How come life as we know it in the UK comes to a virtual standstill whenever snow arrives after a couple of days of warnings ? Kids are over the moon 'cos schools are shut, commuters can't commute etcetc. Are we the only country in Europe that's paralyzed by snow in this way ?

Same thing happens in the US when they get any significant snow in the southern half. We in the northern half laugh our heads off. People down there react to 3 inches of snow like we do to 3 feet. Meanwhile we worry about not enough snow, since we need the people down there to come up here to ski, bringing lots of money. (Of course, when they do come, they come in large SUVs, assuming they can drive as fast in snow as in dry weather because they have four wheel drive. That's great if you're in the towing and wrecking business, but a little nerve-wracking for the rest of us.)

Peter.