Tim W wrote:
Tim Streater
wibbled on Wednesday 06 January 2010 10:42


And I may say that the 1963 conditions didn't stop me delivering
newspapers (I had a long round from Crawley up to near Gatwick on the
A23) *or* getting to school (which didn't close). Mind you, to be fair
we had something like 8" on New Year's Day which then took until March
to melt. And it was the wrong type of snow for snowballs as it didn't
stick when you squeezed it.


I vaguely recall that my school was probably only closed for about 1 day
ever due to people not being able to get in. It did close a few other days
in bad weather, but that was due to the heating breaking down (ah, council
maintained boilers....)

These days, it seems to be several days each year. Trouble is half the staff
in our local school live miles away and the half that live locally can't
open the school, presumably because they can't technically cover all the
required functions. It's such a little school that they could run the place
with half a dozen staff and merge down to 3 classes if they *really* had to
(less than a hundred pupils total, covering ages 5-12).

Having had a job, for three years, as site supervisor, the problem is
the alarm code and the door locks and nothing else. Only the site
supervisor, the head and deputy head knew the code. All the other
teachers had to wait for the code to be entered.

The door locks were duplicated with only the designated key holder being
able to undo the first lock. The second lock was able to be un-locked by
anyone given a key for it. i.e. all the staff.

Dave

ARWadsworth wrote:

I remember my secondary school sending everyone home at dinnertime in
December 1986.
The heating worked it was just the snow.

Ah! So you are just a pup then :-)

Dave

Dave wrote:

Steve Firth wrote:
snip

More point to all the people who flagged me down and earnestly told me I
would "never get that big thing up/down that hill" every one of them was
wrong.

I'll bet it had Rover somewhere in its name :-)

Umm no, it's a Ford. And it's not a tractor. My tractor doesn't have
wheels.

mark wrote:

Someone mention ****s?
Example of a nice big cosy 4X4:

Are you alleging that I live in Norfolk? Last time I checked I had one
head and five digits on the end of each limb so I can't be a Boggie.

On 6 Jan 2010 17:54:43 GMT, Adrian wrote:

The temperature is only 0 degrees C.

WTF is going on? It can't be black ice. It's not cold enough.

The air may only be 0C but the ground can be several degress lower.
This is why cars fitted with ice warning kit trigger it with an air
temp around 4C. The ground radiates heat and with no cloud cover it
just disappears into outer space and the ground gets colder and
colder. 10 degrees below air temp is very possible. Clouds absorb the
radiated ground heat and radiate it back warming the ground. Not
without losses of course which is why it cools at night.

It's because the rubber in your stone cold tyres is failing to grip the
tarmac properly.

That as well. The tyres I had on until I bought a set of proper
winter tyres(*) had noticeably less grip below about 5C on dry roads,
wet and it was bit dangerous as they became unpredictable. As for
their performance on snow the car might as well have been fitted with
slicks!

(*) Blooming glad I did with 18" of snow outside... Magic, snow
covered 1:7 up hill, no problem. B-)

--
Cheers
Dave.

"Dave" wrote in message
...
ARWadsworth wrote:

I remember my secondary school sending everyone home at dinnertime in
December 1986.
The heating worked it was just the snow.

Ah! So you are just a pup then :-)

Dave

My girlfriend calls me old.

Adam

"Tim Streater" wrote in message
o.uk...
On 06/01/2010 10:38, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
Neil wrote:
de-lurk

Oh come on guys

Whilst I realise you lot in the UK think you have more snow than I
have in this bit of Switzerland, it really isn't too hard to get
about-ever!

M&S (No, not the shop, just Mud + Snow tyres) will get an ordinary car
most places, add snow chains and everywhere is possible without recourse
to a Chelsea Tractor with the penalties of VED/MPG/CO2 and guilt...


they will, IF you can afford to get a set of winter wheels.

In continental Europe, such things are commonly available.

Here they are not.

This is not an annual event for us. In fact I've not seen it like this
since 1963.

