What is happening in the UK

Turtle


Joined: 28/05/2007
Posts: 2669

Message Posted:
05/02/2012 13:24

Heathrow Airport seriously effected by the snow with hundreds of flights cancelled and many many more diverted to Ireland ??.... Closed for a while for snow clearing.

Stanstead closed for a long period for snow clearing.



Thousands of road closures due to snow falls.







However the Chelsea v Man Utd game in London goes ahead without problem,..... nice to see we have our priorities right.

Jeannie


Joined: 04/08/2009
Posts: 3283

Message Posted:
05/02/2012 13:28

Turtle - same old, same old here in UK. It's winter, it snows and everyone is taken completely by surprise, hence - mayhem. With regard to priorities; yes, the under pitch heating is working at Stamford Bridge

Woodspeckie


Joined: 25/01/2009
Posts: 2263

Message Posted:
05/02/2012 13:36

No underpitch heating at Salford Rugby League ground yesterday, two or three inches of snow and snowing while the play was going on, clear the lines play with a yellow ball the game goes on, a proper game is Rugby League played by men with guts and no where near the pay footballers get.

Turtle


Joined: 28/05/2007
Posts: 2669

Message Posted:
05/02/2012 13:44

Woody, I was just making a point that most of the country comes to a halt but they can get a football game on,. is there some devine intervention (Sky TV probably) that allows this to happen when most of us cant get out of our front door.

waddo


Joined: 29/11/2008
Posts: 1966

Message Posted:
05/02/2012 13:47

No power cuts here - no snow either!

Quarmby


Joined: 15/09/2008
Posts: 975

Message Posted:
05/02/2012 15:15

Turtle



your synopsis clearly shows that you do not know the reasons why Heathrow was partially closed down.

Are you aware that the Airport runs at about 99% capacity and any delays due to weather can cause serious congestion, take last year for example. It was not just snow problems but mainly freezing fog that caused many diversions.

spider


Joined: 03/01/2009
Posts: 5527

Message Posted:
05/02/2012 15:19

I have just seen some wonderful photo's of family and friends children and pets having a wonderful family Sunday in the snow..Yep its ok for today, wait till tomorrow



The first sighting of snow is a magical sight but we have all been there before ! Brrrr :(







Spider,X

berilela


Joined: 17/07/2010
Posts: 590

Message Posted:
05/02/2012 15:20

wicked in uk at moment snow , snowmen ,snowballing and barbeque hee hee

shrimp


Joined: 01/09/2010
Posts: 939

Message Posted:
05/02/2012 16:56

Yes, message 6 is completely correct, the airports are closed due to freezing fog that is affecting the area, not all UK is in the grips of snow, it seems to be London and to the south, East Anglia and uptowards the Midlands, the west country appears to be clear..........

Turtle


Joined: 28/05/2007
Posts: 2669

Message Posted:
05/02/2012 17:03

Sorry I have to disagree,.. BA cancelled 30% of flights yesterday afternoon before the snow came and before they even knew about any fog coming.

AlsancakJack



Joined: 14/08/2008
Posts: 5762

Message Posted:
05/02/2012 17:14

Just as well County Councils and Airports spent millions more this year on preparing for this scenario. Money well spent (not!).

Quarmby


Joined: 15/09/2008
Posts: 975

Message Posted:
05/02/2012 17:21

Turtle



here we go again!



you are correct that 30% of flights were cancelled yesterday in anticipation of forecasted heavy snow falls. The reason was as I quoted in msg 6 due to the 99% capacity and the cosequential back log of passengers. The snow was a problem but it turned out that freezing fog was the main culprit for the diversions and flight delays.



Comprendez?

Quarmby


Joined: 15/09/2008
Posts: 975

Message Posted:
05/02/2012 17:24

AJ



winter is not over yet.



They are damned if they do and damned if they don't.



Don't worry about the UK you don't live there

Turtle


Joined: 28/05/2007
Posts: 2669

Message Posted:
05/02/2012 17:26

Ever so sorry,.... it must be me not understanding that the UK is not very good at dealing with situations like this as AJ said millions spent on winter defence what a waste.





Mind you we have an extra 1m tons of salt in a big pile somewhere

Quarmby


Joined: 15/09/2008
Posts: 975

Message Posted:
05/02/2012 17:37

Turtle



pray tell us all what type of machinery does one use to clear freezing fog?

Turtle


Joined: 28/05/2007
Posts: 2669

Message Posted:
05/02/2012 17:49

No quarmby you tell me why they shut Stansted,... they didn't have freezing fog ?

Quarmby


Joined: 15/09/2008
Posts: 975

Message Posted:
05/02/2012 17:50

Heavy snow?

