A Blanket of Magical Inconvenience – Manchester Shivers in the Snow

Snow - Magical, Beautiful and Wholly Inconvenient

There’s a very good reason that most of Moscow’s public transport is underground. Trying to get anywhere in the snow is very hard work indeed.

As eight inches of snow blanketed the North West, commuters in and around Manchester were probably wishing for a windproof underground transit system and a nip of warming vodka. Instead, all they got was a cavalcade of delays, disruption and cancellations.

First to go was Manchester Airport. Runways and ice are never a good combination, so it came as little surprise when the North’s largest airport decided that enacting a Boeing 747 version of Dancing on Ice wouldn’t be the greatest of plans.

Closer to the ground, a series of collisions and near misses on the M60 clogged the already snow-choked motorways with traffic, and the ever reliable Manchester Metrolink decided sending any trams along the icy Eccles line just wasn’t worth the hassle.

Finally, Stagecoach and First Bus entered into a cancellation competition, suspending as many bus services as possible. Unsurprisingly, this led to the eerie sight of deserted offices across the city. Even the Trafford Centre was forced to close early, as shoppers decided that trudging through snowdrifts would take the shine off the January sales.

It wasn’t all doom and gloom for the local economy though. Pubs and cafes experienced unexpected business as the masses decided that afternoon TV just wasn’t for them, and Sainsbury’s announced a 160% increase in the sales of travel mugs and flasks. Generally though, yesterday was a day for lost business, low staff attendance and lots of sledging.

Now, as the blizzards move southwards and the snow freezes into much less enchanting ice, the FirstFound Blog would like to share a few cold weather survival tips with our readers.

1. Confucius Say: Don’t eat yellow snow – Ancient Chinese Proverb courtesy of Roger Davies
2. Make sure you put antifreeze in your car….unlike me who forgot and now has a frozen engine and car won’t start – Aron Draper
3. “The key to avoiding avalanches is to read the snow. Use a ski pole to test the snow to see if it’s compacted or in layers. If it’s consistent when you push in the snow, it’s fine. If it suddenly drops off, that indicates it’s in layers and dangerous.” Said Bear Grylls – David Smythe
4. Daft (but warm) hat from Primark for £5. Look like a Russian Princess – Michelle Blenkharn
5. Never ask your wife if she has checked if there is anti freeze in the car… Or if you’ve got an Aron and he doesn’t know what anti freeze is, ask him if his car is starting – Mark Carter
6. To predict snow, watch out for football results. Leeds finally beat Manyoo at Old Trafford, so it was obvious hell was going to freeze over. Worth it.  – Andrew Nattan