Snow Day

As a teacher there are two words I always love to hear.  Not well done, or outstanding lesson, or excellent results.  These two words are SNOW DAY.  It needs no explanation, it's just important to understand it means I get a day off.  I find it the one type of day off where I don't feel bad doing zero work.  Its like an extra Sunday. However, as much as I love these snow days there comes a point where boredom kicks in.  Stuck in the house playing playstation does eventually get boring and I begin thinking I wish I was at work. 

These 5 days off in a row has got me thnking.  How, as a nation, are we so scared of the snow and going out in it?  We get snow for a week and people stay at home, schools and businesses close, people stock up on food (presumably in case of The Ice Age) and news channels have one story:- SNOW.  
I think all of this panic occurs due to the later, the media.  They hype it up so much and put fear in to people. I worry there will come a time when BBC news will have a headline: 'Snowfall expected next week. Lock your homes, close your curtains and eat the fattest member of yor family.'  Come on media, stopped scaring people.

Whilst watching the news a reporter said something which at the time I didn't think about twice, however looking back it seems a ridiculous statement that just is typical of the snow panic:
"If you're out on the roads today, drive safely" Oh thank you Mr news man, I was intending on driving like a loonatic.  I was thinking it was approprite to drive on the wrong side of the road with my eyes shut using my feet to steer.  Or, this is ledng me to believe that when its a nice day I can drive like a cock!  Another reporter used another good informative line: "its cold out there, so make sure to wrap up warm."  How would I manage to live without these words of wisdom?

As a nation, we let snow effect everything in our day to day lives and why?  Surely other countries cope betterthan us, Sweden and Norway for example? These countries have snow plows and motorists have snow tires. As a relatively rich natio, surely we can find a way to be more prepared for this type of winter.

Sorry, this is just a rant, boredom is setting in now. Need to get back to work