General Chat

LOL no pleasing us is there...now we're 8 c and it's soooooo "hot" LOL

We now have a very light sprinkling of snow, and temperature around 0C, although the skies are really "threatening" ........ rain or snow????

Monday through Wednesday promise to be nice ............... sun, clear skies, and highs of -1 to +1 during the day :-D

In the 1970's I got stuck in Lerwick - due to snow.
Ex (then boyfriend) worked one end of the mainland - I lived on an island to the West of the mainland (fortunately with a causeway),. He got weekend leave once a month.
So, we decided to meet in Lerwick one Saturday evening.
It started snowing at 7pm. By 9pm the snow was quite high.
10 pm we decided to leave the pub and go back to our respective 'homes'.
Only one taxi had snow chains. My 'usual' taxi, John, was P*ssed as a newt and couldn't pick me up.
After trawling all the (one) hotels in Lerwick, the Seaman's mission and any other place for somewhere to stay - we ended up in separate cells in the local police station!
The next morning (6am) - ex came upon a minibus picking up people from where he worked to take them home.
I found nothing.
It took me five and a half hours to walk the 15 miles home, in 3ft of snow.
Did you know, snow travels up flared jeans, and makes your legs heavy?
Platform shoes - even wedge heels aren't really suitable for walking in snow:-(
Since then, I've never worn flares - and any footwear I have, has to be comfortable enough for me to walk 20 miles in - it's not an age thing, I decided on this change at 21!

I see Meghan wore a very elegant pair of suede boots with 6" (??) heels to Bristol today :-D

Just what you need in snow!

The UK is not equipped to for artic conditions,the worst has to be drivers.

Many have never driven in an inch of snow let alone any decent depth....and they never have any much needed equipment in the car...…...some not even a coat.!!!

although there will be somebody that has taken an extensive course in dire conditions and is a boy scout...…... :-D.


and agree the 6" heeled boots...….are must,,,,,, ;-) :-D

Motown .............. hope you in-laws are keeping warm and cosy. Yes, it is supposed to warm up for them in the next few days.

............... meanwhile, we in the "Banana Belt" are expected to get colder after this weekend, with even the possibility of "a few flakes" on Sunday!


I heard yesterday that the scientists have decided the Polar Vortex is a result of climate change, which has resulted in a change in direction of the polar air stream

Yep you could be right Sylvia. I've got sensible and now wear me boots.

I did see a few tottering along this morning.

I was booted, hooded and gloved. And still slipped and slid along. :-(

In laws still snowed in. Apparently the temps will rise slightly this weekend.

Yep even this week with the snow and the cool temps you can easily find high heel wearing no hat no gloves fashionable women downtown.....don't want to ruin the makeup and hair dear :-D

Motown ............... I don't know about that tip being "patronising".

It might be necessary

Think of all the young ladies wearing high heeled boots ................... especially so-called "fashion icons" that youngsters follow

Victoria Beckham with her high heeled toe-less boots last week in cold temperatures in NY

x-month pregnant Meghan with her incredibly high heels


We see young women tip-toeing along in such ridiculous footwear even over here!

We have had a 'dusting' of a couple of inches here. Weather warning, and 'good advice' on the local news last night.

'Don't wear high heels in the snow, ladies'. Well, who would have though it?

Patronising? Surely not. :-P :-P :-P

:-D :-D

Stay warm Maggie may all your pork scratchings and otherwise end up in the correct orifice...

I'm sorry, It's 'terriby' cold, here- - 6 apparently.

If I hear crackling in my nose, I know I've put the pork scratchings in the wrong orifice!

Of course we will :-D :-D

That's the Canadian way!

We'll be moaning it's too hot before you know it :-D :-D

Motown .........

yes all good advice!!

One male TV reporter in Winnipeg talked about walking to work the other morning ........ well wrapped up, hood with fur trim over his head, scarf over mouth and nose etc etc ................ and getting ice "mascara" on his eyelashes :-D


Danger is when you feel or hear crackling in your nose. That means the inside of your nose is freezing.

house swap????


errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr .......... no!!

