UK Weather

Temperatures in the UK have plummeted, Scotland have recorded temps as low as minus 21 deg C.

Here on the south coast it isn't too bad apart from the fact the roads are now capable of hosting an ice skating championship!!!

The suns shining, the roads are shining and the 'Wing' is staying firmly under cover and safe.

Stay safe folks, it's dangerous out there.

Not so bad here but several inches of snow and -9ºC this morning.
No chance of getting the bikes out - the road is covered with frozen snow.

Going to brave the shops this morning in the car. It's so flat round here and the VW is very docile in snow and ice so we should be OK.

We've had monkeys all down here in Exeter and I mean it!

We had the first shower of snow the night before last and that had disappeared by lunch time yesterday.

Its been cold, very, very cold, but theres little in the way of ice etc. which makes me feel rather lucky considering what everyone else seems to be dealing with.

I feel particularly sorry for the famlies down in Cornwall whom two weeks ago were flooded out, and now have to deal with 2 feet of snow and freezing temperatures, it must be dreadful for them.


Anyway I'm using this time with the bikes off the road to put a new clutch cable on Hetty and a Givi back rest on Betty Plus doing a bit of welding practice..... Oh and my model Silverwing turned up today, all the way from Malaysia - which I was beginning to suspect might not esp. as I ordered it via Ebay!

Skippy wrote:

Oh and my model Silverwing turned up today, all the way from Malaysia - which I was beginning to suspect might not esp. as I ordered it via Ebay!

Mine arrived about a month ago, sounds like the same supplier. Not big on communication is he!

Back to the weather, lovely and sunny here on Portland but the roads are treacherous. Like I said, you could hold an ice skating championship out side the front of my house.

My two Westies are loving it though. Always a sunny side.

We've been housebound for over a week now!! Can't get the car out of the drive - not unless I spend an hour or so clearing the snow and the village roads are like an ice rink - we don't get any gritters on our rural roads!! There's rain forecast for tomorrow, so here's hoping it clears some of it.

I'm feeling like a prisoner in my own home!!

Laurie

Hi Tamjay,

Where about in Lincolnshire are you??? My folks moved to Woodhall Spa just as I turned teenager, I never settled to the place and left as soon as I could (we moved from the middle of Leeds) - I think my parents OD'd on 'The Good Life' and thought they would give it a go.......................

I don't actually live in Lincolnshire - that's just our postal address. I live in a village just outside of Stamford (Lincs), which is in East Northamptonshire.

In fact, if you can get your head round this, our address is - Easton on the Hill (Northamptonshire), Stamford (Lincolnshire) and the Post Code - PE (Cambridgeshire).

Bless the vagaries of the UK postal system!!

Laurie

Laurie,

You're not the only one!!! My brother lives in Lincolnshire but has a Nottinghamshire post code.....

Makes you start to wonder what the Royal Mail has got against Lincolnshire????

Mind you I seem to remember when we lived in Woodhall that we had an LN post code, which would make sense, but even then we were 20 odd miles from the city.

When you look at Lincolnshire, there aren't that many major cities within the county boundar. Isn't that why they amalgamated it with Humberside at some point in the past?? My old ATC unit came under the Lincolnshire and South Humberside Wing I think - it's been 30 years or so, which probably means its all changed again......

Skippy wrote:

Hi Tamjay,

Where about in Lincolnshire are you??? My folks moved to Woodhall Spa just as I turned teenager

I'm not far from Woodhall Spa, at Louth. Sometimes have a ride out that way in the summer, but certainly not attempting it at the moment - driveway like a skating rink, road outside compacted snow. Had to walk to work all this week, suppose it's done me some good really!!

Skippy,
Like the sound of the Silverwing model, any chance you can post a link to the ebay seller please?

Graham.

If there's ice on the streets, I definitely recommend not riding. Unless you have a trike, of course. Day I have to get a trike is the day I'll know I'm getting old. Hopefully that won't happen for a long, long time.

