Hardly very topical, but it is about time I talked about snow in the UK. We do not get much snow in the UK … at least not in the highly populated areas, and when it does arrive we end up in a situation which could be described as chaos. And every time we get snow, there is an incredible amount of fuss about all the chaos that results. Why?
Ok. So there are plenty of countries that cope better with snow than we do, but we always forget the why … they get more of it. If you have practise, you get used to it. And we don’t get used to it, so what is all the fuss about ? So we have travel chaos for a day or two. It is not the end of the world after all.
Admittedly being stuck in travel chaos is hardly what you could call fun, but what is the travelling for ? On almost every occasion in recent times, snow has been forecast in advance and we’ve been given the advice of not travelling unless it is absolutely necessary. Of course nobody explains what this means.
Let’s have a law that gives everyone who wants it a day off if it snows. Instantly we stop all the complaints about schools being shut whilst parents have to work, and it would keep many people off the roads making it easier and safer for those who really have to be on the roads.
Employers who really needed employees to come in could provide employees who volunteer for it a snow kit and training … snow chains, shovel, and basic survival gear for the snow. Employees who came in despite the snow should be able to ‘bank’ half a day on top of their ordinary leave entitlement.
I can imagine that any employer reading this would scream at the thought of giving people an extra day off and the cost to business of doing so. Sure it would cost some money but there are things more important than money. For instance it is easily possible to imagine people being killed in traffic accidents caused by snow, which is far more important to stop than saving a few pounds. Maybe a few businesses would go to the wall if we had such a law, but surely any business that is that close to the edge would fail anyway.
One other thing that has only just occurred to me (as I’m not a parent); kids greet snow with joy. At the same time, we are always being castigated for not spending enough time with our children. What better time for a bit of parent-child bonding ?
It is time to stop treating snow as a disaster and start treating it as a minor inconvenience that can be a bit of fun too.