Just been reading our local rag here and did not realize just how bad it is over in Blighty. It says there the UK.it is set to break the -17c record this winter. Seriously, I hope the old people are not forgotten whilst this spell of bad weather is on.

Lecture on Thursday 4th Feb 2010 · Economics 0 - Reality 1 (Old Theatre, London School of Economics & Political Science)

Has the credit crunch exposed the futility of academic economics? Should LSE be closed down and converted into something more socially productive? In this lecture John Lanchester challenges the profession of economics with fundamental questions about its purpose and direction.

John Lanchester is a journalist, novelist and winner of the Whitbread Book Award. He is a regular contributor to the London Review of Books and the New Yorker, with a monthly column in Esquire. This event marks the launch of his new book Whoops.

Tickets: Free

For anyone wishing to explore the concept of reality in more depth.

[uYes[/u. . . . and made into an ice rink so that this thread gets back to being, broadly, snowy related again.

Oh dear, off topic in a off topic thread... that'd never do.

I have being trying to buy some screen wash now for a week. There is none to be had anywhere. I think I will be on the bus next week as I won't be able to see where I am going...
Does anyone know a secret mixture to make screen wash so it doesn't freeze?

I heard of someone adding vodka. But as someone who hasn't owned a car for 16 years I am loving this icey spell, long may it last.

What you need is a mixture of approx 25% water and 75% stale urine.

Add a load of ethanol or isopropyl alcohol and some eythylene glycol to water with some washing up liquid in.

Except you'll likely attract the attention of the local constabulary if you walk into a pharmacy and ask for a few litres of ethanol, and I'm not sure how much isopropyl you can buy in one go. And the easiest source of ethylene glycol is antifreeze, but last I heard that buggers up your paintwork.

...hence the vodka suggestion is less stupid than it first seems. But it would probably be cheaper to drink the vodka and get a taxi...

I've another ten litres of Holts screenwash from Costco in the garage. Rate I'm using it God knows what I'll do when that runs out...although by then the salt will likely have run out too so at least the windscreen won't turn white every ten nanoseconds...

Or its nearest substitute...beer at the KC.

How can you say that, when it turns out aardvarks like me?

Much now becomes clear...

Buy some meths from b&q add that to screenwash, doesnt freeze then.

Oh good idea, thanks.

Meths is allegedly unkind to paintwork - or at least to the wax which it will likely strip off (I have used meths for precisely that in the past...). I think most commercial screenwash contains Isopropyl partly for that reason and partly cos its not so toxic?

Ah, ok. Thanks for that. Back to the drawing board.

There was plenty of screen wash in Shipley Asda this afternoon

Never! They must hide it when I go in.
Ok. Thanks for that.

Yes! I have screen wash!

School shut again today. They rang me as I was arriving. So another hour and a half getting home to find its totally raining now here. Weather, weather, weather.

Which is somewhat ironical given that it is no longer freezing.

No, no, that's when you need it. When loads of stuff from the road is coating your windscreen, you have to clean it. When its freezing, or snowing, its fine.

I saw this in the T & A School closure comments and thought of you!



Canal still not gritted.

Tonight's Canoe School is closed.

Still snowing in Queensbury, the main road through is clear but the side roads must of had a minimum of 3 inch overnight. All the pavements are pretty difficult to manouevure too, so I'm a little surprised the primary schools are open.

It was quite funny watching the news last week with Foxhill First being the highest altitude school in England still being open, and here I was, less than a mile from it, working from home!

Yeah it was open, but it had no kids in...