I have never understood the chaos that surfaces south of the border when snow falls - goodness knows how some would cope in some areas of Scotland during the winter months :-S

Absolutely - I could not agree more.
WAGS and aspiring WAGS and as for the Evoques - one couldn't move for them but they were that dim witted that they could not engage 4WD.
Mind you, it was worth it just to see the WAGS tottering along the beach in their stilettos earlier in the day.

In the south particularly, we have not really had a good fall of snow since 1987 (when my paper round took me ten hours!).

So, nobody born after 1970 has really had to contend with it.

In the seventies and eighties, I would be out delivering as far as I could get to on the downs with snow piled on the side of the road and more coming down but the tendency now is to park up as soon as you lose a bit of traction and to block the road for anybody who can get along a bit.

I don't ever remember people abandoning their vehicles then.

OneFootInTheGrave I totally agree.
Every time I have driven north of the border I have been amazed at the difference in the approach to driving although I thought it was particularly bad on the Wirral on Boxing Day.

Sharron - too many do that and don't give a cuss about other (sensible) drivers who actually know how to drive in adverse conditions.

Well, we live in the south east and we do know how to drive in snow. All of our offspring were lectured remorselessly about the does and dont's.

Mind you, we are probably in the minority. There must be thousands of people who haven't been exposed to snow-driving. 2cm in town and they pull up the drawbridge!

Posers in Chelsea tractor 4x4s haven't the faintest idea how to use all of the features, unlike those who live off the beaten track. My rule of thumb is to look for a tow bar. They may not know how to drive off road, but at least they've bought it to be able to pull something along.

I feel so blessed, privileged & relived to have moved away from a county in which residents are proud to claim driving stupidity for themselves during snow chaos or, indeed, torrential rain.

Diplomacy & fear of liable lawyers' extortionate fees preclude me from naming the area. If you like, take a needle; then with both eyes closed, prick at random any part of a UK road map & you will probably be within a hen’s kick of such a backward area.

There has been plenty of heavy snow in southern England since 1970!
In particular winters of 1978/9, 1981/2 , 1986/7, 1987/8, 1990/1, 1997/8, 2008/9, 2009/10 were very cold with heavy snow in the South. 1978/9 was as bad as 1963/4.

My niece lives in Sheffield. Not much recent evidence there that Yorkshiremen are all great at driving in the snow though some seem to be able to take to their skis.

Maybe Brighton has its own micro climate whenever I go there it rains. On top all the people who can no longer afford Hampstead or Blackheath seem to have moved to Brighton. From what Errol says Cheshire too. If you are thinking of voting for the Greens in 2015 pay a trip to Brighton before deciding.

I must fess up to owing a Land Rover 4WD but is is a Defender of some vintage well maintained like its owner. Unlikely to be parked up nr Sloane Sq. or the Rows in Chester. Yes it does have a tow bar and at the front a winch.

I also have a LandRover Defender LWB. It is ex-military, but due to Boris's Low Emission Zone I have to keep it in a barn on the land where I shoot, registered off road. Otherwise it would cost me £100.00p PER DAY, seven days a week, 52 weeks a year, even if it didn't move. Bob

Why would you want to drive a Land Rover in central London? AFAIK Wanstead Flats are outside of the LEZ ( or is it the DMZ I am never sure given current variety of London wild life).

As you say Boris has pretty well shut out older diesel versions so with an old Defender or even older TD5 / 90 you are even more stuck. I am fairly sure that a modern Transit engine can be levered in but it wojld cost a bit... Another option is to get a V8 and convert to LPG but that costs too. There is an African version with a BMW 2.8 engjne and some of these have been imported to the UK and can be found used. Goes like the clappers.

Fear not LandRover have a new model coming out in a year or so which will meet Boris' demands. A snip at around £ 25 K plus tax. Clarkson will probably drive it up Everest and annoy the Chinese.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/Land_Rover_DC100_%28front_quarter%29.jpg

Matching shoes extra.

We lived in Minnesota for a few years. One of the reasons I never want to see another snowflake!

I found this clip on Youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=309st_d6DN0

Believe me, we saw snow much worse than this!

The lakes freeze...... people put little huts on the ice, cut holes and go fishing! brrrrrrrrrrrr

I have my eye on a LWB Defender which has already been converted.

AnnCardiff just because someone is driving a certain way does not mean that they "could well be under the influence of alcohol".

The weather conditions on the Wirral on Boxing Day just seemed to bring out a certain sort of person but it seems from comments that it is not the only area where people do not engage their brains before engaging gear.

It is possible (but not "could well be") along with many other reasons.

How is that pedantic?
Please don't spoil the thread.

Absolutely - of course you are.
But accusing someone of being pedantic could be construed by some as being antagonistic.

I have deleted my inoffensive postings and will leave you to it - apologies if I struck a raw nerve

AnnCardiff - "I have deleted my inoffensive postings and will leave you to it - apologies if I struck a raw nerve"

No raw nerves struck whatsoever and not sure why you felt the need to delete but apologies graciously accepted if somewhat unnecessary.