And I may say that the 1963 conditions didn't stop me delivering
newspapers (I had a long round from Crawley up to near Gatwick on the A23)
*or* getting to school (which didn't close). Mind you, to be fair we had
something like 8" on New Year's Day which then took until March to melt.
And it was the wrong type of snow for snowballs as it didn't stick when
you squeezed it.

--
Tim


1963 and a few other years here.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8443400.stm

The government should make winter an annual event. That way the journos
would not have a fit when it turns cold.

Adam

Jules formulated on Wednesday :
To be fair, that happens here too sometimes, even though we *know* we're
going to be snow-covered for several months of the year. I suppose that
below a certain number of teachers, they can't run the whole school (as
you say) - but merging classes doesn't really help as it diverts too much
from the planned teaching to really be useful; it's no great loss just to
shut the place.

The loss is that the parent(s) have to change their plans and maybe not
go into work.

--
Regards,
Harry (M1BYT) (L)
http://www.ukradioamateur.co.uk

Owain wrote:
On 5 Jan, 23:19, Dave wrote:
Might be easier to get a replacement missus.
Mmmm, I considered this for a few moments, but how long would it take me
to train her in sexual education?

Pick the right one and she would be able to train you! ;-)

I groan in anticipation :-)

Dave

Steve Firth wrote:
Dave wrote:

how long would it take me
to train her in sexual education?

About five minutes if you leave her around Portsmouth.

RAOTFLMAO

What is it about Portsmouth that brings this up with such regularity?

I have seen more night life in Manchester than I have in Pompey.

Dave

geoff wrote:
In message , Dave
writes
I have to travel from Preston Lancs. to Portsmouth to bring my wife
back home. I have until Friday night to get her back.

Due to the severe weather we are experiencing and the short time I
have to prepare, can anyone recommend a web site that will be up to
date, quite quickly, on road conditions and closures due to the
weather conditions please?

Motorways - frixo

will give you real time speeds for the m6, m1 m25 etc

lets start with the m6

http://www.frixo.com/m6-south.asp

Thanks for that, I'll transfer that to the crappy lappy I am taking with me

Dave

Terry Fields wrote:
Dave wrote:

I have to travel from Preston Lancs. to Portsmouth to bring my wife back
home. I have until Friday night to get her back.

Due to the severe weather we are experiencing and the short time I have
to prepare, can anyone recommend a web site that will be up to date,
quite quickly, on road conditions and closures due to the weather
conditions please?

Dave

What did you decide to do: attempt the journey or suggest YBH comes
home by train?

I am tentatively going to try and bring her back home. The slightest
hitch and I will do a U turn and come back home myself.

I'm getting too old to be doing this sort of run.

Dave

Roger Mills wrote:
In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Dave wrote:

I have to travel from Preston Lancs. to Portsmouth to bring my wife
back home. I have until Friday night to get her back.

Due to the severe weather we are experiencing and the short time I
have to prepare, can anyone recommend a web site that will be up to
date, quite quickly, on road conditions and closures due to the
weather conditions please?

Dave


No, but have considered getting her to travel back by train to save the
double road journey in potentially difficult conditions?

I reckon that a ticket on the day will cost well in excess of £200-00. I
Can't see her paying that, as she thinks of me as a free lift back.

Dave the mug.

Terry Fields wrote:
Dave wrote:

I have to travel from Preston Lancs. to Portsmouth to bring my wife back
home. I have until Friday night to get her back.

Due to the severe weather we are experiencing and the short time I have
to prepare, can anyone recommend a web site that will be up to date,
quite quickly, on road conditions and closures due to the weather
conditions please?

Dave

Go he

http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/hi/default.stm

Pick a region that you'll be travelling through, e.g.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/hampshire/hi/

Click on the Live Jam Cams link:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/hampshire/travel/jamcams/

Click on a camera. This one in the Portsmouth area looks grim:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/hampshire/webca...=bbc_new_south

Get some mobile broadband so you can check the road ahead when you
stop for a break.

