How to get home tonight? LL standstill

[tomk]

Any reports on how LL/A205 is looking today?

[paulino]

i got the 176 in to work this morning and everything seemed fine...

(had to walk from Holborn to Sydenham last night though :'( )

[SeanMacGabhann]

Now THAT is some walk - fair play to you

[DonGee]

randombloke Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Let's see: left Covent Garden at 16.40. Train from

> Charing Cross to London Bridge took 20 mins

> stopping outside Waterloo East for 10 minutes due

> to points failure. London Bridge station a total

> scrum. Gave up and went for a meal near Borough

> Market. No trains at London Bridge at 19:00 so

> waited for a No 40 bus on the bridge, none

> forthcoming so got a 133 to Elephant and Castle.

> Waited at Elephant and Castle for a 176 for 20

> mins, one No 12 bus came along and 6 people out of

> about 500 got on. Went to taxi firm, 1 hour wait

> at least, flagged a cab which took us up Walworth

> Rd. Total nightmare up there, round the back roads

> and got stuck on Camberwell Grove at Grove Hill

> Rd. Got out of cab after 45 mins ?35 worse off,

> walked to car parked at Quorn Rd down Dog Kennel

> Hill which was like an ice rink. Got stuck at

> Goose Green Roundabout and eventually dodged

> several buses strewn along Underhill Rd unlike the

> guy who cut me up then drove straight into the

> back of one of them..serves him right!

> Couldn't get up Overhill Road as it was blocked by

> police cones and like the North Face of the Eiger

> anyway. Finally walked through the door at 10.10

> after messing about parking the car. There was ONE

> gritter on Lordship Lane spraying about as much

> grit as you would find inside an oyster. Feeble.

> Nobody forecast this in a cold snap with frozen

> snow on the pavements and sub-zero temperatures,

> it's clearly rocket science. So if it took you 3

> hours and you think that's a record - think again.

> Try harder. Can't wait for 2012 when we will

> become the laughing stock of 3rd world nations.

> Then again the good news was that you weren't in

> immediate danger from homicidal cyclists riding on

> the pavements and yelling abuse at you when you

> get in their way.

> In fairness it will have been a nightmare for

> anyone who has the misfortune to work for TFL but

> after it happening in February there really is no

> excuse for the lack of foresight.

I'm on Friern Road and travelled from Borough High street starting my journey at 17:00, walked in my door at 10:15 travelling much of the same route as you. got to work this morning and people who live in Bromley and Kent got home before we did...

[Bony Fido]

Hope you moved that prostrate OAP closer in to Nero's doorway, Mrs Maxwell - they make jolly good draught excluders!

[vinceayre]

Dongee,

My wife left the bakery at 3pm yesterday and got in at 8:30pm and we live just past Bromley

[edanna]

Another tale of woe but with a silver lining... Left Holborn at 5.30 and got home to ED at 10. But it would have been later if it had not been for coach driver with a heart of gold, Neil. He gave me a lift from king's to northcross rd. At five and a half months pregnant I was really worried about falling over and he saved me sliding down dog kennel hill on foot. So thanks neil - you acted out of pure kindness and got me home safe and warm.

[daizie]

Aww, how great is that! Thank god for people like Neil .

The people saying, that to grit everywhere is expecting too much, obviously werent out in it and didnt have their lives seriously put at risk .

[ontheedge]

Someone had work this morning had these brilliant things that you put over your shoes like metal coils said he got them from a website I was only earwiggin so didn't catch which one but gonna do a search and find out just the thing for icy hills

[James Barber]

I left work, near London Bridge, at 5pm. No.40 bus got as far as M&S on Walworth Road. After an eternity realised I was going to have to walk home. Home for 6.45pm. Very friendly crowd all walking southwards. Wife rang asking me to collect some milk! So if you spotted a tall chap with 4 pints of semi skimmed milk - that was me.