Unless I can stay in all day in the warmth, and just look out at the snow and cold :-D



Interestingly, snow or winter tyres are not compulsory in Vancouver, but you can be fined if you drive in snow, get stuck, impede traffic and are found to not have winter tyres installed

A lot of people drove without them back when we first arrived here, many of them believed that putting heavy weights in the trunk of the car added enough weight to the back of the car to get them out of any trouble. We found out the fallacy of that belief the first winter ............. that's when we discovered that every road off the UBC campus had a hill somewhere.

Campus would be closed due to the snow if it reached 10cm, and all those who could would leave immediately, especially Plant Operations guys (ie maintenance, truck drivers, janitors, etc). Many of them believed in the weight in the trunk. But we'd always be later leaving ......... OH was faculty and often could not just walk out that minute and I had to wait for him.

Almost every time we would find that every road off campus was blocked by stuck cars, except for the steepest one which led down to English Bay and then required one to drive up an equally steep hill to get away from there. OH would put chains on over his winter tyres and off we'd go ................ and get home in only a little bit longer than normal!

In those days, you could drive with chains on or with studded tyres in the city, now both are forbidden.

Snow or winter tyres are compulsory in most other areas of BC, along with a requirement in some places to also carry chains.

OH always has winter tyres on the car year round ..... they also give good traction on the gravel or muddy roads that we used to drive on a lot.


I'd forgotten block heaters ............ we don't need them in the Lower Mainland, but yes, a great necessity in many areas. Along with plug-ins outside motels and sometimes in parking areas in the colder cities (like Winnipeg).

We actually had a block heater installed in our car some 20-25 years ago because we were driving regularly to northern BC where OH's sister lived, an area with 5-6 months winter and very low temperatures.

There was updates on the news where the inlaws live.

If you venture out, don't take deep breaths, and don't talk too much.

Wear a scarf over your mouth and nose.

But Sylvia...house swap????

Snow tires aren't compulsory in most areas, they should be. That said some then drive like idiots because they have them.

You forgot block heaters for the cars.....basically we can plug the engine in to warm it up before we start the engine.

To give an idea my winter very unfashionable boots are good to minus 40 and I live in a town not the middle of nowhere :-D

Thank you all for your good wishes for those suffering these extreme temperatures .................

I think the big difference between when I lived in the UK and living here is that we really do dress for the weather, and our houses are all centrally heated

I saw an interview with one man in Winnipeg, which is having this brutal weather, and he said "I'm wearing 7 layers"!!!!!!!!!!!!

Even here in Vancouver, OH and I have winter jackets that are rated down to -25C when wearing an ordinary light -weight sweater, -35C as we add layers. Daughter asked if she and her OH could have that same make for Christmas presents .... they arrived in time for their cold weather. It's been getting down to -18C in Halifax, NS. If we lived where Caroline lives, I'd be wearing the next weight up, which is rated for -35C when wearing a light sweater.

We add silk or thermal long johns and turtlenecks under our clothing as the need arises.

We also don't turn the heating off at night ............. we turn it down to between 14 and 17C depending on what is forecast. That way it doesn't take long to warm up in the morning, and we don't waste energy having to turn it up way too high to warm up the house.

The other thing that I've noticed is that we have special winter tyres that give good traction, and you don't seem to have (or use?) those. I certainly had never heard of them before I left the UK in 1967, yet they were common over here even back then. So traffic is not paralysed by cars or trucks getting stuck in the slightest amount of snow or on the smallest hill.

Yes, as Caroline says ........

............. there are severe weather shelters that are opened whenever the temperature is forecast to dip below 0C (in Vancouver). Plus the regular shelters where homeless people can go every night will put foam mattresses, sheets and pillows out dormitory style in any available space (eg the dining area!).

Some of the shelters are more relaxed than others in that drink or drugs, and pets are allowed. Others will allow homeless people to take in their wheelies that contain their belongings, while others refuse to accept those because of lack of room.

In addition, designated warming centres are announced, in public buildings such as community centres and libraries.