When I used to live in Chicago, a snow day was nothing but a mythical promise, occurring once every blue moon. Not once, in five years, did we have a day off school due to snow, not even when the drifts were
higher than our screen door. If it started snowing at night, then by the time you awoke, the roads and public footpaths would be clear. If you couldn’t reach the bus stop from your driveway, you strapped on your snow boots and climbed, and as for a disruption in the transport system, it would have been an outrage.The complete unpreparedness of Britain for a snowfall that was predicted weeks in advance was most obvious amongst those venturing on sledging expeditions. I saw To Let signs, bin bags, tarpaulin, bin lids, surfboards and even a wok used in the absence of one real sledge. For a country that once ran most of the world, isn’t it odd that just a few feet of snow is all it takes to stop us in our tracks?
