Snow again in Belsize- worst for 30 years!

In what is set to be the worst winter conditions for 30 years, here again in Camden, Belsize we have the crazy situation published today in Ham & High that Brent and Camden have RUN OUT OF GRIT.

This is a disgraceful situation, with weather predictions now able to achieve long term viable reporting weeks in advance, this simply is unacceptable.

It is notable that in other countries such as in the USA this apparent luck of grit never occurs, the US government is totally proactive in dealing with sever winter extremes. For example in anticipation of certain states currently being hit hard by sub-zero extreme temperature, energy supply companies that have "cut off" people due to failure of being able to pay utility bills have been ordered to re-connect the most needy in advance of worsening conditions.

Clearly lessons can be learned from across the other side of the Atlantic in the USA of how to deal with bad weather.

Closer to home however, I have been informed by local Belsize residents that the luck of grit is not only causing big delays in moving around but is very dangerous.

One local resident has narrowly escaped serious injury or worst when slipping and falling in Fellows Road with an oncoming car out of control unable to break or stop sliding towards the unfortunate pedestrian shouting "Get out of the road I can't stop the car"!

Another resident slipping on ice outside Budgens in Haverstock Hill falling and hitting her head in the process, but escaped serious injury.

We need the gritters out 24/7 NOW and not talk about it as a post review for 2011!

Author: Nigel Rumble (currently on New Year's vacation in USA NOLA)

Primrose Hill and Belsize February 2009!

I could not resist the temptation on that only too brief Sunday and Monday of "real" snow for 18 years to get out there with my daughter on the piste of Primrose!

For my daughter this was the first time to experience snow, she loved every moment of it.

As for myself, I remember only too well the last occasion in London 18 years ago when I found myself snowed in my Baker Street office.

I seem to recall then that it was apparently the wrong kind of snow as far as British Rail was concerned! Now in 2009 it was the wrong kind of quantity! It makes me very proud of our British traditions to blame the weather! I don't ever remember being without public transport of some kind or the other whilst on holiday in the Ski resort of Gstad or Zermat in Switzerland. The Swiss do what comes natural and that is to plan for the snow and anticipate the ice, but then they have had rather more practice at it every year for whole seasons long.

What a pity that as global warming is taking its hold not only is the polar ice caps melting at an alarming rate, but also the winter paradise of the Alps is facing increased ice melts and industrial pollution from cars and industry not in Switzerland itself but from the heavily polluted atmosphere that deliver contaminates which are concentrated in the ice and snow. This is not a very well known or publicised fact in Switzerland but there is a team that sets out every year from the University of Bern to investigate the worsening pollution. But it acts as a strong reminder that CO2 global warming is touching all wildernesses and not just the capital cities.

Author: Nigel Rumble 17 February 2009