Telegraph | News | Roads blocked, trains axed, runways shut . . . so much for being prepared

What is it about the U.K. that makes it's inhabitants surprised by cold weather? you'd have thought after several thousand years of inhabiting the same small muddy island the locals would have got the hang of the climate, but apparently not. Every year it snows, and every year the entire country grinds to a halt as motorists, train companies and local councils display how unprepared they are for winter. How hard can it be to get things to work? around Europe you can get trains to most ski resorts but in the UK a couple of centimetres of snow brings the network to a halt. In europe drivers put winter tyres on their cars for added grip in snowy and icy conditions but in the UK noone has ever heard of them. They would rather slide into a ditch than admit they do not live in a sub-tropical paradise.

I had the misfortune of being back in blighty over the christmas / new year period and was reminded how cold, wet, grey and miserable the place is for 9 months of the year. As soon as the locals wake up to this truth then perhaps they can prepare for the inevitable.