8 inches would be enough to trigger "warnings" on the weather media in Canada, but probably wouldn't really faze anyone: the council would get their ploughs out, everyone else would get their shovels and/or snow-blowers out and then life would go on much as normal.
It's when you get to the three feet that St. John's got a few weeks ago that things get interesting: the city was in a State of Emergency for about a week, and there are no words to describe how relieved I was that I didn't live there any more.
Ah! I'm old enough to remember the Big Freeze of 1962-63, when the snow - even in Kent - was deep enough to come over the tops of my wellies, and make my little legs very cold and wet... (I was an 11-year old skinny little yard of pump-water).
My mother remembers the sea freezing off Thanet that year. (Apparently it was lots of little blocks of ice floating on the surface rather than anything dramatic.) The pitches at school were also so hard games lessons were going for walks as they couldn't play hockey.
As I was only a year old in February 1963, I can be forgiven for not remembering it.
I do, however, remember 1978-79, which involved snow lasting for about three weeks in Orkney, which was a rarity; the TV being off for at least a fortnight; and getting about a week off school.
Ah! I'm old enough to remember the Big Freeze of 1962-63, when the snow - even in Kent - was deep enough to come over the tops of my wellies, and make my little legs very cold and wet... (I was an 11-year old skinny little yard of pump-water).
Blizzard of 1963? That were nothing. I was born in the great blizzard of 1947. Fortunately, my mother was there at the time, but I didn't get out to play in it.
I was born in the great storm of 1963. My granny missed the birth because the train got stuck in a drift and the passengers had to dig it out (with what? They can't all have used the fireman's shovel). My father died in the great snow of early January 1979. This current snow is paltry. The local Facebook page keeps showing pictures of thirty years ago when the drifts were up to the roofs of houses in the main street.
Also, eye tests are free. This rational system of making sure that people have access to primary and preventative care so that medical problems are identified earlier and follow through with treatment (as opposed to, say, not completing a course of medication because of the cost of prescriptions) saves money in the long term by reducing the need for more expensive hospital treatment, and is also better for the patients. Being rational, it hasn't been adopted by the government south of the border.
That does indeed make sense. The last time I had a prescription in the UK (in Belfast, probably about 20 years ago), I think it cost about £6.50; today was a very pleasant surprise.
Being rational, it hasn't been adopted by the government south of the border.
Why are those of us who have to languish in the Sad Southlands not surprised by this?
Fortunately (IYSWIM) I am Aged and Infirm enough to qualify for free medication, which is just as well, or I would by now be a Pauper, and about to go into the Workhouse.
IIRC, it's been quite a while since Scotland's NHS took this rational, and pragmatic, path - long enough for Wastemonster to follow suit....ha!
Sadly, it also gets abused by the less than sensible who ask for free prescriptions for items like paracetamol which can be easily and cheaply purchased elsewhere.
We - inadvertently - cost the NHS a lot of money for medicine which never gets used.
Our son has allergies and has Epipens/autoinjectors in case of anaphylaxis which usually have a shelf life or f 9-12 months and then need to be replaced. Factor in needing to have them in pairs, and having a set at home, a set in school and set at after-school club (he's not old enough to look after them himself) and you can see how the costs mount up
Mr F's prescriptions include aspirin. Which could indeed be bought cheaply, but the fact that the dosage, the schedule and the prompt for renewal all there ensures he does take it (as part of a regime for lessening the risk of stroke).
Yes, My Old Mum was prescribed dispersible aspirin (she had angina), though she was by then old enough not to have to pay for her prescriptions anyway.
There may indeed be many younger people for whom even the cheapest medication they need regularly is too expensive to buy over the counter. Having said that, a packet of aspirin or paracetamol costs only 40p-50p in most supermarkets (AFAIK), but, if you're dependent on the local Food Bank, even that may be OTT...
Any scheme to make medicines available free of charge is bound to attract some misuse, but the savings in later health care must surely outweigh the disadvantages? I agree, though, that the waste of medication which becomes out-of-date is Not A Good Thing, though I can't offhand see how it could be totally prevented.
People with epipens that go unused (in the sense that they are never shot) are in fact "using" them in the best possible way. The epipens are being used as insurance, or even as prevention--which is worth more than a pound of cure, particularly when it comes to curing death. To call them "unused medication" is about as mistaken as referring to cops and firefighters as "idle personnel" simply because a city has had a remarkably peaceful and happy few months.
oh yes, we are glad not to have had to use them. But the fact that they run out and can't be recycled, and that we need 6 on the go at the same time still feels "wasteful"
It may feel that way, but please do whatever you can to alter that viewpoint so you don't feel bad. Because you really, really shouldn't, and it sucks that you do.
