It seems there is sNOw Community Spirit any more

12Jan/100

Is it just me, but with all this snow and big freeze, it seems that people have become more selfish than ever? Admittedly yes, this cold spell had brought disruption to the country, we've seen more snow and freezing temperatures since the proper Big Freeze in 1963, and Britain continues to show itself up being completely incapable of dealing with a sub-zero climate. It's an embarrassment to be honest.

When the snow started to come down last Tuesday night in our area of West Sussex, I took a taxi back home and the driver and I had a bit of a chuckle thinking of what it would be like to be snowed in at Tesco’s. The news had highlighted the 30 or so people that were snowed in at the pub in West Yorkshire for a couple of days at New Years, and mucked in with cutting vegetables aside from a few cheeky beers and a pub quiz. Imagine if it was Tesco’s and you were having a lock in.

We pondered on just how much fun you could make it. An endless choice of food and alcohol with no worries about running out of milk. However, cooking recipes via the George Foreman grill or microwaves may limit the gourmet dinner that you'd dream of, unless a hot chicken tickles your fancy. Go upstairs and you've an entertainment emporium with rows of high definition TV's, DVD's and Blu-Rays, music, laptops, etc, that would simply thaw out any boredom.

Unfortunately for me, I was snowed in. Not at Tesco's, but at the bottom of a hill and no way out. It was the same for another 9 houses on our road. Apart from the family with a 4x4 (bastards, but very nice people), we were faced with about 6 inches of blanket snow across our gardens and on the roads.

On Wednesday and Thursday there was very little chance of doing anything apart from work from home, and go out for the occasional sleigh ride with my son in a home-made sleigh, the washing basket, a bin bag and a piece of string. With the snow coming down thick and fast, any clearing of the snow was just pointless. Come Friday, the snow on the roads had become so compacted due to the kids being off school and playing in the streets, that it had now become an ice-rink. Great. But a five mile round trip walking to the nearest Tesco was satisfying in a weird kind of way, as I came back with 12 pints of milk, rather aching arms and plenty of gratitude from the wife.

On Friday, enough was enough. I had to get to work and escape this hell hole. A 3 hour journey to London, cold wet feet, but a warm office and productivity was enough to put a smile back on my face. Southern had said that there was no compensation or refunds for the snow delays, as there wasn't any cancellations - just a revised timetable. Tough love then compared to snow that fell on 1st and 2nd of February 2009.

Walking to the train station I had passed no fewer that 30 cars that had been abandoned earlier in the week. There were lining the streets around us where it's all very hilly. It was like Gatwick, rack 'em and stack 'em, without the scale of Wednesdays cancellations of over 400 flights and 25,000 passengers stranded.

On Saturday there was some reprise. I'd managed to clear the driveway of snow, but the thick ice beyond it defeated any great sense of achievement, as I still couldn't get out. Some of the neighbours had cleared up their own driveways and some portions of the road, but it needed a real team effort if anyone of us was going to seek any normality beyond our close.

After waiting 20 minutes for a bus that never came, our family decided to trek through the snow, find a bus and venture into the town centre on Sunday. Passing the local primary school and nursery, there was a bunch of parents and kids all clearing the playgrounds. Bloody well done I say. That's the type of think you want to see. Shame that the roads to the school and around it remained iced up. I'd read somewhere that the government had vowed to get all major roads clear and schools would reopen Monday 11th January. Maybe this was a sign that parents also wanted this in order to avoid taking more days off, or bringing the kids to work, and students can return to do their exams.

On our return from town, it was the cheerful scene and being welcomed by the neighbours at the top of the hill, which showed some further evidence of community spirit. Our next door neighbour told us that they got a SMS text about the school round the corner, but the priority was getting themselves out first. There were about 15 people gathered at the top of the hill armed with spades, shovels, hoes and even a giant home-made wooden ice scraper. With a box of beer on the side of the road and a few bottles of Smirnoff Ice (how ironic), they'd cleared two tracks to enable cars to move up and down the hill, not exactly like James May's world record attempt of the biggest Scalextric track, but similar.

With a smirk on my face and sleeping child in the buggy, I called out "I'll be back with a spade" after I've had a cuppa tea. I bet they thought that this was a load of hot air, but true enough, I returned with my tools, a sleigh of beer and wine, and got stuck right in. The group consisted of kids, parents, and even grandparents, all of whom seemed to have a role that just, well, worked.

There was those who shovelled the ice of the road, those that cleared it, and those that I think just watched and drank. Nah, just kidding. Everyone was pulling together in true community spirit with a common end goal of getting out of our road. What will surprise people though, is that we started 3 roads away! The team (which we had now become) resided on the bottom two roads but needed the top road cleared to reach a more slushed filled one near a main road. You'd think those living at the top would have made some effort, but there were nowhere to be seen.

Click the thumbnails below to see the full images. Try and spot the token snowman and the basket of beer!

Anyway, having cleared tonnes of snow onto the roadside and some of the pavement, we had completed around 200 yards of thick ice about 3 inches thick from the road and even laid sand out on the corners where it was a hazard if any ice formed overnight. It did take 2-3 hours to do, but an incredibly satisfying afternoon. Not only did people offer up some booze to warm the cockles, one neighbour even came out with a dozen or so cakes! Not bad at all.

Below is a video of our efforts. You'd agree it's pretty damn good.

So the community spirit definitely existed in our road, but elsewhere there is a pitiful example of sheer selfishness or plain laziness. On the road with abandoned cars, a resident had left a note on all the windscreens with words to the effect, "would you please 'effing sort your shit out, clear your own driveways, park there, and let these roads go back to normal to allow refuse collections, buses and school buses through". Thank you Hanne for writing that, as it seems to have made an impact.

Taking a taxi back home last night, we had this conversation that there is very little community spirit and getting together for the common good. I'm sure he's seen plenty of side roads all chocking up with slush, snow and ice, but was suitably impressed when he came down the three roads we'd cleared to my house. It was like biblical divided seas, but with ice on both sides and a clear path to the holy land.

The driver had said around 20 years ago after a lot of snow and ice, the councils and government were telling residents to stop clearing their roads. I guess this was in fear of claims of accidents, but nevertheless, it was the right thing to do if the council were failing to grit these areas. He went on to say how people are just holed up inside in the warm, complaining of the snow, yet to do absolutely jack about it.

I'm sure plenty of communities have rallied together and done their bit, especially up North and the Midlands where it's been particularly hard hit. But even so, I walked the 30 minutes to my train station today, and saw not one side road that had been cleared. I find this both amazing and disgusting. Why on earth are people leaving the roads to remain a skidding hazard and prolong the agony for other residents.

There is a warm glow inside me knowing we did the right thing, and even better, it brought the neighbours closer together and now we look forward to the newly discussed street BBQ party in the summer. Bring it on. A gathering of barbies, burgers, music and a lot more beer! We might need a longer road if we want to set a Guinness World Record for the longest barbecue though.

Rant over. Please rate out community spirit out of 10 with a comment below, so I can share with the neighbours. Thanks.