Britain paralysed by the Big Freeze

BRITAIN’s travel network has been paralysed by the latest instalment of the big freeze, leaving many cars stuck in mammoth traffic jams; sporting fixtures cancelled and frustrated passengers trapped in airport terminals.

CHAOS: Frustrated passengers vent their anger at Heathrow

Only a handful of flights have left the busiest European airport all weekend, as Heathrow was hit significantly by the snow.  However, they have been severely criticised by its lack of snow strategy and lack of communication.  For the third consecutive day, the reputation of Heathrow airport has been buried in the tons of snow and ice.  It is a national embarrassment and the transport secretary Phillip Hammond is taking a lot of stick to explain Heathrow’s halts.

With hotels fully booked up, thousands of passengers have slept on the floors of airport terminals for the weekend, with some operators like Thomson being heavily criticised by disgruntled customers for not giving their passengers blankets and pillows.  Other airport operators such as British Airways and Monarch have also been taking stick of a lack of simple supplies to stranded passengers.  Today, BAA has said that travellers should not head for Heathrow unless their flight is definitely confirmed. 

LACK: Planes are not leaving Heathrow, almost grounded

There may be a mammoth task to clear the sheet rinks of ice across the runways, but at Gatwick, they have dealt far better.  Under new owners, it puts far more scrutiny on BAA and Heathrow for being inadequately prepared.  Getting into the UK also seem to be as much of a problem as getting out, with heavy backlogs on Saturday at Birmingham airport after the luggage conveyor belts broke down.  The backlog across the country has also led to heavy disruption at Luton, Belfast, Exeter and Aberdeen airports amongst others.  Further delays and cancellations in the coming days are expected. 

It isn’t just the aviation industry that has suffered, as the trains have also been badly hit.  Today, queues of upto five hours built up outside Eurostar’s St. Pancreas station in London.  It is running a limited service, and has already said that no more tickets will be sold before Christmas Eve at the earliest.  Some London Underground tube services have been affected, but they were mainly back to normal today.  London Midland, Virgin Trains and other railways across East Anglia have also been slated for inadequate information.  Like the planes, it is advisable to check with National Rail before travelling.

The roads have also suffered a catalogue of problems, thanks to crashes, stranded cars and jack-knifed Lorries.  The M4 and M25 have been often left at a standstill and it took four hours for me to be navigated home from the University of Northampton on Saturday night.  This is a journey through the M1 to Milton Keynes that traditionally takes no more than 40 minutes.  The gritters are working around the clock, but some councils are already warning that they are running out of supplies. 

FROZEN: Heavy snow at the Emirates postponed Arsenal's game

Sporting fixtures have been practically wiped out for safety reasons.  The Premiership top of the table clash at Stamford Bridge between Chelsea and Manchester United was postponed yesterday, with games at West Brom, Blackpool, Wigan Athletic, Liverpool, Arsenal and Birmingham City all falling foul to the weather.  Tonight’s Premiership match at Eastlands goes ahead, as Manchester City aim to go top by beating Everton.  Rugby fixtures and horse racing meetings have also been severely hit, with doubts over the King George VI beating the weather at Kempton on Boxing Day. 

ALONE: A cyclist braves the bitter weather in Brighton

The amount of snow on Saturday was the heaviest that the country has seen for any December since 1990.  If the trend continues, we are set for the coldest December since 1910, when records began.  Temperatures have plummeted as low as -20 degrees in some areas of the Midlands and there are still severe weather warnings in place for Yorkshire, the North East of England and Scotland.  The shadow Home Secretary Allan Johnston thinks that Hammond should resign.  He told Sky; “On this area, don’t forget, Scotland’s transport secretary resigned.  It is a big issue when people believe the government has left them to it: ‘Get a shovel or stay at home.”  “Governing is about more than that when you hit a crisis.” 

Hammond has though been defended by the Foreign Secretary William Hague, who admitted that; “We might have to look at this again if these things are to occur frequently.”

Whatever the outcome and whoever is to blame, it seems like many families Christmas plans have been well and truly ruined.

Snow returns . . . and it's set to stay

WINTER has definitely arrived and so too has the snow.  Worse still, the Met Office has predicted that this cold snap will last for another ten days at the minimum. 

Police have urged drivers to only drive in these tricky conditions if it is absolutely necessary.  Those living in the North East of England have currently experienced the worst of the wintery conditions.  In some areas, upto five inches of snow have fallen in less than two hours.  Temperatures across the UK have struggle to rise about freezing, dropping to as low as -17 degrees in Wales overnight, the coldest ever temperature in November on record.