[thomas thomas]

I spent 4 and a half hours on a 176 going from KCH to The Sea Cow !! Couldn't risk walking with a bad foot. Met some nice people though. And what a cheer as we finally got down Dog Kennel Hill !!!!!

[Shaila Shah]

It took me four and a half hours to get home on monday evening, the very last stretch having been completed after I stuck out my thumb and a very kind driver stopped and drove me to my door so that I did not have to grapple with the ice. Thank you again for helping out.

[SeanMacGabhann]

I could have picked from a dozen threads, but regarding the "how come other countries manage ok but we in broken britain fail yet again.." type comments, I see that DC (that's washington, not Carnell) has struggles over the last few days with offices closing, people being sent home and told not to go out etc etc

And this is a state which has spent big bucks just for this type of event - so I'm just saying can we ease up on the "what is WITH this country" rhetoric next time?

[Otto]

A bit different - there was over a meter of snow. falling at a rate of 3inches an hour. And, they are southerners.

[SeanMacGabhann]

Ah but the point is not the amount. The point is how much is expected.

[SteveT]

and it was wet, sticky, snow that clings on to power lines, builds up and brings them down.

[cate]

SeanMacGabhann Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I could have picked from a dozen threads, but

> regarding the "how come other countries manage ok

> but we in broken britain fail yet again.." type

> comments, I see that DC (that's washington, not

> Carnell) has struggles over the last few days with

> offices closing, people being sent home and told

> not to go out etc etc

>

> And this is a state which has spent big bucks just

> for this type of event - so I'm just saying can we

> ease up on the "what is WITH this country"

> rhetoric next time?

Washington DC is not a state. It is in the District of Columbia. The state of Virginia borders it to the south. I consider that to be the beginning of the American South. They are not used to the type of snowfall they have had in the past few days unlike the uppper Eastern Seaboard and the Midwest which is often snow covered from November to March.

[njc97]

Cate - Virginia is below the Mason-Dixie line, so part of the south. But similarly the UK was not used to the sort of snowfall we got. Also you mention the upper eastern seaboard getting heavy snow regularly - then why were they having transport problems in NY, NJ etc?

[ruffers]

Given the smattering of snow today I'm betting someone looks at the title of this thread and panics ;-)

[cate]

njc97 Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Cate - Virginia is below the Mason-Dixie line, so

> part of the south. But similarly the UK was not

> used to the sort of snowfall we got. Also you

> mention the upper eastern seaboard getting heavy

> snow regularly - then why were they having

> transport problems in NY, NJ etc?

I don't understand your posting. I said Virginia was in the South. I also wanted to point out that Washington DC was not a US State.

I posted to agree with Sean that even in the parts of US, where heavy snowfall is more common than London, except for States in the South, they are having trouble with the massive amount of snow. People in North American and parts of Europe are very fond of posting on UK newspaper websites when we have snow over here to poke fun at the British when the UK has snow. Advice like get your car fitted with snow tires or chains etc or you need more snow-ploughs blah blah. There is no reason to have tons of snowploughs or change your tires if you hardly ever get snow. There is some sort of smug We Know What to Do When We Have Snow and You Don't attitude. A little snow is a lot to us here and a lot of snow is a a lot snow full stop.

[James Barber]

Eitherway, the UK Met Office is predicting heavy snowfall this Thursday and Friday.

[????]

Phew, if it's the Met Office we'll be fine! ;-)

[Otto]

personally...I wish there were more snow so we could justify a few of these....

http://inventorspot.com/articles/robot_snowplow_japan_shovels_sno_9534

[James Barber]

More heavy snow forecast by UK MEt Office for tomorrow and Wednesday.

Funny old winter.

[ianr]

It's only an 'advisory' at present (probability less than 60%): click on the map(s) (currently just Wednesday) shaded yellow at http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/se/london_forecast_weather.html

PS The term they actually use is not 'probability' but 'confidence', though I doubt the distinction's worth sweating about.