Are you sure you need to travel? Even the trains are giving up.

HTH

Noted and printed, as they are coming through too fast.

Dave

Terry Fields wrote:
Terry Fields wrote:

Dave wrote:

I have to travel from Preston Lancs. to Portsmouth to bring my wife back
home. I have until Friday night to get her back.

Due to the severe weather we are experiencing and the short time I have
to prepare, can anyone recommend a web site that will be up to date,
quite quickly, on road conditions and closures due to the weather
conditions please?

Dave
Go he

http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/hi/default.stm

Pick a region that you'll be travelling through, e.g.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/hampshire/hi/

Click on the Live Jam Cams link:

Apologies, they're called Live Traffic Cams but they bring up a Jam
Cam page.

This is the current scene from the camera nearest your daughter:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/hampshire/webca...=bbc_new_south

Nobody's about....sure you want to travel?

No, but it has become a family duty :-(((((((((( Do I need to go on?

Dave the survivor.

Usenet Nutter wrote:
On Wed, 06 Jan 2010 00:09:47 +0000, Terry Fields
wrote:

Terry Fields wrote:

Dave wrote:

I have to travel from Preston Lancs. to Portsmouth to bring my wife back
home. I have until Friday night to get her back.
Someone on BBC News travelling from Poole to Lee on Solent

Prolly the M27

and he is
on a m/way ( missed which one ) but it's taking him forever to
complete his journey because ,in his words ,he hit a wall of snow.

The problem with the Southerners is that if they see a flake of snow
they whinge about being snowed in.

Dave

Steve Firth wrote:
Usenet Nutter wrote:

Someone on BBC News travelling from Poole to Lee on Solent and he is
on a m/way ( missed which one )

M27

but it's taking him forever to complete his journey because ,in his words
,he hit a wall of snow.

No, it's taking him forever because it's been closed between Southampton
and Fareham for most of the evening. Not the snow per se, just divots
driving too fast and not leaving enough braking distance.

It's not like you to call them divots. Are you well and OK there?

So that is what I might have to put up with tomorrow then.

Dave

Dave wrote:

Steve Firth wrote:
Dave wrote:

how long would it take me
to train her in sexual education?

About five minutes if you leave her around Portsmouth.

RAOTFLMAO

What is it about Portsmouth that brings this up with such regularity?

Umm, it's the home of both the Navy and the Marines. Does it need more
than that to set the scene?

In article om, Jules
scribeth thus
On Wed, 06 Jan 2010 09:14:38 +0000, TheOldFellow wrote:
The HGV mob are not any better at driving in it,
but create bigger blockages.

Hmm, what year was it when the M11/A14 ground to a standstill and lots of
people were stuck there for hours?

ISTR that it was Jan 30 ish 2005 . A mate of mine was manning a small
local radio station on that night giving out a lot of essential local
info for people who were stranded after the mobile networks broke down
and fell over etc...

I was still in the UK then, and have
some nice photos of HGVs - when it was already clear that things were
going to get very ugly - trying in vain to get up an ungritted slip-road
and off the motorway.

Problem was on that night that the gritters weren't out soon enough and
were stuck -in- Cambridge!. M11 jammed up and traffic built up on roads
out of town. Like it does now most of the time - even without the snow
and grit;!.


A couple had already fallen off the edge of the road (it was one of those
that loops around and goes over a bridge across the motorway) and several
more had simply ground to a halt and were partially blocking the road.

By 8 or 9pm nothing was moving on that entire road - it was
standstill traffic all the way (I knew a route through back-roads, but
could still see the main road)

cheers

Jules


--
Tony Sayer

Dave wrote:

No, it's taking him forever because it's been closed between Southampton
and Fareham for most of the evening. Not the snow per se, just divots
driving too fast and not leaving enough braking distance.

It's not like you to call them divots. Are you well and OK there?

