Oh for goodness sake !!!!!

[Jasmine]

A big part of the problem nowadays is that so many women work but childcare and work are not an easy set of scales to balance.

[Ladygardener]

Very difficult indeed Jasmine and speaking for every family I know it is the woman who has to organise the child care if the children are off school. It is rare for a woman to go off to work and leave the man to take a day off if the children are unexpectedly off.

It's particularly difficult now a days when grown up Children and their families live far away from their Parents. I'd love to be able to help my girls out but unless I buy an airoplane or helicopter it's not going to happen. i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd161/GWDAdmin1/Smilies/Default/sad.gif

[Jasmine]

I was thinking exactly that as I posted LG. As thoughtful as he is my OH wouldn't think twice about childcare if he had to get to work. I would get, 'Can't one of your friends help out?' ...and that's not allowed anymore now unless they are CRB checked.

Now the helicopter idea is a grand one ;D. We've just tried to get to Heathfield to get bread and milk but it is chaos. The Co-op carpark is closed, you can't turn in the side roads because of the snow and so we came home again without anything.

[Ladygardener]

My goodness that's awful Jasmine, hopefully you'll be able to get some somewhere or perhaps OH could bring some home from work with him. There are lots of people who are afraid to go out or who cannot get out in this weather and it's not just old people. I'm lucky there is a big supermarket/garage about 10mins from me but I would'nt even go there unless I really have to at the moment.

[Jasmine]

I'm not too worried at the moment LG - I just thought it would be good to have some extra bread and milk as they keep saying we've got 10 more days of this. OH isn't even going to try to get to work after that nightmare trip out thank goodness. It'll be black tea if it comes to it.

[Ladygardener]

Gosh I did'nt realise OH still is'nt at work Jasmine. It's difficult to imagine how bad it is for some folk. We're getting off so lightly here in comparison to some.

[Jasmine]

OH was not to be deterred so we set off for Heathfield again at about 3 o'c and we got all the milk we need but there was no bread to be had at all.

[Jasmine]

Forgot to say - the postie got round today but the rubbish wasn't collected.

[Ladygardener]

Our Postie was round as well and cheerful as ever he really is great. We had flyers put through our letter boxes today saying the Local Youth Initiative in our very working class area are here to help, by ringing them they will deliver messages, shovel snow and even provide hot soup for those who need it. Now are'nt they great. ;D

[Jasmine]

That's brilliant LG - I keep thinking about folk who can't get out for one reason or another.

[Auricula]

Our rubbish wasn't collected today - I expect the men are on gritting duty.
Some nurses are sleeping at the hospice after doing double shifts.

[Jasmine]

Some of OH's colleagues are sleeping over if they can get in in the first place.

[farmersboy]

We had the bin men round today,roads have all been gritted,everything is on the move

[Ruthie]

Our Postman got round but said his round was taking him more than twice as long as usual. The 7.30 bus was 25 mins late this AM and OH noticed that the evening bus, instead of carrying on down our, single track, road actually turned round at the junction nearby and went back the way he had come. He has to go to a village 7 miles away but I guess he thought he'd be best going back to the main rd.
Our road has been gritted!!!! However, as there's so little traffic it's just sitting on top of a 3" layer of snow with ice underneath. I won't be driving if I don't have to.
Jasmine, we've got 4 pints of milk, a few potatoes, but loads of pasta and rice plus porridge so I reckon we can manage for at least a week.
I just hope Mum doesn't have a power cut..............

[Jasmine]

Our buses aren't running at the moment but they miss some roads out when it is icy. Never knew any of this til the boys started secondary school. Sometimes they miss out entire villages - don't know what happens to the folk waiting
Fingers crossed for your Mum Ruthie - we are totally reliant on electricity here.

[Ruthie]

Fingers crossed for us all Jasmine. If the wind picks up like they suggest after more snow we really will be cut off as our road is open to the fields in several places. When we were snowed in in 1987 for a week (with no electricity for around 3 days) we didn't have central heating, just an open fire in the living room which would not draw!! We spent all our time playing scrabble and waiting for the kettle to boil on the camping gaz. I recall OH didn't win one game ;D ;D
Later that year we had the multi fuel stove fitted but we've hardly used that since we had central heating installed. Now if we have a powercut we have the "woodburner" but very little fuel

[Jasmine]

It's funny what you remember isn't it Ruthie ;D
We keep on about getting a wood burner. Really ought to get on with it instead of just talking.

[Spruance]

You could always raid the recycling bin Ruthie. We had a coal fire at our previous house and most of what now goes in the blue recycling bin went on the fire. Plastic bottles go especially well. i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd161/GWDAdmin1/Smilies/Default/grin.gif

Our dustmen came on time yesterday but my uncle says that one of his neighbours had the temerity to overfill their bin so needless to say it wasn't emptied. The bin men just tied an 'official' recycling sack to the bin presumably so the miscreants can transfer enough rubbish for the lid to be closed. The irony is that had they filled their own bag beforehand the bin men wouldn't have emptied that either.

I must say that I have cast caution to the wind today and cleared all of the footpath from our drive down to the dropped kerb but only to give the car more purchase. Next door have done the same so I suppose that makes us jointly liable in the event of someone ending up the wrong way up. i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd161/GWDAdmin1/Smilies/Default/wink.gif i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd161/GWDAdmin1/Smilies/Default/grin.gif

[Auricula]

We had a woodburner installed in our sitting room last year. OH has loads of wood from trees he has felled over the years - very useful this last week

[JennyWrenn]

One road - where I walk to work - has been gritted and is lethal to walk on; it was better when the snow was compacted and the tread marks of cars gave you a grip

[farmersboy]

I walked on pa cked snow 3/4 ml to the butchers to collect Sunday joint,it is normaly delivererd,but he cant get his motor out

[JennyWrenn]

Isnt it nice, saw on the News, that the corner shop, the local butcher and greengrocer, are getting a lot of trade

[farmersboy]

Yes, its good news for them

[Jasmine]

We've had snow again overnight so we wasted our time clearing the top of the drive yesterday and won't be going anywhere today. It's at times like this when I wish we had a little village shop. There'll be no papers today.

[farmersboy]

How far away is your nearest shop Jas?

[Jasmine]

It's about 2 miles to the Esso garage FB but you'd have to walk in the road most of the way. If there was a path I'd do it and take Bonnie for a walk too. It's a bit further down the same road to Heathfield.

[farmersboy]

Oh i see,no pavement,pity,it would be a nice walk for you,you cant beat a nice walk this weather to warm you up ;D

[Jasmine]

I'd go if it wasn't a main road.
We had a bit of a nightmare just before the boys broke up when the bus driver didn't stop in the village but dumped biggest twin on the side of the road down that way (in his black school uniform ). Thank goodness for mobile phones.

[farmersboy]

Thats bad Jas,are there any lights in that road

[Jasmine]

No, biggest twin said he managed a little bit using the car headlights as they came past .