FOUL: Cars have fallen to the conditions in Scotland

Luckily, there hasn’t been any reports of major incidents this weekend, largely as the gritting services seem to have been well prepared in advance, and the lack of rush to get to places from commuters.  That could very well change at the start of this week, with heavy snow forecast for Monday evening in many regions.  Winds from the North East are keeping the temperature down and the snow to fall on a constant basis.  Currently, the Met Office has severe weather warnings in place throughout East Anglia, Scotland, Northern Ireland, London, Yorkshire and the South East.  The AA has reported an 80% surge in calls of breakdowns over the course of the weekend, a staggering statistic.

SPIRIT: Communities are pulling together to help out

Health workers are urging people to check on vulnerable neighbours, to make sure that they have all the possible services available to them, such as proper heating and plenty of hot drinks.  Flights are likely to be affected at many of the largest airports in the coming days, especially Stanstead, Newcastle and Manchester.  Trains are likely to be badly hit too, with the 24-hour tube strike being held right now, just adding to the misery for many commuters.  The sporting programme has been hit, although all key rugby union autumn internationals and Premiership football matches went ahead.  Two FA Cup ties (at Hartlepool and Notts County) fell foul to the weather, as did some of the programme in Scotland and several horse racing meetings.

 

Residents in the UK will be used to the white stuff, last winter was the coldest for a long time and snow also caused chaos at the start of 2009.  However, the timing of this snow has caught many by surprise.  This is the earliest time that snow has fallen on a constant basis since 1993.  The big chill is here and it will please some, particularly schoolchildren, who could be set for a number of days off.  However, this cold snap will bite and bite hard.  The UK is bracing itself for more sub-zero temperatures and I’d say, get prepared for it, because it will hang around for a good while. . . 

Snow Returns - Bringing Tragedy & Carnage

Just when everyone thought that the winter wonderland or winter nightmare, whatever way you think was over, more came over the past week, causing carnage in areas of Scotland and Northern Ireland, but also bringing tragedy to a family, her friends and a community.

17-year old Natasha Paton was tragically killed in a coach crash in the early hours of Wednesday morning, when a school trip went ahead, despite severe warnings of hazardous conditions from the police.  Lanark Grammar School decided to proceed with the outing to the Alton Towers theme park in Staffordshire, and have received a barrage of criticism from parents and fellow pupils.  All have expressed their anger that the trip was allowed to set off from the school in the first place, considering the dangerous conditions around.

Having left the school at 5.30am in the morning, approximately twenty minutes into the 500-mile trip to the theme park, the coach plunged into a river, following the atrocious snowstorms that paralysed Southern Scotland.  Thirty-eight pupils, five teachers and the coach driver were taken to hospital, all treated for injuries.  Five remain in hospital, all said to be in a stable condition.  Strathclyde police insisted the conditions were ‘horrendous, and the snow had a major part to play in the crash.’  It is unclear whether the children, including Natasha were wearing the standardised seatbelts at the time of the crash, though that speculation is seen as unnecessary at such a tragic time for everyone involved.

The parents of Natasha Paton are said to be ‘devastated at the loss of our beloved daughter.’  The school opened yesterday, for specialised counselling and a special assembly of remembrance.  Known as a keen follower of Chelsea football club and a fan of social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, Natasha was said by many to be ‘always happy, wearing a smile on her face.’  Her loss will be felt by many, some as a completely unavoidable incident, should the trip have not happened. 

Meanwhile, across the UK, storms have affected many parts of the country and are set to continue throughout the Easter weekend, boosting the number of the 2million holidaymakers battling to getaway for the weekend, for a trip abroad.  Forecasters have described the weekend to be ‘cold, wet and windy.’  Scotland and Northern Ireland have been almost paralysed completely by the snow, with the Environment Agency putting in seventeen flood warnings in place.  72,000 homes have no power, after numerous power lines came down, with some areas suffering 20 inches of snow falling, even more on higher grounds.

What a wonderful start it is to British Summer Time, it is making a real mockery of the calendar, but that doesn’t matter to the friends and family of Natasha Paton, a young girl, whose ambitions have been taken away in such tragic circumstances.  I only can express my sorrow and condolences to the Paton family for this horrific incident, as the winter chill continues to bite us all in the most worst imaginable ways possible.

