TV News Showing the Obvious

The house drive in the glow of the mercury street lighting, about one minute time exposure photograph, around 7.15 pm today 8/1/10 and about four inches of snow in the road. Canon EOS 40D 18mm on tripod.

I commented on a fellow bloggers excellent blog today that I thought the snow was old news now and the TV news should be more helpful in giving advice about how to manage and cope and how to help others instead of reporting the usual driver struggling to get uphill or seeing a lorry jack-knifed across the main roads. Interesting but not helpful.

I always feel sorry for these reporters, sent to isolated villages and locations all over the country, stood in a foot of snow with red noses and kids making obscene gestures in the background in the freezing cold reporting on what we can all see out of our windows. Still, I've been in at work early every day this week, getting up early (I am NOT usually an early morning person) in anticipation of struggling to get to work. In fairness, despite a lot of criticism of the local authorities here in terms of gritting, the roads have been great at 7 am, clear with no laying snow.

Hessle Square, East Yorkshire, just after dropping the prescription off, around 3.30 pm today 8/1/10 and about half an hours worth of steady snow on the ground. Lumix DMC-TZ65, wide angle

Leaving early just as dusk arrives is good as well, except tonight I left work at 3 pm and a twelve minute journey took an hour and a half. I made the mistake of dropping a repeat prescription off at the quacks on the way and when I tried to get home the normal way which is uphill, a bus had skidded broadside across the road and was stuck. I managed to detour and that was a mistake too because it took me 25 minutes to get up the main Boothferry Road in Hessle (one of the main arterial roads out of the city of Hull to the west) , a distance of around 800 metres. The snow had laid fresh, been compacted by the traffic and turned into an ice rink - literally.

The funny thing, if it can be described as funny is that all these big expensive powerful rear wheel drive saloon cars, among them today a BMW, a Mercedes and a Rover couldn't make the slight incline and skidded all over the place. All the other little cars were doing great and fortunately, kind hearted good citizens walking past were helping these big cars to stay on the road and get them going by pushing... well done pedestrians. That was not an experience I enjoyed. My lad took nearly three hours to travel seven miles on the way home tonight.

A weekend in front of the fire, reading, drawing, exercising and playing with my grown up kids on the Wii is definitely on the cards, all going towards getting the New Year resolutions off to a positive start.
Heads Lane Hessle, East Yorkshire and the back of the house with cars crawling by on the packed ice. A time exposure photograph of around two minutes around 7.30 pm tonight, 8/1/10. Canon EOS 40D 18mm on tripod.

A friend told me today that his son had got a job at the bowling alley. "Ten-pin?" I asked. "No," he replied, "It's permanent."

Keep warm and safe and if you can do a neighbour or friend a good deed in this difficult time, give it a go.

Chat soon

Ta-ra