Should public sector workers be out clearing the snow?

[br d]

We had a lot of snow here in Essex so I left at 4:30 every morning to ensure I would get into London on time.
When I got home on Wednesday I shovelled the drive and path, then started on the neighbours. As soon as the neighbour heard me (he was working from home) he came out and started as well, then together we did the next house along where a lady and her 2 daughters live.

We worked our cods off and as with any hard physical work it was immensely satisfying to finish the job and know it was worthwhile. I can't understand why any healthy, self respecting person wouldn't just get out there and make the effort, it's the least we can do, surely.

[Dave Angel]

Globs said:

So has anyone fisted themselves yet?

Not today.

fking hurts, so it does.

[oldbanger]

br d said:

We had a lot of snow here in Essex so I left at 4:30 every morning to ensure I would get into London on time.
When I got home on Wednesday I shovelled the drive and path, then started on the neighbours. As soon as the neighbour heard me (he was working from home) he came out and started as well, then together we did the next house along where a lady and her 2 daughters live.

We worked our cods off and as with any hard physical work it was immensely satisfying to finish the job and know it was worthwhile. I can't understand why any healthy, self respecting person wouldn't just get out there and make the effort, it's the least we can do, surely.

Exactly. we were fortunate that the snow was so thin on the ground here that it didn't need clearing, but I was a bit shocked that a radio 4 presenter seemed to think it was a bad thing that in Scotland, local farmers had had to clear back roads themselves with their own snowploughs. I mean, the indignitiy, think of the children etc...

[paprika]

normalbloke said:

" 'how to use a shovel' training," "how to spread grit properly"

Seriously? That sums up some of the issues ruining this country!

We need a common sense law....

Isn't he a soldier though?

I thought soldiers were almost like broken down to nothing, trained in the relevant things, and then thats it.

They are designed to be told what to do etc etc and not question anything?

[sadoksevoli]

br d said:

We had a lot of snow here in Essex so I left at 4:30 every morning to ensure I would get into London on time.
When I got home on Wednesday I shovelled the drive and path, then started on the neighbours. As soon as the neighbour heard me (he was working from home) he came out and started as well, then together we did the next house along where a lady and her 2 daughters live.

We worked our cods off and as with any hard physical work it was immensely satisfying to finish the job and know it was worthwhile. I can't understand why any healthy, self respecting person wouldn't just get out there and make the effort, it's the least we can do, surely.

This post sums it up - or rather it seems to be exceptional, the rest of Britain seems to think that the state is there to dig us all out of every hole, instead of letting us do it ourselves - the only trouble is the state's ever-increasing institutionalized theft, bureaucracy, PC madness (diversity awareness course anyone?) and a lot of other state interference which discourages, if not actively hinders us, from helping ourselves - certainly a nice big fat tax cut could mean I would happily contribute to a very local fund for a big big pile of grit and even a tractor for the hill I live on- it's what they do in other countries that don't have a parasitic, inefficient and disconnected state apparatus to squander their money for them.

[DonkeyApple]

sadoksevoli said:

br d said:

We had a lot of snow here in Essex so I left at 4:30 every morning to ensure I would get into London on time.
When I got home on Wednesday I shovelled the drive and path, then started on the neighbours. As soon as the neighbour heard me (he was working from home) he came out and started as well, then together we did the next house along where a lady and her 2 daughters live.

We worked our cods off and as with any hard physical work it was immensely satisfying to finish the job and know it was worthwhile. I can't understand why any healthy, self respecting person wouldn't just get out there and make the effort, it's the least we can do, surely.

This post sums it up - or rather it seems to be exceptional, the rest of Britain seems to think that the state is there to dig us all out of every hole, instead of letting us do it ourselves - the only trouble is the state's ever-increasing institutionalized theft, bureaucracy, PC madness (diversity awareness course anyone?) and a lot of other state interference which discourages, if not actively hinders us, from helping ourselves - certainly a nice big fat tax cut could mean I would happily contribute to a very local fund for a big big pile of grit and even a tractor for the hill I live on- it's what they do in other countries that don't have a parasitic, inefficient and disconnected state apparatus to squander their money for them.

It is a great sadness. I do wonder whether it's decades of state interference which has led people to expect others to do everything for them, combined with piles of cash making people think they are above everyone else.

Where I live it was the older generations who were out with shovels as it was last year along with those that society would argue had the least. You see the same effect on the trains, it's the old and the poor who give up their seats for others, everyone else seems to have some unhelathy sense of entitlement.

[4Q]

paprika said:

normalbloke said:

" 'how to use a shovel' training," "how to spread grit properly"

Seriously? That sums up some of the issues ruining this country!

We need a common sense law....

Isn't he a soldier though?

I thought soldiers were almost like broken down to nothing, trained in the relevant things, and then thats it.

They are designed to be told what to do etc etc and not question anything?

Whatever you say mate

[JensenA]

paprika said:

normalbloke said:

" 'how to use a shovel' training," "how to spread grit properly"

Seriously? That sums up some of the issues ruining this country!

We need a common sense law....

Isn't he a soldier though?

I thought soldiers were almost like broken down to nothing, trained in the relevant things, and then thats it.

They are designed to be told what to do etc etc and not question anything?

You are either an idiot for thinking that, or an idiot for posting such a ridiculous statement

[Sticks.]

DonkeyApple said:

It is a great sadness. I do wonder whether it's decades of state interference which has led people to expect others to do everything for them, combined with piles of cash making people think they are above everyone else.

Where I live it was the older generations who were out with shovels as it was last year along with those that society would argue had the least. You see the same effect on the trains, it's the old and the poor who give up their seats for others, everyone else seems to have some unhelathy sense of entitlement.

Could be that, could be just plain lazy or selfish.

On the way home last night we thought we'd stop for a quick drink. The fourth pub we tried had cleared its car park of snow. The others had done nothing, car parks were ice and slush covered, very hazardous.

Mentioned to the landlord how rare it was to see what he'd done and he replied 'but it's my livelihood, so I was out there at 7am...'

Too much effort for some, it seems.

[br d]

4Q said:

paprika said:

They are designed to be told what to do etc etc and not question anything?

Whatever you say mate

Lol! I enjoyed that 4Q.
Very good.

Edited by br d on Sunday 5th December 12:58

[paprika]

JensenA said:

paprika said:

normalbloke said:

" 'how to use a shovel' training," "how to spread grit properly"

Seriously? That sums up some of the issues ruining this country!

We need a common sense law....

Isn't he a soldier though?

I thought soldiers were almost like broken down to nothing, trained in the relevant things, and then thats it.

They are designed to be told what to do etc etc and not question anything?

You are either an idiot for thinking that, or an idiot for posting such a ridiculous statement

I read it in a CCF thing or something, hence the word "thought" and alot of question marks.

I never said it was fact, never said I believed it either, just brought it up for the lulz.