Well, I think my GP prescribes ibuprofen to me to make sure I take strong enough pain killers. Alright turning up to a doctors sheet white having only taken paracetamol is perhaps not the wisest thing to do even if you are there for a mental health checkup. It also takes me over the amount that makes it worthwhile me paying for a pre-payment certificate while my actual medication is just under that. So I think the NHS makes a bit of money out of it.
Would it be improper for a Canuck to ask about the likelihood of a new Scottish Referendum in this thread? Or is there a purgatory thread dedicated to this issue extant?
There's a thread in Purgatory (on page 7) entitled How long will the United Kingdom stay united? which might be germane to what you're thinking, @Caissa.
It rather depends on the angle of discussion you're contemplating. FWIW, post-Brexit, I'm certainly beginning to wonder.
Thanks for locating the Purg thread, Piglet. Having gone through to Quebec referendums, I am simply interested in how my Scottish shipmates perceive the situation on the ground in Scotland.
I think Brexit may have an effect on the feeling regarding Scottish independence (and Welsh, and the Irish question). I know it's altered my own thoughts, and if there were a referendum now, I'm not at all sure that I'd vote the same way I would have if I'd had a vote in 2014.
I think the question just now is about the vote. Sturgeon is under increasing pressure to have one anyway, even without the “permission” of Westminster. She is reluctant to do this, but I think may find she has to before the year is out.
My concern about that is that at present there's a not-particularly-strong argument that the Scottish government have a mandate for a vote based on the current Scottish Parliament majority for pro-Indy parties and the massive vote for the SNP in December. But, the last time we voted for our Parliament having a referendum wasn't on the cards, and so that claim can be challenged. We only have a year before the next election, and a majority for pro-indy parties then will be a very strong mandate for holding a referendum ... but, if we've already had a referendum that mandate will evaporate. Holding a referendum in the next 12 months will be subject to a whole load of legal challenge, and the fight to hold it will be pitched as Nicola vs Boris. Hold a referendum after a big vote for pro-indy parties next year and it becomes the will of the Scottish people to hold a referendum.
Besides, it will take time to write the question, probably more time than we have before the election next year - certainly more time than needed to hold the referendum before the start of the next election campaign. Especially since some parts of the question can't be written until the relationship between the EU and UK (and, hence between Scotland in the EU and the rest of the UK) is clarified, though other parts will just be copied over from the 2014 question.
Yes, I see all that, and I think you are right, but the way I am hearing things - and you are far closer to Holyrood than I am (though I have a niece who avers that she is in training to be Scotland's first president!) - there are rumblings from the SNP faithful that they want a vote sooner than later. You need to get your voice heard!
I'm active in a pro-indy political party, but even there independence comes under "would be good" rather than the most urgent thing to be done. If we have to wait a few years before a referendum then so be it, we can endure English colonial government for a bit longer. Brexit is universally recognised as a very bad thing, an assault on democracy and our economy and society, but if we have to wait a decade or two before rejoining the EU then we can wait. We can wait 10 years or more for independence and EU membership, life would be easier if we didn't have to wait but wait we can. We don't have the option to wait five years to take significant action to address the climate emergency.
This is being much debated in the North East household. The North East Man thinks that an early referendum would result in a vote for independence. I think that people might be wary of further upheaval at the same time as Brexit. Plus, we don't actually know what Brexit will look like at the end of the transition period. I think most people would rather wait and see, then vote.
Got it, thank you. I'll soon need somewhere to rage after cancelling my trip. Edinburgh pubs, friends and relatives all over, beautiful train rides, tramping around Iona, Edinburgh pubs...
Quite right, BF. It doesn't look too bad out there just now (at least the sn*w went away), and the skies are indeed grey. According to S's Alexa thingy though, the temperature is 10° - double figures!
I suppose I've become accustomed to Canadian seasons, where Spring happens at about half past two on the third Tuesday of May: at the moment they're probably bracing themselves for Sheila's Brush, which can bring scary amounts of sn*w around the time of St. Patrick's Day.
It was sufficiently not too bad that I went into the garden for an hour and dibbled in some more bulbs. I need stuff to start coming up soon as my planting markers have largely been blown or washed away and I've lost track.
Embra is having no truck with this Spring nonsense, and sticking with grey skies and single figures.
I have it seems been in Embra long enough to turn native: we celebrated the nice day by having a picnic lunch on one of the hills. All things are relative.
Good on you, Dafyd!
