The national sport of whinging is back with a bang! Never mind the 3000m Individual Pursuit, is there were Olympic Medals for Moaning we Brits would clean up. Maybe we could have different events for the summer and winter games.

In the Summer I wrote about the widespread outbreak of whinging that followed the few days of half-decent warm weather. Now, after a few days of cold-ish, if stunningly pretty weather they are at it again blaming whoever and whatever for having to spend a few extra hours in our cars or, God forbid, having actually to WALK!

I managed to get caught up in it myself. I’m normally pretty sensible about not taking my car out when there is snow forecast, but I wanted to get to Bob Green’s funeral. So having checked the forecast on the BBC website the previous evening I set out from the office expecting the advertised show shower to to be just that - a shower. Jokingly I departed with Oates words, “I’m going outside now, I may be gone for some time”. Four hours later having made a round trip of two miles from my office to Caversham Bridge I managed to escape the IDR, found a sensible place to park for the night and walked home.

Parked on the IDR the phone calls I received made it very clear what had happened - seeing the weather getting worse employers around town had let their staff leave early. Traffic piled onto roads already becoming treacherous, the sudden increase in traffic on a very busy shopping day meant that the junctions and pinch points locked up and traffic ground to a halt. Once there is gridlock with snow falling whatever ‘plan’ might exist for gritting has no chance.

I tuned in to BBC Radio Berkshire, something I rarely do as it plays excruciating middle of the road music, but BBC local radio has proved its worth again and again in times of emergency, mild or more serious. To anyone listening it was pretty clear that it wasn’t just an accident, but general gridlock and there was nothing to be done but be patient and wait. But then the moaning kicks off: “Where are the gritters?” - stuck in the traffic with you, obviously! “Where are the Council Officials?” - stuck in their office - and what, exactly, are they qualified to do about it anyway? “Why won’t the Council grit the pavements?” “Where are the Police?” “Why can other countries cope with the snow when we can’t?” “Why won’t somebody do something? Anything!”

Some of these things might be fair questions but underlying it there is a widespread failure for individuals to take responsibility for their own lives. Those of us who have lived in places generally colder than balmy Berkshire realise that we have to take precautions, remember how to drive in bad conditions, follow the rules of the road, use a shovel, walk even. If, instead of whining for the Council to clear the paths when it has enough to do getting the roads moving for things like Ambulances, we all cleared a bit pavement in front of their home, or maybe helped a neighbour if they really can’t, things would be a lot easier for everyone.

While less complaining and more getting on with it would make this a better and more successful country, the serious points that deserve addressing.

The fact is that during fifteen years of mild winters Council’s looked to save money but cutting back on what they call ‘winter maintenance’. Reading deserves some credit for having resisted this trend, even so, if you put all of Reading’s roads in a straight line they would stretch all the way to Sheffield and the pavements would stretch there and back, so there have to be choices over what gets done and what doesn’t. So the main routes and then the bus routes (mostly) get done and the rest doesn’t.

But what these contracts have never managed to achieve, and because of mild winters there is no decent list of locations, is to deal with those areas off the main routes that cause real danger in icy conditions - bad corners, steep hills and so on. If politicians want to do something constructive and officials want to respond to public concern then making a list for next time would be a step forward. But they can’t do that without the help of the public who would need to let them know which bit of road turns into a skidpan in icy conditions - it might seem obvious, but it really isn’t. After that we need more flexible contracts that allow for bit of gritting by hand.

Also there is a basic problem with winter maintenance - much of what it costs pays people to do nothing. The BBC website couldn’t get a forecast for Monday right on Sunday night - the person planning the Council’s budget can’t predict when, exactly, snow and ice will happen or how much there will be. The result is that gritters have to be on call from the middle of October to the middle of March - that costs money whether it snows or not. If anyone can think of a better way I’m sure the Council will be all ears - so far nobody has.

Gritters also rely on weather forecasts - and if they are as wrong as they seemed to be on Monday the job is much more difficult.

But despite the whining from some calling in to radio stations, once I had got out of my car I saw all sorts of people pitching in to help try to get the traffic moving, giving people a push, helping dig them out. The University of Reading staff assisting on Redlands Road and nearby are just some that deserve a special mention.

There was even a loud Scotsman near the town centre advising sliding drivers to “Yer dinnae want te dey that, Jim. Stope revvin’ yer engine an’ pyut the damn thing in secon’ gear, reet.” Normally it can be assumed that people shouting at the passing traffic might have had too much Christmas spirit - but in this case it was sound advice.

Happy solistice.