It's a sign that......

It's a sign that Christmas is coming. You only have to whisper frost and the gritters are out. One's just gone past here and back again.

 

When we've got a foot of snow in the New Year, there'll be no sign of them.



It's life Jim, but not as WE know it.
Live long and prosper.

Message 1 of 14
See Most Recent
13 REPLIES 13

It's a sign that......

There's no satisfying some, back in 1963 you could walk Down our canal not a gritter in sight, for weeks on end, I think you are going soft CD.😀
Message 2 of 14
See Most Recent

It's a sign that......

Ah, the Winter of '63? I remember it well. Snow many feet deep and as you say, not a gritter in sight, (did they have gritters back then?). Mind you, I remember the council lorry going round with two blokes on the back spreading sand/salt on the the road and it made no difference because it was too cold.

 

Initially, "they" thought it wouldn't last so the snow was only roughly ploughed to the side of the road. Then it froze solid. When they eventually tried to shift it, they had to use a pick to break it up because it was a frozen mass of ice.

 

A little boy ran across the road and up a snow bank, fell back and was run over......

 

How's you now anyway? Improving?



It's life Jim, but not as WE know it.
Live long and prosper.

Message 3 of 14
See Most Recent

It's a sign that......

You're ALL going soft !!

 

 

 

Image result for horse and cart in the snow pictures

Message 4 of 14
See Most Recent

It's a sign that......

I remember the winter of 1963.  I was 14 and was doing paper rounds in it.

 

There were snowdrifts stopping gates opening,, but everyone got their paper.

Photobucket
Message 5 of 14
See Most Recent

It's a sign that......

We don't need to go back that long here, just to the winter of 2009/10

 

When my street was under thick snow (that quickly turned to packed Ice) from mid-November to end of March

and wasn't touched at all by the Council

Message 6 of 14
See Most Recent

It's a sign that......

1963 was the worst most people can remember, I was 12 and I had a paper round too. Everybody in the street cleared and salted their own stretch of pavement in those days, nobody waited for the council to do anything. The local cubs and scouts were out in force making sure the old folks got their shopping and had enough to eat and enough coal to keep warm. The estate we lived in didn't get any side roads cleared and were traffic free for weeks on end, only the main road to the shops, church and school were cleared by the council. Never saw such community spirit before or since, or so many snowmen.

Smiley Very Happy

Message 7 of 14
See Most Recent

It's a sign that......

Funny commodity, Snow, as a kid, my mother couldn't drag me indoors away from the stuff; now I have to be dragged out into it.  As a kid, Me, the toboggan and the dog, spent hours outside in the snow.......only to spend ages, when I came in, soaking my feet in a bowl of warm water to thaw them out. Several years ago, down here, I left for work at 7.00 am and was back home at 11.00 am. My other half asked what I was doing home, I told her I'd only made it 2 miles and got stuck in a " white out " with everybody else; I'd phoned work and they told me to go home..........it had taken me the rest of the 4 hours to get there. Our village has been cut of several times over the last 20 years.......these bones aren't getting any younger and like it warm these days.Smiley Happy

Message 8 of 14
See Most Recent

It's a sign that......

I remember that year well Al, I was sent out from Glasgow to try and get to Inverness with a wagon loaded with groceries etc, it took me 6 hours to get to Cumbernauld then the police told all us lorry drivers to turn around and go back as we would not get anywhere really and run out of driving time and be stranded at the roadside.

Message 9 of 14
See Most Recent

It's a sign that......

Anonymous
Not applicable

As a kid in Holland we always had ice on the canals every winter and we could look forward to weeks of ice skating. It was great fun and we couldn't wait to get the all clear for the thickness of the ice so we could go on it. Canals everywhere, so kids and adults had a great time in winter.

That has become a thing of the past as well. It's rare now to have all the canals frozen over so it can hold hundreds of skaters. Not that you would get me on skates now, but practically everyone could skate in those days. I wonder how many kids can still do it in Holland.

 

Message 10 of 14
See Most Recent

It's a sign that......

I can remember coming over from Jersey to stay with relatives for a while in Paignton when I was 12. Lots of snow came, the area being quite remote where the snow stayed for ages. They had a long driveway. I went to the top slid all the way down straight into a flowerpot. Head first. Woman Frustrated My nickname from then on was 'flowerpot'.  Woman LOL

Message 11 of 14
See Most Recent

It's a sign that......

If I remember correctly, the dog used to look like this and I didn't look much better...........what a pair we were.

 

 

Image result for cocker spaniel in snow

Message 12 of 14
See Most Recent

It's a sign that......

I wasn't born in 1963, so I obviously don't recall that.

 

The worse winters I've encountered were in Shetland. 2009 was really bad. I lived in an isolated cottage along a single track road. The 100 yard driveway was really steep as the cottage was part way up a hillside, so I had to park the car at the bottom and walk up. Eventually it got so bad that the road also became undriveable and the cars wheels just spun out, so I had to park my car just off the main road and walk the 2 miles along the road each morning and night. I was lit only by the moonlight and my torch, there was no phone signal and very rarely any other people. If I'd had slipped and hurt myself, I'd have been a gonna! There were frequent bilzzards that year and driving in a white out is no fun; you can hardly see in front of you, but can't stop because someone would probably run into the back fo you.

A local told me that I would get snowed in there and coming from a city, I thought no, this is 2009, no one gets snowed in any more! Man Embarassed

 

The following year I flew in from Inverness quite late because we were stranded there for 2 days. We eventually took off and had to land in Orkney before flying onward. It was late at night and the airport was 30 miles from my home. The gritters on Shetland stopped working at 6pm each night so I knew it was going to be bad...... and it was. My car was quite sporty and the front spoiler acted more like a snow plough than a roadholding device. 40 minutes and just 5 miles later I gave up and settled down to sleep in the car that night and until the gritters turned up the next morning. I phoned a friend to let them know where I was and like a couple of superheroes they came and rescued me! Man LOL

Message 13 of 14
See Most Recent

It's a sign that......

I remember '63.  I was 13.  Walked a mile and a half to school each day and a mile and a half back. The school boiler broke down and we sat all day in our coats.  These days,schools are closed.   You get a quarter of an inch of snow, and the whole country grinds to a halt.  63 was the year the sea froze.

..........................................................................................................

crooksnanny ~ maz
Message 14 of 14
See Most Recent