Last week’s weather was pretty epic and caused huge excitement for my children who got the thrill of their first school Snow Days. Yet for all the excitement in households with children, there was also some really serious work going on to make sure that essential services were maintained.
My own journey back from London was an impressive example – I’d expected mayhem but met only minor inconvenience. In Somerset, I know our highways authority did their best to keep roads open right until the heaviest of snow made them impassable. Even then, Cllr Tom Killen was marshalling farmers on the Mendips to help move trucks along the A37. Cllr Nigel Taylor was digging people out of trouble in Draycott. And social media was alive with friends, neighbours and even complete strangers offering to share their 4x4s to help get people to medical appointments or to collect prescriptions.
The military were even deployed to help transport local NHS workers to hospital or their GPs surgeries and of course the police were having to work hard to keep everyone safe in such treacherous conditions. Then there was the huge kindness shown by so many in our community towards those who are homeless and vulnerable. The local authorities did as they must and shelter was available for all who could be persuaded to take it. But there was also an incredible amount of volunteer manpower made available to make sure that all could be looked after in the face of such bleak weather.
To everyone who, instead of building a snowman or closing the curtains and ploughing through a boxset on Netflix, got out and helped – whether voluntary or paid – thank you.