Yeah, I'm fine thanks Dave. I had a long trip home yesterday. Close to
four hours to go 15 miles. The problem was the divots. The A32 rises and
falls as it crosses the Downs and people driving too fast and too close
had numerous smashes leading the roads being completely closed. I sat
for a time in a queue until I worked out that something was badly wrong
then I turned around and took to the lanes running parallel to the main
road. These are even steeper than the 'A' road and drivers had tried
using the routes in cars that couldn't make it up the hills.

I ended up taking numerous diversions including green lanes to get
around the areas where drivers had simply walked away from their cars
leaving them blockign the road. Incredible selfishness IMO.

I offered to tow a couple of people out of their self-imposed misery but
the first one refused any help and the second didn't know how to attach
the towing eye to their car. I ended up pushing it up hill with the aid
of a couple of farmers. Our motive wasn't entirely altruistic, we wanted
to get past. Even then the driver was thoughtless as she turned the rear
windscreen wiper on and showered us with snow, and she was unable to
grasp the concept of starting in second gear and being gentle with the
clutch so it wasn't going anywhere fast. In the end we pushed it into a
passing place and suggested she walk home since she said she lived just
800 yards away.

So that is what I might have to put up with tomorrow then.

Be careful early morning since the temperature is now dropping at 0.5C
per hour and there's still a lot of snow on the roads. Also in some
places the wind is creating large drifts which the council don't seem to
be clearing. But in general the roads are pretty good. Once I had
cleared the suburban streets at the coast the main routes were clear.
The M3 was free-flowing but the A3 northbound was still closed.

If you want to be safe(r) pack sleeping bags, a shovel, some water and
something to eat, but the forecast is no more snow until Saturday.

Dave
wibbled on Wednesday 06 January 2010 19:30
the place with half a dozen staff and merge down to 3 classes if they
*really* had to (less than a hundred pupils total, covering ages 5-12).

Having had a job, for three years, as site supervisor, the problem is
the alarm code and the door locks and nothing else. Only the site
supervisor, the head and deputy head knew the code. All the other
teachers had to wait for the code to be entered.

The door locks were duplicated with only the designated key holder being
able to undo the first lock. The second lock was able to be un-locked by
anyone given a key for it. i.e. all the staff.

Dave

In the old days of course, the caretaker often had a cottage on site, so he
was there regardless...

But, surely there could be a simple handover procedure of codes if bad
weather is anticipated the previous day?

It's not that I mind the school being closed - doesn't inconvenience me;
just take the sprogs to the meadow and build Squidward shaped snowmen (we're
weird like that).

But all the people who work and don't have childcare arrangements (and many
fellow parents here are self employed and work locally, thus are normally
unimpeded by snow) have to look forward to a costly day off and ****ed off
customers.

Even if they just turned the school into a creche for the day and let the
kids play and do drawing with bare bones supervision it would be helpful to
many.

--
Tim Watts

You know you need more insulation when the snow blanket on the roof makes
the house 3 degrees warmer...

In message , Dave
writes
Roger Mills wrote:
In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Dave wrote:

I have to travel from Preston Lancs. to Portsmouth to bring my wife
back home. I have until Friday night to get her back.

Due to the severe weather we are experiencing and the short time I
have to prepare, can anyone recommend a web site that will be up to
date, quite quickly, on road conditions and closures due to the
weather conditions please?

Dave
No, but have considered getting her to travel back by train to save
the double road journey in potentially difficult conditions?

I reckon that a ticket on the day will cost well in excess of £200-00.

As has been pointed out, no it won't - unless she has to travel in the
more expensive times of the day. She could have had a walk on return
fare for less than the price of the petrol for the double trip (assuming
you took her down)

I Can't see her paying that, as she thinks of me as a free lift back.


Ask her to fill up the tank before driving back ? :-)


Dave the mug.