What crazy weather. After two, yup, just two days of sub zero temps and snow and ice everywhere. Here on Fraggle Rock, sorry - Portland, we had rain last night so all the snow and ice have dissipated and the temps are +3 to 6 deg C. from the minus 5 to 10 deg C of the previous two days!!!!

Global warming!!!! maybe not!

Forecast is for a freeze overnight so that will make the conditions interesting!!

Snowing again here; big flakes combined with lots of blown snow.
It is less cold although still below freezing and rain is forecast for later in the day followed by sub-zero temperatures tonight.

Skaters Waltz, anyone?

I've got to agree, the weather patterns over the Southern half of UK have gone way mad! Got up this morning, no snow, no ice, no cold wind, just a grey overcast sky. The temp is up by approx 16 degrees on what it was yesterday and to be honest I feel a whole lot better for it!

Graham:

Try:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1-18-Honda-FSC-600-Silverwing-Silver-Wing-Scooter-RARE-/320621398453?pt=Diecast_Vehicles&hash=item4aa68649b5


Delivery was 15 days.

it's started raining here to in worcestershire to so hopefully the snow will dissapear enough for me to get the car if our road so i can do some shopping.not been able to go anywhere all week.appart from walking.and working shifts means very early or very late walks home.boooo plus not seen the wing for two weeks now...not good.getting withdrawl simptoms.

At last some warmth here in central Scotland today at 0.5 C accompanied by a slight thaw (To be short lived though).

What an absolutely atrocious weeks this has been and still two or three feet of snow here.

It just kept on snowing day after day after day with no let up / very few if any trains still / cars having trouble / no planes for a few days (Edinburgh Airport has however opened again) / no Swing.

Best I managed was to move my bike about a little in the garage / place it on the centre stand / run the engine for a few minutes / then put battery onto trickle / shut the garage door again.

I know that the weather we are experiencing here in the UK just now is common in other parts of the world but we seem not to be geared up and ready to cope.

Our problem is that we have become used to milder snow less winters over the years (Wake up call last winter though) and this combined with our volatile climate (even in winter) means we have not yet justified the need to invest in the necessary equipment and infrastructure etc to deal with things.

I really don't see how the UK can be any more prepared than it is.
If masses of snow falls in one go or over a short period and then disappears after a few days it cannot be possible to deal with it totally satisfactorily.
You're not but so many people complain that 'they' are not doing anything about it!
Don't they know that gritting and salting roads while it's still snowing is a waste of time?
I heard on the News that efforts were being made to clear Gatwick Airport of snow.
No less than 150,000 tons were moved and it still wasn't clear.

The new trains will never be any good in the snow - they just aren't heavy enough.
I heard someone say, again on the TV, that countries like France and Germany don't have these problems. Utter rubbish; both countries were as bad and at near stand-stills and Geneva Airport in Switzerland was closed because of snow and they are used to it.

If the snow set in for months, provision could be made but it doesn't so it can't.

The forecasters, well in Yorkshire, got it all spot on for the weather over the last couple of weeks. I think its people not letting it sink in or saying "nah it can't be that bad"

I think we have to accept what is going on and get on with it

I never heard of "gritting" before. Must be like our "sanding". I will never get to "jolly old..." but I like your use of the language and I like your older movies. Cheerio!

Mixture of sand and rock-salt. The UK tried mixing it with molasses to make it stick to the road, not thinking it would stick to everything that went near it.

I didnt know the UK even had weather......................OH I get it, someone forgot the "Y"

MikeO wrote:

Mixture of sand and rock-salt. The UK tried mixing it with molasses to make it stick to the road, not thinking it would stick to everything that went near it.

Is that a surprise to anyone that molasses sticks to everything??

here in manchester, it rained today, melting some of the pesky ice, but its going to freeze again tonight, looks like im using the wifes car again tommorow.