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Take it from one who had to learn rather quickly – snowy conditions require special life skills. These seem to be life skills that many of you lovelies here in Britain do not seem to have. I have been sitting here quietly giggling at the ineptitude of Britain and Brits when it comes to dealing with snow. Forgive me, I know it’s a bit mean to laugh, but you guys really do not seem to know how to handle over an inch of snow at a time! From clearing snow to what to wear, to what type of grit to use, to how to walk in it to how to drive in it – I have a bit of snow advice for Britons.
When I first arrived in England, and was living in Huddersfield, I used to look down from my living room window at people taking short cuts through the alleyway under my flat. Now the first time I laughed was when I saw this lovely, fashionable lady with the most beautiful patent over-the-knee stiletto-heeled CFMQ boots trying to walk quickly through the alleyway. Now the reason I laughed, was this – the alleyway was the one road in central Huddersfield (I say that like Huddersfield is huge…but it’s definitely not…but anyhoo…) that was never cleared – I mean not even once in the 8 months or so that I lived there… And on this particular day, there was at least 4″ (100cm) of solid, packed down ice along the alleyway – and as anyone with snow experience *ahem Canadians* can tell you, even the most successful ice hockey player may have difficulty walking along this type ice in the manner in which this lady was attempting to – at least, without ice skates or something to assist with the slipperiness…. Needless to say, like a wicked stepmother, I stood there for at least 10 minutes seeing this woman slipping and sliding along the alleyway which would usually take you about 30 seconds to walk briskly through and dying laughing in between slips…oops…sips…of tea. Yes I laughed and yes I as nice and warm and comfy with my cup of tea in my warm living room and yes I stood and watched her progress slowly all the way along the alleyway…hanging onto pipes and houses along the way. Yes I’m going to hell.
Now what should this lady have done differently? Okay Brits, since the climate is changing and you are obviously going to be getting much more snow than usual, listen to me. There comes a point when it is cold enough and snowy enough when fashion goes out the door. Londoners, and Brits as a whole, have this amazingly beautiful, quirky and absolutely FANTASTIC fashion style – but honestly, at some point, fashion has to go out the door for the sake of warmth, bodily safety and general sanity. Stiletto boots on ice? A no no unless you’re some sort of acrobat or love risking your life…..then again….maybe you are a risk seeker?
Listen – these days there are even more options in shoes as possible. You can still get your high boots that are snow-friendly – ie – FLAT and if you’re “too short” (in your mind anyways), then think of possibly getting your flat heeled, over-the-knee booties with an extremely short skirt or shorts or skorts with thermal tights underneath. Unless you work/are doing outdoor work you should be fine running from heated indoor space to heated indoor space. If you are going to be outside – well darling, the last thing you should be worried about is fashion. KEEP WARM, KEEP COVERED, KEEP HEALTHY. And a plus? If you can find a pair of winter boots with crazy grips and a rubber sole. Seriously. These things exist for a reason. Rubber soles give you a lot more grip on any and all winter surfaces (I did not say it allows you to run on packed ice) and the higher the ridges, the deeper the snow you can run through. Seems obvious, but apparently is not for a few oblivious people.
A few weeks ago, when I first decided to write this post because I woke up to about 3″ (about 76mm) of snow laying on the ground.
The Canadian in me went nuts.
I started grinning and I’ve not gotten dressed that fast in forever – nor taken that many photos of the white stuff…well…ever!! I did not realize that I missed the snow that much, but I walked up the high street stopping and taking snow photos and ignoring all the weird looks and stares I got as I grinned and clicked my way up the high street and even around the bus stop as I waited for 45 minutes for the bus (that said it was only 6 minutes away for the entire 45 minutes).
In fact, I was still admiring it and grinning when I had to cancel my site visit and when I walked back DOWN the high street (popping into Costa to warm up my now frozen tootsies – even my non-Canadian (as opposed to my mega insulated Canadian) winter boots won’t keep you that warm if you keep jumping in and out of the snow just to take photos and feel the snow crunch – to the train station because it seemed that the bus was just never going to make it.
Do I really have to explain to you what happens to traffic in Britain when it snows? Okay – maybe you Canadians and Trinis etc. may need somethign to compare it to. Trinis, you know that first storm of rainy season? Or Canadians, that first snow that stays on the ground in winter? You know how people seem to somehow forget how to drive or seem to drive as if precipitation would pop the tires of your car if it touches it directly? You know those ridiculous traffic jams that happen because drivers are panicking and subconciously thinking “Oh my God what is that stuff on the road? Water? Is it the end of the world? Are we all gonna die?!?!”? Yeah – that.