No comment :-)

--
Chris French

On Wed, 06 Jan 2010 17:50:05 +0000, Dave wrote:

Steve Walker wrote:
On Wed, 06 Jan 2010 13:56:13 +0000, F wrote:

On 06/01/2010 09:14 TheOldFellow wrote:

Where (and when) do you go in a typical British Year to learn
the skills to do this?
Find a large, snow covered, *empty* car park. Easier said than done, I
know, but that's what I was encouraged to do when I learned to drive.

Great fun!

This is a very sensible suggestion. Unfortunately, due to the idiots who
**** about in car parks durng the evenings and nights, the law now treats
car parks to which the public have access (such as supermarket and council
ones) as public highways, so any passing plod looking to improve his stats
can nick you for it. Stupid isn't it?

How on earth can they do that? They are private property. At the worst,
they are only trespassing.

Dave

Nope. Any car parks, roads, etc. that the public have access to can now be
considered part of the highway for road traffic enforcement purposes.
Anyone sensibly using an empty car park for a bit of skid pan practice can
be done for dangerous driving or any other such offence. People have also
been done for not being insured when having a go of other peoples vehicles
in car parks or for not stopping at a pedestrian crossing in one.

As well as that, if someone sees you doing it and reports you to the
police, you can be warned and then, if on a second occasion, a separate
person sees you doing it (or something else) and reports you, you can be
summararily convicted of using a vehicle for anti-social behavior and can
have your vehicle confiscated for a couple of weeks (of course, you will
have to pay for it being towed and stored before you can get it back!)

SteveW

On 06/01/2010 10:59, The Natural Philosopher wrote:


Get shovelling you lazy *******s!

I did. And got several comments and a shaken hand in congratulations.
But I didn't see one other person in the area doing a damn thing.

--
Rod

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember Neil
saying something like:

M&S (No, not the shop, just Mud + Snow tyres) will get an ordinary car
most places, add snow chains and everywhere is possible

Here's something useful

http://www.4x4abc.com/ML320/ml_chainss.html

Dave wrote:

That raises a question. Major roads around here (A6) have been gritted.
But I still find my ABS kicks in on an apparently clear road. The
temperature is only 0 degrees C.

WTF is going on? It can't be black ice. It's not cold enough.


If the sky is clear, and the sun is not on the road, radiative cooling
can get the surface temperature a _long_ way below the air temperature.

Andy

Dave wrote:

Terry Fields wrote:
Dave wrote:

I have to travel from Preston Lancs. to Portsmouth to bring my wife back
home. I have until Friday night to get her back.

Due to the severe weather we are experiencing and the short time I have
to prepare, can anyone recommend a web site that will be up to date,
quite quickly, on road conditions and closures due to the weather
conditions please?

What did you decide to do: attempt the journey or suggest YBH comes
home by train?

I am tentatively going to try and bring her back home. The slightest
hitch and I will do a U turn and come back home myself.

I'm getting too old to be doing this sort of run.

i'm sure you'll drive carefully.

If your car radio has RDS, tune it to a BBC station and enable Traffic
Announcements. Any BBC station giving out a travel bulletin that is
within range of your car will switch the radio over to their
broadcast. This way, you use the plethora of BBC stations to monitor
conditions local to you.

You may be able to turn the audio down, and only hear the traffic
bulletins, if you don't like the programmes :-)

Drive safely.

In message , Steve Firth
writes
geoff wrote:

chains are not much use sitting on top of your wardrobe in Milan when
you're stuck 100 metres from the top of the St Bernadino pass

Ancient Italian philosophers say, anyone taking San Bernardino pass in
winter deserves everything that comes to him.


Yeah, but it wasn't winter, it was sunny in Milan, got a bit drizzly
through the tunnels (IYSWIM), by the time it deteriorated it was too
late to turn back

over 24 hours to get to Nuernberg ...


--
geoff

In message , F
writes
On 06/01/2010 09:14 TheOldFellow wrote:

Where (and when) do you go in a typical British Year to learn
the skills to do this?

