Big freeze coming

Location
East Mids
That's how it all started here in 2010.
Snowing with thunder & lightning at same time. Never seen it before or since.

Just looked at BBC weather website for here. No snow and -2C for Sunday night the coldest it's to get before warming up again.
Seems they've given it the usual big build up that's going to lead to nothing:rolleyes:
Admittedly with the windchill on, say Friday it's still going to feel pretty bitter.
 

joe soapy

Member
Location
devon
1984, with us the village I stayed in the power lines came down and were buzzing on the ground the hydro couldn't get in to turn off power.
And us kids thought it was great fun to poke them with sticks.
The snow plough " big mack" got stuck and he was a beast a big magirus deutz, with a massive yellow and black chequered v plough in front. The plough now sits in a local transport museum.
They sent snow blowers the got layered too.
Eventually they sent in two rubber ducks to dig everything out.
Funny I was 11. But I can't remember else about that winter

Down here they sent swing shovels, get up on the snow and dig out the snow and sling over hedge. worked OK till you find the road you have cleared is a foot narrower than the machine you're driving when its time to go home
 

joe soapy

Member
Location
devon
You're in tropical Devon, need I say more?

We know what snow is here in Devon.
The fateful journey of the 6.34pm Princetown Train on March 9th 1891. Burnard tell us that the train departed with 6 passengers on the evening of the 9th March. As the train was nearing Horsford Farm, it became stuck in a snow drift caused by a massive blizzard. The 6 passengers were left stranded until help could get through, some 3 days later, on the morning of the 11th March. The train itself was not freed from snow until 19th! This photograph shows the state of the train on the 14th March. Charlie, Burnard’s son, is pictured sitting on top of the engine. In the West Country this was arguably the worst blizzard of the 19th

100989866_scott3_258525c.jpg
 

jendan

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Northumberland
We know what snow is here in Devon.
The fateful journey of the 6.34pm Princetown Train on March 9th 1891. Burnard tell us that the train departed with 6 passengers on the evening of the 9th March. As the train was nearing Horsford Farm, it became stuck in a snow drift caused by a massive blizzard. The 6 passengers were left stranded until help could get through, some 3 days later, on the morning of the 11th March. The train itself was not freed from snow until 19th! This photograph shows the state of the train on the 14th March. Charlie, Burnard’s son, is pictured sitting on top of the engine. In the West Country this was arguably the worst blizzard of the 19th

100989866_scott3_258525c.jpg
Did they survive? Or did they die of the cold?
 

Selectamatic

Member
Location
North Wales
Dad remembers his Grandfather dying during the big winter of 1947.

He was sent to a hospital to Liverpool, but insisted on coming home for his final days, "I'll die in this place if I stay here" he said, having being diagnosed at the time with 'poison in his stomach'

Back to North Wales he came, and my father, as a young boy remembers helping his father and family to cut snow, one passing it up to the next so the coffin and procession could get from home to the graveyard. They dug in the wayside for soil to spread on the cleared road, as there was no grit in those days (or it was scarce?)

He remembers his mother with her feet turned blue, having walked to the shop for provisions, having to uncomfortable walk home with her young daughter in her arm, over frozen tyre tracks left by tractors.

The local threshing machine arrived at home, threshing at a nearby farm beforehand. As they finished threshing, it started to snow, Dad remembers the box thrashing in the same farm on the way from there, having snowed for 14 weeks (I think?) with half a dozen Std Fordsons struggling to control the box on the icy and hilly roads.

We could not do it today, we get under an inch, which we clear with 4WD tractors, diggers etc etc but the media still cause panic causing the population to cack itself.
 

JWL

Member
Location
Hereford
I've seen something in this village I live in that I've never seen before............

..........A gritting lorry, and it was working!

The fact that it didn't do the direct route through the village and left via the back lane up the hill not following the bus route or anything allmost made me stop to ask if he was lost.
Still, there is evidence of some salt dust where he's stopped working which makes you wonder what it's all about, yes it'll be cold in the morning but not a really strong frost, yes there's a chance of snow tomorrow afternoon but what is definitely forecast is heavy rain around lunchtime!
Forgive me if I am wrong but doesn't water wash away road salt, especially if it is ground up fine, lumps might have stayed put but not the dust he left behind!
Great to see we get value for our taxes
 

jendan

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Northumberland
Dad remembers his Grandfather dying during the big winter of 1947.

He was sent to a hospital to Liverpool, but insisted on coming home for his final days, "I'll die in this place if I stay here" he said, having being diagnosed at the time with 'poison in his stomach'

Back to North Wales he came, and my father, as a young boy remembers helping his father and family to cut snow, one passing it up to the next so the coffin and procession could get from home to the graveyard. They dug in the wayside for soil to spread on the cleared road, as there was no grit in those days (or it was scarce?)

He remembers his mother with her feet turned blue, having walked to the shop for provisions, having to uncomfortable walk home with her young daughter in her arm, over frozen tyre tracks left by tractors.

The local threshing machine arrived at home, threshing at a nearby farm beforehand. As they finished threshing, it started to snow, Dad remembers the box thrashing in the same farm on the way from there, having snowed for 14 weeks (I think?) with half a dozen Std Fordsons struggling to control the box on the icy and hilly roads.

We could not do it today, we get under an inch, which we clear with 4WD tractors, diggers etc etc but the media still cause panic causing the population to cack itself.
My dad told me the same thing happened not far from us,higher up the valley.An old dear died and they could not get out to bury her.They had to keep her for nearly 2 months before they got out.I think he said they put her in a box and put her in an outhouse and covered it with deep snow for a while.
 

Chae1

Member
Location
Aberdeenshire
Dad remembers his Grandfather dying during the big winter of 1947.

He was sent to a hospital to Liverpool, but insisted on coming home for his final days, "I'll die in this place if I stay here" he said, having being diagnosed at the time with 'poison in his stomach'

Back to North Wales he came, and my father, as a young boy remembers helping his father and family to cut snow, one passing it up to the next so the coffin and procession could get from home to the graveyard. They dug in the wayside for soil to spread on the cleared road, as there was no grit in those days (or it was scarce?)

He remembers his mother with her feet turned blue, having walked to the shop for provisions, having to uncomfortable walk home with her young daughter in her arm, over frozen tyre tracks left by tractors.

The local threshing machine arrived at home, threshing at a nearby farm beforehand. As they finished threshing, it started to snow, Dad remembers the box thrashing in the same farm on the way from there, having snowed for 14 weeks (I think?) with half a dozen Std Fordsons struggling to control the box on the icy and hilly roads.

We could not do it today, we get under an inch, which we clear with 4WD tractors, diggers etc etc but the media still cause panic causing the population to cack itself.
Was the ground not frozen in graveyard? Can't have funerals up here when hard frost as ground too hard to dig.
 

Selectamatic

Member
Location
North Wales
My dad told me the same thing happened not far from us,higher up the valley.An old dear died and they could not get out to bury her.They had to keep her for nearly 2 months before they got out.I think he said they put her in a box and put her in an outhouse and covered it with deep snow for a while.

Dad's uncle, sheep farming on the moors worked hard to save his sheep, they had wandered ahead of the drift onto frozen reservoir, he recovered them, largely one by one by throwing a long piece of string with a bundle of hay at it's end to entice them back onto solid ground.

He would go around snow drifts around walls and fences with a pitchfork and gently prod into the drift to try to find his sheep, very often doing so, many buried by the drifts had, by then started to eat their own wool.
 

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Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

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As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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