Anyway – that was my second experience with snow – and it was just amusing to me to see the Londoners in New Malden running away from the snow and holding HUGE brollies (umbrellas) as they focused on the ground and walked along in a rush as city dwellers do. Now I am saying this was a bit ridiculous because,
1) It was so fricking beautiful. You know that white snow? Not slush like in cities – but the freshly fallen, crisp, powder white snow?! Geezam it was like that – how could you put your head down and run away from that?! (okay rant over) Anyway – the point is – when it is snowy and cold, try to concentrate on the magical beauty and wonder of it. It just takes a little adjustment in perspective.
2) The temperature was MILDER – yes people, when it snows, the temperature goes up – it’s just simple physics. Don’t believe me? Google it.
3) The snow was DRY – it was lovely flakey little white romantic fairyland snow – NOT the crap freezing rain (that you sometimes get in Ontario) or hail (which we had gotten a few days before – I know cause I was arguing with the Luv Luv outdoors when suddenly I went “WTF is that HAIL?!” and lost my entire line of thought for the argument…..yes I’m a bit crazy….plus it was freezing.
4) Shoot – speaking of trains of thought…what was I saying (reminder to self – stop watching the Voice while writing blog…)
Oh and then I found a bench with pigeons….
And got this photo of the empty bench, which for some reason enthralls me every time I look at it…perhaps my photo-taking outer skills are starting to show?!
Anyways – the Londoners were funny. I did appreciate the few of them who were taking advantage of the snow and having snow ball fights though – cause you know what? It was the perfect sorta snow for that! I was hoping it would last all day so that I would come home to a plethora of little snowmen and women in front of my apartment building but by lunch time it was all gone I think cause I could see grass when I got home – and no snowmen
Anyway – I had forgotten about the blog until yesterday a friend who moved to Barrie, Ontario around the same time that I moved to Huddersfield put a video up (and if you’re reading this, yes this is a bit of an admonishment but also something I HAVE to write about). On facebook she recently recorded her first “white out” experience. If you don’t know what that is, imagine this. You’re driving. Snow is all around – I mean ALL AROUND – you know what you imagine a blizzard is? Multiply it by….um.. maybe ten. It’s blizzard condition with the perfect atmospheric environment that make it seem like you’re driving through the thickest cloud you can think of – and it’s constantly moving and making your tires slip, and by the time your wipers wipe one layer away another has already replaced it, in fact some of it is icing up on the corners of the windscreen and you can barely see the lights of the car ahead of you, your stress levels are high cause you can feel the tires un-gripping from the road because of the masses of sow moving below the tires (much less in the air!!!)! Oops sorry – got carried away there with one long sentence. But that is possibly an okay version of a description of a white out.
So anyway, this friend was experiencing her first one and she videoed it with her phone and commented that she was terrified (perfectly normal) and could only think of getting her daughter , who was strapped into her carseat in the back, home safely, soundly and all in one piece. And having been in a similar position (sans daughter), I know how stressful it could be. Then she mentioned something (I cannot remember what) that made me think she was taking this video while driving through the white out.
Oh.
My.
God.
Now I hope I’m wrong (and no this is not a reflection on her) because we are all so fricking attached to our phones etc, that we don’t think. I’m guilty of it too – almost stepped in front of the bus the other day cause I was on my phone messaging my Trini friend and luckily saw the bus out of the corner of my eye and stopped myself from crossing. I admonished myself then too.
Anyway – the point is – if you’re in blizzard conditions and driving (especially on a major highway/freeway), your friends do not need to see EXACTLY what you are seeing so PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE pay attention to the road and not to the amazing masses of snow that are appearing around you no matter how ethereal or beautiful or scary or amazing it is!
So…to recap (because I think I got distracted a lot!!) and a few extra tips:
1) Wear proper shoes – preferably with rubber soles and as big grips as possible
2) Fashion has to go out the window when it gets beyond frigid or when there are huge masses of snow
3) Stay warm, stay healthy, stay safe
4) Take it easy on ice – it’s much better to arrive late or not go than to hurt yourself or worse.
5) Pedestrians, cars and trucks are MUCH heavier than you and may not be able to stop properly in icy conditions, so even if the light tells you to go, wait until they are at a full stop before stepping out in front of them.
Oh and I know I’ve posted this somewhere on this blog before – but always take winter and snow with a touch of humour…for example…(and yes, you are allowed to laugh)
Do you have any other suggestions on how to deal with icy/snowy conditions?
- ...just trying to navigate through this obstacle course called life...