Quarmby


Joined: 15/09/2008
Posts: 975

Message Posted:
05/02/2012 17:58

Turtle



are you losing it? your msg 16.



Read your first msg.



There's your answer.



Get a grip......pun intended!

AlsancakJack



Joined: 14/08/2008
Posts: 5762

Message Posted:
05/02/2012 18:01

Quarmby

Re your message 13:

'Don't worry about the UK you don't live there'



You are right I do not live there but unfortunately both my wife and I still pay tax on our pensions derived in the UK so I do have concerns about how that taxable revenue is being spent.

Quarmby


Joined: 15/09/2008
Posts: 975

Message Posted:
05/02/2012 18:13

AJ



are you saying that money should not be spent on snow clearing equiptment?

Woodspeckie


Joined: 25/01/2009
Posts: 2263

Message Posted:
05/02/2012 18:24

I live in a village and last year the village was snowed in I was in NC so missed it but I still cared about other people, not man mind thyself, so this year the Council are prepared I pay tax on my pensions too but if it helps people to get about in bad weather then all well and good.

AlsancakJack



Joined: 14/08/2008
Posts: 5762

Message Posted:
05/02/2012 19:51

Quarmby

I have no problem with money being spent on equipment providing it is used to its full advantage.

All local authorities and airports had advance warning about the cold front that was heading towards the UK so how come the UK ended up in the same situation that has been repeated over the years.



http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16893372



The M25, a major arterial motorway comes to a standstill forcing drivers to sleep in their cars overnight.

Unbelievable, especially when people were being told that all relevant authorities had invested millions of pounds to ensure that past problems with inclement weather would not happen again

Quarmby


Joined: 15/09/2008
Posts: 975

Message Posted:
05/02/2012 20:10

AJ



I think it is naive of anyone to believe that the transport systems can be kept running fully even in severe weather conditions. Just look around the world, every where has problems.

AlsancakJack



Joined: 14/08/2008
Posts: 5762

Message Posted:
05/02/2012 20:17

Quarmby

But why was the M25 locked solid? With the investments made in buying extra gritting lorries and extra stockpiles of grit the M25 should have been kept totally clear of snow for at least 2 lanes if not 3.

Have you looked at the link I posted?

dalartokat


Joined: 14/04/2008
Posts: 734

Message Posted:
05/02/2012 20:56

AJ, the M25 was closed due to a lorry jackknifing across 2 lanes. As seems to be the norm now in this Country the Police want to close off roads whilst the incidents are being dealt with. As time went on people were running out of petrol, due to either not filling up enough for their journeys or because they needed the heat on. I listened this morning to this full interview on Radio 5 live at 6.30am and people were on the hard shoulder preventing gritter lorries etc. getting through. In fact the guy in charge got such a hard time on this interview he put the phone down on the interview having been accused of not doing his job properly. He maintained all his lorries were out and they are tagged so he knows where they are and he said, just because you don't seem them, dosn't mean they are not there...cont..

dalartokat


Joined: 14/04/2008
Posts: 734

Message Posted:
05/02/2012 21:02

...People were also warned not to go out unless necessary and yet the woman who had a go at this guy and accused him of not doing his job properly had gone out to visit a friend who lived down a country lane. She said she left at 11.00pm because she did not want to get stuck down the lane. She took extra blankets, extra food for her. She got mad because she got caught up in the incident on the M25 and spent 8 hours. She, in my opinion, was warned and should not have gone out in the first place, as many others did. Many went out unprepared. We had been warned about this snow since last week. This was not the woman in the article you posted.



In London on Saturday night gritters were out ,as they were here where I live in Kent. You can't allow for accidents and also for lorries driving in the snow in the middle lane which is what happened on the M25 which is what that person in your interview also said this morning..

Turtle


Joined: 28/05/2007
Posts: 2669

Message Posted:
05/02/2012 21:13

AJ, you are wasting your time some people simply just accept inefficiency and poor management as part of everyday life,..... me... it really gets up my hooter

AlsancakJack



Joined: 14/08/2008
Posts: 5762

Message Posted:
05/02/2012 21:27

Hi Turtle

Well anyone that reviews the video clip that i provided the link to will see exactly what the state of the M25 was and the only reason for the lorry jack knifing was the state of the motorway.

Although I appreciate that these type of bad weather events are few and far between the thing that gets up my hooter is when joe public are told that millions of pounds of taxpayers money have been spent to make sure that these problems are a thing of the past.