2009 - The Year In Review (Part 1)

This was first posted on January 20th at http://happydude88.livejournal.com

                    

2009 was a year full of drama and tragedy, sadness and controversy, dreams fulfilled and shattered. Star icons passed on, cheating dominated sport and politics was gripped by its worst scandal ever.

January saw history made as Barack Obama became president of the United States, fulfilling a dream of Martin Luther King over 40 years ago. Over 2million flocked to California for the inauguration. After eight years of torture under the Bush administration, the US once again was seen as a country that could change the world for the better. Back home, Woolworths – one of the well-loved chains shut at the start of 2009. Entertainment chain Zaavi and clothing giant USC also went bust.

February bought some the worst snow seen in the UK in fifteen years. In typical British fashion, everything came to a standstill. The transport network shutdown and hundreds of thousands of school shut. At the Oscars, Slumdog Millionaire, directed by Brit Danny Boyle stormed the show, winning eight Oscars. Back home, former Grange Hill actor Todd Carty won thousands of fans for his skating inability on ITV’s Dancing on Ice. RBS announced their biggest loss of £24.1billion in February. Once again, the government bailed out a bank in trouble, with our money! Later, it was revealed that greedy banker and former chief executive of RBS, Sir Fred Goodwin would earn a massive pension for the rest of his life. After public pressure, he stepped down and following attacks on his home, handed most of his pension back.

As spring arrived, Jade Goody’s lengthy battle with cancer came to a brave and gusty end. The former Big Brother star, who got married infront of the cameras passed away on Mother ’s Day. March also saw the announcement of Michael Jackson’s final concerts at the 02 Arena in London in the summer. ‘This is it, it is the final curtain call’ were words that came back to hit him and us later in 2009. Tickets sold out for the July concerts in record-breaking time. Peter Mandelson was pelted with green custard by a protestor, something that was silly, but pleasing to watch! Home Secretary Jacqui Smith came under severe pressure when revelations came out that her husband had claimed on expenses for adult movies. Her husband apologised, but it failed to save Smith, who was forced to step down.

                    

April was the month the world was introduced to 47-year old Susan Boyle. Susan’s incredible ‘I Dreamed a Dream’ audition on ITV’s Britain’s Got Talent became the most popular video with over 300million hits on YouTube and turned her from a complete unknown, into an overnight global superstar. The Obamas headed for their first visit to London, with Barack stopping off for the controversial G20 summit at Docklands. Many angry protestors clashed violently with police and their strong-arm tactics were heavily called into question by the general public. Ian Tomlinson, on his way home from work was tragically a victim of the heavy-hitting police tactics. On the other side of the world, Madonna went over to Malawi in her attempts to adopt another child. Reservations were made by many people, but the singer got her way on an appeal, mainly due to donating a lot of money to a Malawian charity.

The original I’m A Celebrity lovebirds, Peter Andre and Jordan announced the end of their fairytale marriage in May. After months of speculation and insults, the pair went onto a quickie divorce. Peter has come out a winner and Jordan as a hate figure with the public, who quickly became bored with the party antics again. TV couple Richard & Judy also ended their tenure as a double act after their chatshow failure on digital TV station Watch! It was a miserable month for Mexico, as its tourist industry was wiped out by a new flu pandemic that had everyone panicking again. ‘Swine Flu’ became an immediate concern and a new fear in our everyday lives. In sport, Manchester United wrapped up another Premiership crown, equalling Liverpool’s long-standing record of 18 league titles.

The biggest political scandal in history came out in the summer as the Daily Telegraph went on a relentless campaign of naming and shaming MP’s for their Expenses. It was shameful, deceitful, very damaging and made the bankers look like gods. Several MP’s resigned and many others lost a load of creditability. Gordon Brown survived a petition by his own party, but for how much longer will he remain as our dopey Prime Minister.

In June, the world was stunned into complete shock by the tragic death of the ‘King of Pop,’ Michael Jackson. MJ was pronounced dead after a heart attack at his home in Los Angeles. The public emotion across the globe was felt everywhere. An outpouring of emotion saw many of his classic singles go back to the top of the charts and an emotional memorial in the States was watched by millions around the planet. At Wimbledon, Andy Murray lifted our spirits as we started to believe that he might go all the way at SW19. American Andy Roddick dumped him out in the semi-finals to leave British hopes dashed for the umpteenth time. Swiss star Roger Federer went on to an emotional triumph, beating Roddick in an epic five-set final to break Pete Sampras long-standing record of fifteen Grand Slam titles. This was with the great Sampras in attendance too.