The new news 24 thread

[mrbenn]

We had 3" the other day and it's barely an exaggeration to say that the area literally ground to a halt.

[GrumpiusMaximus]

If it's with you Stu, it'll probably be here pretty soon...

[dozeydustman]

Are the old farts of Chichester prepared for this heavy* deluge of frozen precipitate?

 

[GrumpiusMaximus]

Definitely snowing here.

 

Looks like I'm not driving down the single-track lanes of lethality tomorrow.

[egg]

If it's with you Stu, it'll probably be here pretty soon...

 

Nothing up here in the North*

[GrumpiusMaximus]

It's still a wasteland up there!

 

I like your Sainsbury's, though.

[egg]

It's still a wasteland up there!

 

I like your Sainsbury's, though.

 

Yeah, it's alright having the Argos bit.

 

Proper townies stick to Morrisons and Iceland though

[GrumpiusMaximus]

Poseur.

[beko1987]

Thoughts and prayers for me please

 

 

I have fucked up slightly though, Mr Moog has very kindly shipped my new winter tyres to my mums 25 miles away and I didn't engage my brain to say wait...

 

Ah well, I've only got to get there, can swap the wheels on mum's drive!

[SiC]

I'm glad I didn't bother changing the Chinese Deathrings on the TT. Despite being hopeless things normally, they are winter rated. So despite being a ludicrous 255/35/19 (even though the engine only puts out 200bhp), they are actually providing forward motion without too much wheel slippage.

[cort16]

I was sitting behind a tipper truck at a roundabout yesterday when a Volvo C30 came sailing down the slip road, flattens the little lamppost on the roundabout and lands right in the middle of the roundabout. It looked to me he was going too fast and he got out the car and had that "how did that happen" look on his face. He was fine and other people got out to speak to him so I just fucked off.

 

When I was doing my allegro hand over I heard that was the first of 6 cars to crash in the same place. Turns out the whole slip road had turned to glass and folk came off the dual carriage way at 50-60 and just couldn't slow down. While one of the recovery wagons was there picking up a car it even got crashed into.

[Christine]

I bought 4 snow tyres on ebay for 5  , yep ,  5  ,  fuckin quid  last year !!! Rubbish title  ,  3pm Monday end time  , so no one bid , apart from me  And they're brilliant !! Snowing in Crowborough  

[wuvvum]

I hope we don't get too much snow - I have the choice of the Rover 75, which is all legal but has a borderline front tyre, the HR-V which is 4wd but out of test, and the Rover of Doom which has winter tyres on the front but no heater to speak of.  I might end up using the Buick if it does snow - I can actually see that being surprisingly good.

[Jim Bell]

Oh dear. I'm a bit disappointed in one of the previous owners or the garage they used who didn't tighten the track rod end locking nuts at all.

 

Anyone know where I can find a good offside headlamp for a B5 Passat?

 

Jeeeeeez. Well it weren't me. Bit of a mental mistake to make though.

[brownnova]

This morning’s shenanigans:

 

Lady_brownnova is unwell. In gesture of chivalry I suggest she keeps the Saab at home for when she needs to go out.

 

Due to ice and snow she suggests I take front wheel drive Peugeot. Sensible choice.

 

Peugeot won’t start. Lack of activity over recent weeks coupled with thick oil coupled with Uber coldicity = flat battery

 

Decide MX5 is next in line as I can get this out without moving any other car. Locks frozen solid. Piss about for 10 minutes getting key in door by licking the key. Success... locks turn Un-success door still frozen shut.

 

Lady_brownnova goes to collect her sister in the Saab. Kettle is deployed to defrost doors, no good. Prising technique using frozen fingers eventually yields results with passenger door.

 

Climb 6ft1 Brownnova over into drivers seat of low down sports car without getting handbrake inextricably stuck up anus.

 

Realise wipers are still frozen to screen despite copious amounts of warm water.

 

Fuck.

 

Decide not seeing is preferable to climbing back over the erect handbrake.

 

Get to work without dying.

 

Success.

[mrbenn]

Actual lolz re handbrake related difficulties

[Christine]

Just woke up ,so came down for a cuppa tea....where's the snow ?? No different than when i went to bed !

