Hello, my dearies!

I hope you are all keeping warm and sheltering from this dreadful spot of weather we've been having. I know I did – nothing better on a day like that than sitting with a book and a quilt and a nice cup of tea! Besides, nobody's going out to get a bacon buttie in this weather, are they really?

Precisely because I assumed everyone over the age of 18 or so was safely locked away indoors, I was astonished to see a young man on a bicycle show up at my door with a package for me – in the middle of a blizzard, no less! I immediately brought him in, offered him a warm blanket and a cup of tea, and berated him rather vehemently for venturing out in this weather. There is such a thing as too much dedication to your job!

That is when he explained that nobody else from his company had bothered to show up, thinking all courier jobs would be cancelled because of the weather. He, however, has snow chains on his bike – he is a hobby cyclist – and lives quite nearby. This explains his appearance at my door – because he was the only one at work, and 'not afraid of a bit of snow', he was making sure people got their packages, bless 'im!

"020120092594" © 2009, roland, used under Creative Commons Attribution Licence

Still, he was an exception to the rule – from what I heard and read, the country was brought to a near standstill by this snowy spell! It wasn't just courier jobs getting cancelled, either – most areas went through major disruptions in their bus and train services, and many shops (especially in smaller towns, like my own) were closed on normal business days because the staff was quite literally unable to come into work! I also heard some shopping websites, delivery companies, and even the postal service advised customers that their parcels would most likely be delayed. And who can blame them? If you expect human beings to go out and perform courier jobs in this kind of weather just so you can have your cardigan a few days earlier, you clearly have no sympathy or compassion!

I do, however, and that is why that young man got a hearty meal for free, before being sent on his way. I would have had him go home, but he claimed he still had a couple of parcels left, and hobbled off to goodness knows where. Me? I went straight back in the house, got under my quilt, picked up my '50 Shades' again, and did not move until dinner!

Gertie
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