Snow in the UK causes chaos for some, but fun for others

Azam Marketing’s Senior Account Manager, Karen Clayton, looks at the public and media reaction to this week’s snowfalls in the UK, the heaviest in the country for 18 years.

With all the recent doom and gloom surrounding the current UK recession, it’s refreshing that something as simple as a few inches of snow has brought the country some much-needed respite.

Stories of happiness and cheer have been in short supply of late, but on Monday the BBC reported that it had received more pictures and video clips from viewers than ever before on a news story. Among the snowy submissions were some very amusing video clips of people finding their own ways to overcome the transport breakdowns – who knew that you could go snowboarding in Brighton and skiing in West London?!

The snow also brought out the fun side in Tory leader David Cameron, who used a snowball fight outside the Houses of Parliament with TV presenter Carol Vorderman as a photo opportunity.

The Affiliates4U forum has also been busy with people in the industry sharing their stories and photos of the snow where they live.

Of course, it hasn’t been fun for everyone. As an ex-commuter I empathise with people who have experienced the frustration of cancelled trains and buses. Transport sites such as National Rail Enquiries and South West Trains were almost brought to their knees by ‘technical difficulties’ due to a traffic surge from worried members of the public checking their journeys.

The Federation of Small Businesses also report that the snow has forced more than six million people to stay at home, resulting in millions of pounds’ worth of lost hours for businesses that are already struggling in the economic downturn.

With the snow set to melt away over the next few days, many people will be relieved to see things slowly return to normal. For many of us, however, the wintry weather has put a much needed smile on our faces and it’s tempting to enjoy it while it lasts!