[bramz7]

 

For an automatic, it coped fine. Even with the not so fresh tyres.

 

None of the roads were free of settled snow.

[320touring]

-6 here this morning, hoping for a decent old start on the Merc..

[Crispian_J_Hotson]

You'll all be pleased to know that that London is free and moving despite the frozen rain of terror.

 

 

*Bonus points for guessing the miserable looking building opposite 

 

Cambridge done alright and avoided most of it having just a half inch dusting of wet shit. Wind was biting though cycling this morning.

[richardmorris]

Snowy in Surrey. Some pics from the commute this morning on the bicycle.

Time stamp is an hour out as it's still on BST.

 

[GrumpiusMaximus]

Total meltdown OMGSNOKAOS here near Aylesham. The temporary lights that are fucking up the junction have conspired with the snow to make the five minute drive to the main Folkestone road well over an hour. Called work, turned around.

 

The worst thing is that the roads haven’t been treated properly but are navigable with care. So it’s probably just down to ice on the flyover in combination with ill-equipped cars and driving.

 

The Golf, as ever has proven to be the perfect snow car.

[dollywobbler]

I'm never sure about the 'roads haven't been treated properly.' I mean, if it snows plenty, it's still going to settle and folk are still going to have to drive gently. Too many seem to assume they'll have summer levels of grip, then rant about the council when they inevitably crash. Around here, you really notice which roads have been gritted, because the ones that haven't are bloody lethal at 20mph.

[Crispian_J_Hotson]

When I worked at Kettering during the 'Beast from the East' The council stopped gritting the side roads years before and set out 'grit bins' for the public to deal with it. You can imagine how well that's going. Even the main drags were economically salted.

I feel for the people having to work and live there permanently.

[GrumpiusMaximus]

I'm never sure about the 'roads haven't been treated properly.' I mean, if it snows plenty, it's still going to settle and folk are still going to have to drive gently. Too many seem to assume they'll have summer levels of grip, then rant about the council when they inevitably crash. Around here, you really notice which roads have been gritted, because the ones that haven't are bloody lethal at 20mph.

 

 

Well, there was visible snow on the main road out of town.

 

Apparently a lorry has got stuck on a flyover.  Which is the only way out on to the main road.  All the country lanes are definitely out because we don't have anybody that's ever driven in Wales.

[danthecapriman]

Snowed here last night, I went out with the dogs at about 18:00 and it started about then, quite windy too.

 

Volvo snow cap this morning!

 

 

It’s melting fast though. Roads and most paved ground are thawing very quickly.

There’s still a weather warning out today but I think that’s it for this winter. More rain soon I expect.

[Tadhg Tiogar]

When I worked at Kettering during the 'Beast from the East' The council stopped gritting the side roads years before and set out 'grit bins' for the public to deal with it. You can imagine how well that's going. Even the main drags were economically salted.

I feel for the people having to work and live there permanently.

Barnet don't bother clearing or gritting any roads down here. Particularly since services* were contracted out to Crapita.

[BorniteIdentity]

I'm never sure about the 'roads haven't been treated properly.' I mean, if it snows plenty, it's still going to settle and folk are still going to have to drive gently.

 

Quite.  It's salt, not a magical solution made of pixie dust and unicorn tears.  Plus, if people don't drive on it, it's not particularly effective anyway.

 

I feel for the people having to work and live there permanently.

 

Kettering?  I think most of us feel that way 12 months of the year - not just when it snows.

[GrumpiusMaximus]

I'm just baffled by why there is this level of OMGSNOKAOS when the roads are fine to drive on.  Around town itself was dicey (especially when I had to reverse for a bus) because of the cunts using the road rather than their driveways but the main road should be fine.

 

Apparently Kent mostly escaped the snow.  Apart from hilly areas in the North Downs.  Guess where I live.

[alcyonecorporation]

I'm just baffled by why there is this level of OMGSNOKAOS when the roads are fine to drive on.  Around town itself was dicey (especially when I had to reverse for a bus) because of the cunts using the road rather than their driveways but the main road should be fine.

 

Apparently Kent mostly escaped the snow.  Apart from hilly areas in the North Downs.  Guess where I live.

No show in the Fens/Peterborough, either.