Is this really national news, or a desperate BBC?

[andrewws]

Just heard on the 07:00 Radio 2 news that the army are clearing the streets of snow in Edinburgh. Apparently five were sent to clear a path for a fuel lorry and another five to clear something to do with a hospital. More are going to be deployed later today.

Thats 10 soldiers, who are not exactly fighting off insurgents at present are shovelling snow. Is this really national news? I am sure the chaps would have done this anyway, when I was similarly employed we did stuff like this all the time.

Or is it that the local council have reached an agreement on funding with the top army bods? But could only afford 10 until today, we seem to get more of this sort of cr-p every day now.

Am I just being naive, or has all this stuff got out of proportion?

[Andy Zarse]

Did you see the gormless BBC reporter outside Grangemouth telling us there's still "two weeks worth of snow". Dumb bh, WTF is that supposed to mean?

[nelly1]

I like the bit where they make it seem that there's a fuel shortage over much of the country, and then 'urge people not to panic buy'...

Red rag to a bull for the sheeple!

[andrewws]

Andy Zarse said:

Did you see the gormless BBC reporter outside Grangemouth telling us there's still "two weeks worth of snow". Dumb bh, WTF is that supposed to mean?

Maybe Grangemouth only have 10 soldiers as well, I think they would be doing well by clearing their snow in two weeks. Or will it take two weeks to negotiate 'funding'. You never know it may have thawed by then, but the contact negotiations will have a full payment clause.

Sorry, just getting too cynical....

[madala]

andrewws said:

Just heard on the 07:00 Radio 2 news that the army are clearing the streets of snow in Edinburgh. Apparently five were sent to clear a path for a fuel lorry and another five to clear something to do with a hospital. More are going to be deployed later today.

Thats 10 soldiers, who are not exactly fighting off insurgents at present are shovelling snow. Is this really national news? I am sure the chaps would have done this anyway, when I was similarly employed we did stuff like this all the time.

Or is it that the local council have reached an agreement on funding with the top army bods? But could only afford 10 until today, we seem to get more of this sort of cr-p every day now.

Am I just being naive, or has all this stuff got out of proportion?

.....I am AMAZED that the British Army has that many mae to spare.....

[Digga]

andrewws said:

Just heard on the 07:00 Radio 2 news that the army are clearing the streets of snow in Edinburgh...has all this stuff got out of proportion?

Depends. Doesn't say what method they're using.

[andrewws]

Digga said:

andrewws said:

Just heard on the 07:00 Radio 2 news that the army are clearing the streets of snow in Edinburgh...has all this stuff got out of proportion?

Depends. Doesn't say what method they're using.

WOW. I want one of those, Tony Blair here I come!!!!

[Kudos]

andrewws said:

Digga said:

andrewws said:

Just heard on the 07:00 Radio 2 news that the army are clearing the streets of snow in Edinburgh...has all this stuff got out of proportion?

Depends. Doesn't say what method they're using.

WOW. I want one of those, Tony Blair here I come!!!!

Chap near me made his own a few years back...
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/school-flamet...

[scenario8]

Well, this chap would seem to think the matter is worthy of ranting, so if the Army is being used (a bit) then why not cover it as part of a news story about the attempts to deal with the snow north of the border? No need for a 24/7 feed of the soldiers but I don't see the harm in talking about it for a bit.

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a... public sector workers be out clearing the snow?

[blinkythefish]

nelly1 said:

I like the bit where they make it seem that there's a fuel shortage over much of the country, and then 'urge people not to panic buy'...

Red rag to a bull for the sheeple!

We passed our local BP this morning and it was out of fuel - city centre Edinburgh, 2 miles from the bypass, so not exactly in the middle of nowhere. I'd be curious as to how much was due to an actual delivery problems and how much was a result of unexpected demand meaning the previous order was insufficient....

[davepoth]

Blame rolling news. I've been stuck in bed for a few weeks so I've been watching it for more than 20 minutes at a time, and of course they need to fill the space. So they desperately flit around the country trying to find something to fill the time. The short-termism of this approach means none of the journalists get to do any proper investigation into things, so they mainly resort to whatever makes a pretty picture.

[GregE240]

I fail to see what the BBC has got to gain with all of this scaremongering hokum.

Last weekend, we drove from the Midlands through Oxfordshire, Berkshire, round the M25 through Surrey, in to Kent and over to France. Okay, so there was a bit of snow on the ground, but it seems the BBC are now using library or older pictures to make us think its still really, really bad in certain areas.

Well, sorry, it just isn't. OK, so Scotland copped a load of snow - but hey - guess what - its bloody December!!!

[cmsapms]

TVR Moneypit said:

Andy Zarse said:

Did you see the gormless BBC reporter outside Grangemouth telling us there's still "two weeks worth of snow". Dumb bh, WTF is that supposed to mean?

Last week sometime, early morning BBC breakfast weather report. Some Scottish bird with blond hair and a red jacket exclaimed "And tempratures fell tobelow freezing againlast night!!!"

Well yeah, it would do love, it's December, the sun has set, and it's the MIDDLE OF fkING WINTER YOU DUMB STUPID, MORONIC, DAFT, ANNOYING TART!


I had to turn on some Smooth FM in an attempt to bring my blood pressure back down first thing in the morning.

A few days ago our local news weather forecasting bint gave us the usual "It'll be cold with snow in places" forecast before advising us to check back regularly as "the forecast is changing rapidly". To me this was an admission that she hadn't a clue what was going on. There was a big black cloud with two snowflakes right over our house on her map. This apparently means clear skies and wall to wall sunshine based on what I could glean from LOOKING OUT OF THE WINDOW!