Snowy Monday Morning

Journey to work was fine, pulled into the car park spotted a space really close to the door, reversed in, handbrake on, picked up by bags, got out of the car and locked it. Took three steps forward to the front of the car when I realise the car is moving. Yank at the door handle, remember the car is locked, jab at the buttons on the key fob, wrench open the door, throw my bags in, enter car feet first towards the brake pedal. Stop the car from moving. Realise the car has realistically slid three feet at most as people are still able to get past me and the expensive car I was heading for. Try and reduce heart rate to a reasonable level. Glare back at the people wondering why I’m sat effectively in the middle of the car park. Park the car in a different space where all it can roll into is a hedge. Leave car in gear. Pull handbrake extra hard. Get out of car, give car a really good shake to assess if it is planning on going anywhere. Get back in car and try to reduce heart rate even further. Walk to office and try not to think about where car might be when I leave tonight.

Hope your Monday started better than mine!

Bloody snow.

The week and a bit that was

You didn’t think you were going to get away without a post moaning about the weather did you. Oh foolish you, I’m in Scotland we’ve been dumped on from a great height – I therefore must moan. To be honest O and I have been lucky and have come off, so far, relatively unscathed.


Are you sitting comfortably? Then I’ll begin, it all started a week ago last Friday evening when we had a small snowfall, on the Saturday we had yet more snow and again on the Sunday. Sunday, O and I ventured out and walked to the shops to buy provisions for baking. We made Nana’s chocolate cake and Hummingbird bakery hazelnut and chocolate cupcakes (nomnomnomnom).

(if you kind of squint and tip you head to the side slightly you might be able to see a heart shaped hollow in the middle of the cupcake case)

On the Monday morning, O was rudely awakened at 6am by his boss, the member of their team who was on call had been trying to get to work since 3am. They were hoping that O, who technically lives the closest, would be able to get to work. During the winter part of O's job is to clear the car parks and footpaths of snow and ice. O headed off to work on his bike which to be fair was the only way he was getting to work other than walking – all trains were off and our car is technically a big sledge with wheels (as we discovered after far too many hairy moments in Jan/Feb). 


I finally dragged myself out of bed and trudged to the bus stop – at this point the emails from colleagues stuck in their homes had started to flood in. I can work quite happily – and often more productively from home. However I am the closest member of staff to the office so it was really my duty to at least try to get to the office – which I managed all too simply. I was the first through the door at 9:15 and proudly declared our office open, the glory of my achievement was slightly tarnished by the colleagues who made it in from much further afield. By 3pm that day though everyone had scurried home trying to get back before dark, the snow had started again. I took the executive decision to close the office and get my ass back to the warmth of home.


The week continued with O working ridiculously long hours and coming home like a zombie – I even had to cook two nights (this is unheard of). On Friday morning, just as we were about to start celebrating no snow in a 24 hour period, just as I was about to brave taking the car out it BLOODY STARTED AGAIN and kept coming. Friday night was O’s work Christmas night out which meant I had to deal with a very drunk and then very hungover husband. He didn’t eat again until 6:30pm on Saturday night which I think is the longest I’ve ever known him to go without food. Luckily my plans for Saturday had been cancelled or I’d have been a more annoyed with being kept awake most of the night. Saturday had meant to be a spa day to celebrate Hockey’s 30th birthday later this month. However, with the weather and lack of public transport we decided it was best to cancel.


Saturday was a right off in terms of being motivated to do anything and Sunday wasn’t much better – we managed to the shops to stock up and we ran a few errands. O, who is on call now, went to work to grit the paths. We’d managed 48 hours without snow and things were starting to look better – it wasn’t to last. Monday morning just as rush hour hit the snow was back, O had left for work at 6am so missed the worst of it. I got to the bus stop having slipped most of the way there (soft snow on sheet ice doesn’t make for easy walking) to discover that all the buses were being recalled to the depot. I was cold and wet, I wasn’t getting any glory for making it in to work so I trudged back home again – stuck the heating on full blast and a bowl of porridge in the microwave. I am so grateful that I didn’t need to go anywhere yesterday – the horror stories of hours upon hours being stuck on the motorway make me shiver at the thought.


My husband is obsessed with the weather forecast – I’ve stopped believing anything it says, however if it is to be believed then we are due to have a thaw on Thursday. Wonderfully at the moment the temperatures are dropping so low that the salt and grit doesn’t work – making attempting to get anywhere futile.