Thursday, January 29, 2015

Snowpocalypse? Naw!

Once again, there was a hint of snow about the weather, and so once again the weather forecasters and the news channels were predicting massive disruption, travel chaos, and all the attendant woes.

In the event, two inches of snow fell, the gritters were out in force, the roads got cleared, and it was all okay. That's not to say there was no disruption - of course there was some - but it most certainly was not the disaster that had been threatened.

I find myself wondering: is this all still a reaction to them getting thoroughly caught out by the freak snowfall of five years ago? Or is it instead a desperate attempt to turn "Snow! In January!" into news fit for a 24-hour news cycle? Because on the face of it, it's utterly mad - what people need is accurate information so that they can make wise decisions. False predictions of doom are every bit as problematic, and much more common, than us being caught out by freak weather events.

This Week's Mug: A somewhat delayed anecdote this week, but this week's mug is a simple white mug with a wraparound design showing Ashness Bridge and Keswick, as painted by Colin Williamson. As the design suggests, this was purchased while in Keswick some five years ago, on the event of LC and my first trip away together. A weekend away marked by some nice walks, an issue with some smelly cheese in the car, and, yes, snow.

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