It beggars belief that one day of snow that everyone had adequate warning of has again caused so much disruption.

dalartokat


Joined: 14/04/2008
Posts: 734

Message Posted:
05/02/2012 21:41

Turtle if you are referring to me after giving an explanation above. That is it, an explanation of what happened. If you still think thats inefficiency and poor management thats your opinion.



For me, I am the same as you and do not accept inefficiency or poor management either, but I also do not put myself in a situation that would not be justified to accuse people of not doing their job or making accusations of how they are doing it unless I could prove it. Unfortunately as in most cases we have to rely on the media to give the information and interpret that as individuals.

karakum5c



Joined: 18/03/2008
Posts: 1021

Message Posted:
05/02/2012 21:44

people are not filling up their tanks with petrol.............running out when they get stuck in a tail back



they are causing blockages everywhere adding to and becoming the cause of disruption

Turtle


Joined: 28/05/2007
Posts: 2669

Message Posted:
05/02/2012 21:49

No dalartokat I was not referring to you at all......... and your comments on the M25 are valid and so are AJ's.



I am accusing people of not doing their job and the media have confirmed this when you see the country on its knee's again because we can not cope with a bit of snow.



We all were told as early as Tuesday that this was going to happen but we appear to have just sat about and waited for the snow to fall as if they didn't believe it was going to happen and we got caught out again.

jimchris09


Joined: 13/02/2009
Posts: 547

Message Posted:
05/02/2012 22:19

Just look at this......



http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2539270120587&set=p.2539270120587&type=1&ref=nf

dalartokat


Joined: 14/04/2008
Posts: 734

Message Posted:
05/02/2012 22:29

Turtle, maybe people do think that they are doing their job properly. On my local news we were told that they were prepared and ready to go and to bring it on. Perhaps they thought 4 gritters instead of 1 was progress and not understanding that maybe it should have been 6!!!!!! Who sets the standards now?



I think there is a problem with apathy in the UK, but what annoys me is people not doing what they were told and that was to stay at home, but instead, they went out expecting people to get them out of trouble and complain when it didn't happen.



Anyway next week it will be old news again!

Turtle


Joined: 28/05/2007
Posts: 2669

Message Posted:
05/02/2012 22:51

You're absolutly right come Tuesday all forgotten and we just get on with it.



But I will wager 10 english pounds that we have simular problems next winter....... guaranteed.

Sideways



Joined: 21/01/2009
Posts: 529

Message Posted:
05/02/2012 23:27

Message 27.

Quote

"AJ, you are wasting your time some people simply just accept inefficiency and poor management as part of everyday life,..... me... it really gets up my hooter"



Is that why you live in the TRNC ??????????????

Clarissa2


Joined: 12/06/2009
Posts: 1476

Message Posted:
06/02/2012 00:35

Re: Msg 1,

In many European countries for the last fortnight the temperatures were as low as minus 30C with a lot of snow and very strong winds.

My friends told me today that they had more than a metre(!)of snow overnight.

And what do you think they've been doing?

They went skiing together with their children.

And yes, they are going to work tomorrow, and their children are going to school.



What is happening in the UK? The same thing that happens every year.

NOT BOTHERED! Just hibernate and wait for the snow to melt!

Tonyta


Joined: 11/06/2011
Posts: 122

Message Posted:
06/02/2012 14:25

Just a little more on the Heathrow cancellation process. As stated earlier by others Heathrow is run at at 99% capacity. In poor weather the aircraft cannot be landed, for safety reasons, within the short space of the time between landings as is normal. Cancellations made in advance are more helpful to the majority of the travelling public, as was stated in the report made on the fiasco of last year. BAA simply did what had been recommended and the disruption to passengers was far less than what could have been. All this obtained from Sky news, I am going out now to view the snow free streets in Southport.

Corbo



Joined: 13/09/2009
Posts: 627

Message Posted:
06/02/2012 14:53

It's down to climate change the mad scientists say..used to be global warming but they realised it might get colder so it became climate change. Soon it will be..''Whatever the weather is it's your carbon emissions that are causing it..we are right and you are wrong..we are scientists and you are plebs.'



I have as much faith in them as the economists who support inventing fantasy money through QE as the answer.

Woodspeckie


Joined: 25/01/2009
Posts: 2263

Message Posted:
06/02/2012 14:54

In my little bit of Heaven in the UK the snow and frost has gone a little rain this morning but now a lovely sunny afternoon, the birds are twittering it's time I took a walk.

suehowlittle


Joined: 31/10/2010
Posts: 1202

Message Posted:
06/02/2012 15:08

Hope flights from Manchester will leave OK on Wednesday, my daughter is supposed to be joining me in Rome for 4 days, me from here on Tuesday and her from UK. Wed.



I would not look forward to spending 4 days in Rome alone. Fingers crossed