Find a large, snow covered, *empty* car park. Easier said than done, I
know, but that's what I was encouraged to do when I learned to drive.

Yeah, someone was doing just that as I walked past the Homebase car park

See Homebase is useful for something

It looked like great fun


--
geoff

On Wed, 06 Jan 2010 20:29:09 +0000, Harry Bloomfield wrote:

Jules formulated on Wednesday :
To be fair, that happens here too sometimes, even though we *know* we're
going to be snow-covered for several months of the year. I suppose that
below a certain number of teachers, they can't run the whole school (as
you say) - but merging classes doesn't really help as it diverts too much
from the planned teaching to really be useful; it's no great loss just to
shut the place.

The loss is that the parent(s) have to change their plans and maybe not
go into work.

I suppose the difference is that we expect it - and the distances here are
so vast that everyone works 'locally'. Businesses seem to just understand
and make allowances.

In message , Tim W
writes
GB
wibbled on Wednesday 06 January 2010 13:58

Tim W wrote:

I do believe the 80's was the start of national gayness. It just got
worse since then,

I was really impressed today that our Postie came out and delivered our
post in this weather. The newspaper did not make it, but he did. Nobody
else was out.


JN Random courier turned up today with a package from Rapid too - I
congratulated him.


Don't talk to me about couriers - been a total disasater since before
xmas

DHL - local depot (borehamwood) closed down on the 22nd december

tried mon, tues and today to get a parcel picked up, did they manage it
today ?

no

APC - phoned me to say the driver wouldn't be coming, so I sent
tverything citylink, half an hour later the APC driver turned up

CityLink - had to wait until past 6pm for the driver to get to me - they
forgot ...

mumble, mumble

--
geoff

On Wed, 06 Jan 2010 19:33:57 +0000, Steve Firth wrote:

mark wrote:

Someone mention ****s?
Example of a nice big cosy 4X4:

Are you alleging that I live in Norfolk? Last time I checked I had one
head and five digits on the end of each limb so I can't be a Boggie.

five-headed mutant! :P

In message , The Natural Philosopher
writes
Tim Streater wrote:
On 06/01/2010 10:38, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
Neil wrote:
de-lurk

Oh come on guys

Whilst I realise you lot in the UK think you have more snow than I
have in this bit of Switzerland, it really isn't too hard to get
about-ever!

M&S (No, not the shop, just Mud + Snow tyres) will get an ordinary car
most places, add snow chains and everywhere is possible without recourse
to a Chelsea Tractor with the penalties of VED/MPG/CO2 and guilt...


they will, IF you can afford to get a set of winter wheels.

In continental Europe, such things are commonly available.

Here they are not.

This is not an annual event for us. In fact I've not seen it like this
since 1963.
And I may say that the 1963 conditions didn't stop me delivering
newspapers (I had a long round from Crawley up to near Gatwick on the
A23) *or* getting to school (which didn't close). Mind you, to be fair
we had something like 8" on New Year's Day which then took until March
to melt. And it was the wrong type of snow for snowballs as it didn't
stick when you squeezed it.

Things I remember are

- EVERYBODY in our little suburban cul de sac got out the shovels and
started digging their cars out, and the bit of road in front. No
moaning to the guvmint or council.

- all the cars on narrow crossplys worked.More or less.

- there was no law against snow chains, and some people had them.


I said a few days ago - there is no law against snow chains


--
geoff

On Wed, 06 Jan 2010 17:37:18 +0000, Dave wrote:

chris French wrote:

According to Trainline.com, an off peak single from Portsmouth to
Preston costs £91.50 (as long as she can avoid travelling at certain
times by the look of it - probably those times which hit peak evening
London departure restrictions)). Not cheap, no, but the fuel for a 500+
mile round trip alone is not insignificant.

I rather value my balls, they are what makes me a man. If I suggest
that, I could lose them when I get her back home. :-((

Hide them.

If she's short, just put them at the back of a high shelf.