It's been an interesting couple of days for me: on Friday morning I heard via Facebook that the daughter of a couple of friends in Northern Ireland and her partner had got engaged; later that day my nephew phoned to say that he'd proposed to his girlfriend and she'd said yes*; and today my niece and her husband came round (along with Harvey the Cockapoo) and told me they're expecting a baby in September.
* They're keen on crosswords, and he had doctored a puzzle so that some of the clues led to the answer "X, WILL YOU MARRY ME".
Finally the Church of Scotland has given us definite instructions to stop holding services. This means that I can work on plan B with single-minded concentration. May sound like bad news, but really it is a relief.
Comments
Probably about an inch - so enough to bring the entire infrastructure of the country to a halt.
It's when you get to the three feet that St. John's got a few weeks ago that things get interesting: the city was in a State of Emergency for about a week, and there are no words to describe how relieved I was that I didn't live there any more.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_of_1962%E2%80%9363_in_the_United_Kingdom
I do, however, remember 1978-79, which involved snow lasting for about three weeks in Orkney, which was a rarity; the TV being off for at least a fortnight; and getting about a week off school.
Blizzard of 1963? That were nothing. I was born in the great blizzard of 1947. Fortunately, my mother was there at the time, but I didn't get out to play in it.
What an excellent thing! <notworthy>
Why are those of us who have to languish in the Sad Southlands not surprised by this?
Fortunately (IYSWIM) I am Aged and Infirm enough to qualify for free medication, which is just as well, or I would by now be a Pauper, and about to go into the Workhouse.
IIRC, it's been quite a while since Scotland's NHS took this rational, and pragmatic, path - long enough for Wastemonster to follow suit....ha!
https://www.scotsman.com/health/revealed-the-cost-of-free-paracetamol-to-nhs-scotland-1-4745545
We - inadvertently - cost the NHS a lot of money for medicine which never gets used.
Our son has allergies and has Epipens/autoinjectors in case of anaphylaxis which usually have a shelf life or f 9-12 months and then need to be replaced. Factor in needing to have them in pairs, and having a set at home, a set in school and set at after-school club (he's not old enough to look after them himself) and you can see how the costs mount up
There may indeed be many younger people for whom even the cheapest medication they need regularly is too expensive to buy over the counter. Having said that, a packet of aspirin or paracetamol costs only 40p-50p in most supermarkets (AFAIK), but, if you're dependent on the local Food Bank, even that may be OTT...
Any scheme to make medicines available free of charge is bound to attract some misuse, but the savings in later health care must surely outweigh the disadvantages? I agree, though, that the waste of medication which becomes out-of-date is Not A Good Thing, though I can't offhand see how it could be totally prevented.
Imagine the tabloid headline: DOCTOR REFUSES TO PRESCRIBE PAINKILLER! DEMAND FOR INQUIRY! Less trouble to prescribe it.
It rather depends on the angle of discussion you're contemplating. FWIW, post-Brexit, I'm certainly beginning to wonder.
Maybe he'd make a good President of Scotland, if Sean Connery can't oblige?
I'll get mah bonnet...
Besides, it will take time to write the question, probably more time than we have before the election next year - certainly more time than needed to hold the referendum before the start of the next election campaign. Especially since some parts of the question can't be written until the relationship between the EU and UK (and, hence between Scotland in the EU and the rest of the UK) is clarified, though other parts will just be copied over from the 2014 question.
Then Brexit, which was not quite so divisive.
Although this household is pro-indy, it’s not exactly a topic of conversation for post-service brews of a Sunday.......
I blame Trump. Or Johnson. Or both.
I suppose I've become accustomed to Canadian seasons, where Spring happens at about half past two on the third Tuesday of May: at the moment they're probably bracing themselves for Sheila's Brush, which can bring scary amounts of sn*w around the time of St. Patrick's Day.
It's been an interesting couple of days for me: on Friday morning I heard via Facebook that the daughter of a couple of friends in Northern Ireland and her partner had got engaged; later that day my nephew phoned to say that he'd proposed to his girlfriend and she'd said yes*; and today my niece and her husband came round (along with Harvey the Cockapoo) and told me they're expecting a baby in September.
* They're keen on crosswords, and he had doctored a puzzle so that some of the clues led to the answer "X, WILL YOU MARRY ME".
<votive> for all closed churches, especially the smaller ones, for whom recovery may be difficult.
I ask because if it's to last beyond the Easter weekend, we'll have to postpone the memorial service we'd been arranging for David in Orkney.
I was getting less hopeful about it anyway - it may be that non-essential travel will be off-limits by then anyway.
Oh well - c'est la chuffing vie. It's not as if we can't reschedule it once things are back to normal - whenever that is ...