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Feb 2018
9:11pm, 27 Feb 2018
5,106 posts
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WA
Yup
My sister lives in Berlin which is by no means the snowiest place but still gets a fair bit and low temperatures too (-14 today) and she can never understand the hysteria in the UK over a few flakes
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Feb 2018
9:39pm, 27 Feb 2018
4,441 posts
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BanjoBax
Yeah but we get the wrong kind of snow 
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Feb 2018
9:42pm, 27 Feb 2018
2,828 posts
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Fragile Do Not Bend
[It commands so much attention because it does cause so much disruption. So many of our local roads were blocked in the early hours of this morning by lorries jackknifing or just being unable to get up hills. Smaller untreated roads are difficult to negotiate in an ordinary car with summer tyres. What do they do differently in Europe to manage in the snow - is it just the wider use or winter tyres, or something else?]
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Feb 2018
9:54pm, 27 Feb 2018
6,245 posts
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Wobbling
It’s colder for longer usually in Europe. Our problem is we have snow and then temperatures rise above freezing so we have melt, then it drops again overnight and we have frozen melt. And also because of our usual mild wet snow we’re just not equipped for a dose of cold weather, from our cars to our clothes. The number of idiots I saw slipping about the streets in London in tiny coats, no scarves, gloves or hats was incredible. It’s snowing, leather soled shoes are a bad idea!
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Feb 2018
9:54pm, 27 Feb 2018
6,246 posts
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Wobbling
*mild wet winter
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Feb 2018
10:05pm, 27 Feb 2018
2,829 posts
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Fragile Do Not Bend
[A lot of snow melted in the sun today, it’s going to be -5 overnight and not getting above zero tomorrow so going to be really icy ☹️]
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Feb 2018
10:11pm, 27 Feb 2018
5,107 posts
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WA
I think that's it Wobbling. We are just hopelessly underprepared. And we persist in persisting as if cancelling that delivery or that meeting is the end of the world.
Friends and family on the continent use winter tyres. Garages loan storage space and change tyres when required.
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Feb 2018
10:13pm, 27 Feb 2018
5,108 posts
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WA
[Fragile, ice imo is worse than snow. Don't go if you don't have to]
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Feb 2018
11:15am, 28 Feb 2018
7,710 posts
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Duchess
Countries that have significant sustained periods of cold and snow also invest substantial amounts in the infrastructure and equipment to deal with it. Most of the UK has a few days every few years; the benefit doesn't justify the cost.
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Feb 2018
12:17pm, 28 Feb 2018
15,072 posts
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Nicholls595
Banks. High Street Banks. Lloyds in particular. No customer service skills whatsoever.
Have you tried to pay coins into your account? Here's a tip, don't bother.
I had £330 in £2 coins that I had "decanted" from a wish jar type piggy bank. Wanted to pay it in and send a cheque* as payment for an upcoming holiday. My branch wouldn't accept them because I hadn't bagged them in "proper" bags in £20's.
"Rules" apparently, even though all they do is weigh them. I offered to do the maths for them. No dice. I was offered some bags and told to count them myself. In the time it took me to count them out and return to the counter, the bank had emptied. It was just me, 3 cashiers, a manager and 17 bags of coins.
Apparently, "Rules" only allow them to accept 10 bags at a time. Despite having a ratio of 4 staff to 1 customer, they refused to accept the other 7 bags because "It's not fair to hold up other customers".
I politely told the manager that I had been a customer of this branch for over 30 years and had never heard such rubbish. She agreed with me, but insisted that "Rules are rules" and refused to take the coins.
To add insult to injury, she then asked me if there was anything else she could help me with.
I asked if she had a complaint form. Apparently I have to do that online.
I asked if she had a form for closing my accounts and transferring to a different bank. Apparently I have to get that from the new bank.
As a last resort I asked if there were plans to close this branch like so many others. She claimed not to know anything. I hope there are.
* Yea I know it's old fashioned, the guy we rent the cottage from only does cheques.
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