Joined: Feb 2005 Gender: Male Posts: 282 Location: Alfreton, Derbyshire
It's Snow Joke in the UK « Result #3 Today at 4:47am »
Well guys here we are again. Snowfall in the UK and everything appears to be grinding to a shuddering halt once more.
I know with our temperate climate that we aren't really geared up for a weather pattern that only lasts a couple of weeks at most so there will always be some inconvenience. But I can't help thinking we're breeding a nation of wimps.
Apart from the usual chaos on our roads and transport systems, we're now told that we're running out of grit and salt to treat the roads and that gas supplies may run out by the end of the month due to the demand. The bus companies have given up the ghost, ditto the railways and some airports and airlines. And school closures in abundance right across the country. I doubt you'll find one open in my area. We are plagued with messages of "don't travel unless its absolutely necessary!!". Which is fine provided you're not docked a day's pay or told to use it as part of your holiday entitlement. And they're on about declaring a national state of emergency if it continues - which it is supposed to do for at least another week. Anyone would think there was a war on!
Now I remember when I was at school and we had snowfalls far worse than this. In early 1979, the whole country endured continuous snowfall throughout January and into February. Yet the buses kept running, everyone travelled to work okay - be it by car, bus or train, the trains ran with only occasional delays, the roads got cleared and things moved. And we were made to go to school and even keep our coats on if the heating packed up, which it invariably always did when the weather dipped below freezing. I think it was law back then!
Is it just me or are we Brits losing our backbone, stiff upper lip and ability to cope.
For heaven's sake it's a reasonable bet that at some point we will endure a snowfall during the winter months, yet every year we are unprepared and caught completely by surprise. And it's not as though the weather forecasters hadn't predicted it. Yet here we are again, paralysed and brought to a standstill. In my area the gritting and salting lorries haven't even bothered. And you've no chance of seeing a snow plough.
I think the reason the schools close isn't because the heating has packed up, it's because the schools are sh*t scared of being sued if someones kid falls slips and breaks their arm. A sign of the times in the UK these days.
For the council amenities, such as the weather treatment of the roads, it's down to money - ie they've never got any. Funny how our Local Authorities plead poverty when it comes to ensuring there's enough grit to treat the roads, yet there always seems to be plenty when it comes to hiring people to do non-jobs like "Diversity Co-ordinators", "Outreach Workers" and "Climate Change Executives". Or even worse "investing" it in dodgy Icelandic banks. And since when was climate change a priority for a local authority. I pay my taxes so they can collect my bins on time, run our schools and services properly and keep our roads up to standard - and that means gritting the bloody things in the bad weather. Climate change (if man-made climate change exists) is central government's problem.
With regards to our transport system. Frankly, they just seem to give up the ghost when we get the first flakes of snow. You can hear the excuses start even before the weather hits.
And this isn't just confined to the winter weather. God forbid should we have a heatwave this summer. The last one we had in 2005 which lasted about a fortnight, the rail and road system also came to a shuddering halt. Melting roads and warping tracks we were told. It was because "Our systems aren't used to extreme heat". I don't recall any such problems back in 1976 - the year of the great drought when temperatures were routinely in the 90's (Fahrenheit).
Or maybe it's just me getting old. Does anyone else in the UK think we're becoming an absolute joke when it comes to this sort of thing. Beacuse I don't see any other European countries having the same problems as us.
It's interesting that a few years ago we were told that because of climate change we in the UK would see hotter, drier summers and warmer, wetter winters. Since that statement came from central government sources it's been the exact opposite - it's generally been bloody cold in the summer months and pi**ed it down with rain, and been freezing cold in winter. Or last three winters are amongst the coldest on record. In fact I'm just wondering how long it will be before we see one of our cagoule-clad news journo's claiming that the bad weather is down to global warming. Only a matter of time. Even though this is actually quite normal for the UK.
Anyway, I'm off up to the shop to stock up before we get completely cut off after which I'm going for a long lie down in a darkened room.
Funny how you can get to two extremes with two artists produced by the same guy. I find it very easy to like Julianna Raye but for the damned life of me I just can't get the hang of Regina Spektor.
I think it's just because Miss Raye's music is a little bit more accessible, whereas Regina's tunes and voice are somewhat left of centre and take some getting used to. Hey what about a Regina Spektor-Julianna Raye duet produced by Jeff Lynne?!
Possibly. But I quite like a lot of music that could be described a left of centre. Try as I might I just can't get the hang of her. I've forced myself to listen but it just doesn't happen.
Maybe she's just one of those artists I'll never get into. Mind you that song she made with Ben folds wasn't bad.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is considering a move not unlike “Desperate Housewives.”
In fact, you might call Jann Wenner the “desperate despot” of rock.
Sources tell me that Wenner is considering doing exactly what the TV show did a couple of years ago — jump ahead five years.
Currently, the RRHOF charter says that in order to be inducted, a band or act isn’t eligible until 25 years have passed since its first record release.
But now that popular music has passed into its retirement, the number of possible new inductees has thinned considerably. This winter, the Hall will induct Genesis, the Hollies, Iggy Pop and the Stooges, Jimmy Cliff and ABBA. They’ve all been the on the ballot for a long time and have finally made it mostly because the choices are diminishing.
I’m told that Wenner has looked at the next group of possible inductees, for 2011, and it’s not good: The only superstar who’s had a major career and influenced rock and roll is Sting. Otherwise, the perfectly nice but not exactly big game changers are ‘Til Tuesday, Chris Isaak, Suzanne Vega and Simply Red.
Of course, Wenner could do what many consider the right thing and induct the many missing names from Chubby Checker, Billy Preston and Mary Wells to Chicago, the Moody Blues, Todd Rundgren, Linda Ronstadt, Carly Simon, Carole King, Neil Diamond, Neil Sedaka, Rufus & Carla Thomas and so many more it’s hard to list them. But that’s unlikely.
The new idea is to change the charter so that it only takes 20 years to get in. That would move up a lot of acts on the ballot that are more current and carry some name value, which would be good for TV rights. Believe it or not, the following would then be eligible for the 2011 ceremony: Guns N’ Roses, Green Day, Public Enemy, Nirvana, Kid Rock and Smashing Pumpkins. Also a possibility right away: Keith Richards as a solo artist.
The fear, of course, is that with these new guidelines, the artists who’ve been snubbed previously will now never get in. Of course, one other solution would be just to shut the doors, stop inductions entirely and make the annual dinner a revisit of inductees. But TV doesn’t want Nursing Home Rock, so Wenner — who has no one to stop him — will probably not do that either.
Funny how you can get to two extremes with two artists produced by the same guy. I find it very easy to like Julianna Raye but for the damned life of me I just can't get the hang of Regina Spektor.
I think it's just because Miss Raye's music is a little bit more accessible, whereas Regina's tunes and voice are somewhat left of centre and take some getting used to. Hey what about a Regina Spektor-Julianna Raye duet produced by Jeff Lynne?!
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