On Wed, 06 Jan 2010 23:03:57 +0000, Grimly Curmudgeon wrote:

Here's something useful

http://www.4x4abc.com/ML320/ml_chainss.html

If you have a steady hill, and conditions aren't changing what makes
you stop after X meters without chains and double it with?

If you are moving you are moving and will stay moving unless somthing
changes.

--
Cheers
Dave.

On Wed, 06 Jan 2010 17:13:57 +0000, Dave wrote:

TomTom is a bit slow, isn't it? I have done that journey back home in 3
hours in a Montego estate :-)

Sticking to the limits?...

Does that short stretch of the M42 have those annoying gantries with
speed limits on?

Donno, I rarely go further south than the M62 these days. As to the
M42 I spent quite a bit of time riding a push bike along it when they
were building it.

The M6 S of Manchester is always a PITA until you get North of the M62.

Naw, not until you are north of Lancaster does it get nice.

--
Cheers
Dave.

In message , Dave
writes
geoff wrote:
In message , Dave
writes
I have to travel from Preston Lancs. to Portsmouth to bring my wife
back home. I have until Friday night to get her back.

Due to the severe weather we are experiencing and the short time I
have to prepare, can anyone recommend a web site that will be up to
date, quite quickly, on road conditions and closures due to the
weather conditions please?

Motorways - frixo
will give you real time speeds for the m6, m1 m25 etc
lets start with the m6
http://www.frixo.com/m6-south.asp

Thanks for that, I'll transfer that to the crappy lappy I am taking with me

It's great and its all you need


--
geoff

geoff wrote:

Yeah, but it wasn't winter, it was sunny in Milan, got a bit drizzly
through the tunnels (IYSWIM), by the time it deteriorated it was too
late to turn back

Had that taking a motorhome back throught he San Gottardo. Sunny in
Milan, bucketing down with snow at we exited the San Gottardo and
instead of being in Colmar by 5pm it took us two days to get there.

That was in April.

over 24 hours to get to Nuernberg ...

Yorshireman
24 hours? By, you were lucky.
/Yorkshireman

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember "Dave Liquorice"
saying something like:

If you have a steady hill, and conditions aren't changing what makes
you stop after X meters without chains and double it with?

Because a tendency to put on chains means you are likely to be further
from the object you eventually slide into, like Dennis.
Safety, innit.

geoff wrote:
In message , Dave
writes
geoff wrote:
In message , Dave
writes
I have to travel from Preston Lancs. to Portsmouth to bring my wife
back home. I have until Friday night to get her back.

Due to the severe weather we are experiencing and the short time I
have to prepare, can anyone recommend a web site that will be up to
date, quite quickly, on road conditions and closures due to the
weather conditions please?

Motorways - frixo
will give you real time speeds for the m6, m1 m25 etc
lets start with the m6
http://www.frixo.com/m6-south.asp

Thanks for that, I'll transfer that to the crappy lappy I am taking
with me
It's great and its all you need

Help, I'm volunteering to be a Luddite! Son 1's friend coming from Salop to
Leics. relied upon his SatNav which took him along the M6 to the M42 rather
than the A5.

Son 2 gave me a call one night when travelling down from Warrington to Leics
with roadway instructions advising him that the M6 exits to Stoke were
closed and that he had to go to the M6 Bypass. He was broke and had
problems, ( I don't have problems with the consequences of his failure to
plan ahead). However, the bl&&dy obvious choice would have been Junction 12
and the A5.

I'm advised by Garmin to go at least two miles out of my way when I travel
back from the northwest.

A few years ago, I was sailing a boat in the South West of Scotland. There
was no sonar, GPS or other gizmo's being depended upon. We were trying to
get into Rothsay Harbour in the dark. I was helming, there were various
sages using charts and expected navigation lights telling me to keep going
ahead whilst I was hearing the too close lapping of waves on the shore.

I suddenly turned and followed a ship into harbour.

T'others were both puzzled and displeased.

T'was the ferry.