The Last Ditch by Tom Paine

THE LAST DITCH

The dwindling of Britain

Published by Tom

on

Britain comes to standstill after 1ft of snow – Telegraph.

The once-great capital of England is at a halt today because of what is, by Russian standards, the merest dusting of snow. Emails from my office in Moscow reveal that life continues as normal. Here in London for Mrs P's next round of treatment, it is quite a different story.

We have just had a call from the hospital. Mrs P.'s scheduled operation today and her treatment have both been cancelled. The nursing staff and doctors didn't make it through the extreme weather apparently. After psyching herself up for days, she must just sit tight now and wait for a call. Presumably the hospital had other treatments scheduled tomorrow? Presumably those will be thrown off by expected further snowflakes this evening? Meanwhile the press and TV make a big story of London's usual rain in a slightly different format.

I can't help feeling that the nation would not be at a standstill if standing still was not an idea that rather appealed to it.

5 responses to “The dwindling of Britain”

  1. tbrrob Avatar
    tbrrob

    It took me a while to get to work but I’m here.
    Not much can be done when a slight change in the weather causes the whole transport system to collapse.

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  2. Crushed Avatar
    Crushed

    It’s not the biggest snowfall ever…
    In fact, in the Midlands it barely covers the ground.

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  3. Guthrum Avatar
    Guthrum

    And in Somerset, we had three flakes, the whole of Britain should not be conflated with London and the South East !

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  4. jmb Avatar
    jmb

    Now,now. I’m sure you have lots to criticize the Brits for, but being able to handle a snowfall (albeit not really that much as you say) in a city which hasn’t even seen snow in 70 years is hardly to be expected.
    I’m sorry that Mrs P’s procedures were cancelled. It is very upsetting for her. I can remember occasions here where the snow was so bad the university was closed but the hospital where I worked on the university campus had to be staffed and we went to extraordinary lengths to get to work and somehow we all showed up, often very late but eventually. However if there is no public transport, there’s not much those people can do.
    Hopefully buses will be running again soon but if the predicted six inches falls who knows.

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  5. Tom Paine Avatar
    Tom Paine

    London has seen snow much more recently than 70 years ago. The last time it had snow, however, it did not have such an “Elf n’ Safety” regime that the authorities were afraid to send the bus drivers out for fear that snowy streets were not “… a safe system of work…”

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Your blogger

Tom is a retired international lawyer. He was a partner in a City of London law firm and spent almost twenty years abroad serving clients from all over the world.

Returning to London on retirement in 2011, he was dismayed to discover how much liberty had been lost in the UK while he was away.

He’s a classical liberal (libertarian, if you must) who, like his illustrious namesake, considers that

“…government even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one.”

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