The weather ?

[simmo]

was going to take the QE2 bridge but might have to rethink that.

[bunbury61]

6 hours ago, Gbye grey sky said:

I play golf every single week here in Queensland.  Personally would never have done so in the UK winter.  Not just because it is cold but the courses were in poorer condition with temporary greens and tees often in use.  I personally do not cycle here in the summer months though enthusiasts do (starting early in the morning) but tend to take the kayak out instead.  Many here enjoy a range of acquatic activities throughout the year but particularly in the warmer months.  I no longer jog but if I did would either have to get out at 5am from December to March as many do, or use the gym.  In reality I used to mainly use the gym when younger in the UK from November to March mainly because I hated running in the dark as well as in the cold.

I also like being inactive outdoors, dozing in the hammock, enjoying a coffee or having breakfast on our covered deck.  Only possible in comfort occasionally in the UK.

seriously in terms of golf ...you have to be kidding .

around here we have the belfry ,the Warwickshire , maxstoke and loads of championship standard courses .

I have at least 10 within a 10 mile radius .

our golf courses leave the ones I played in oz , miles behind ( and this isn't a u.k v oz reply ..i don't care )

The other thing is , generally they don't need 1000s of gallons of water to keep them alive ,and if you do happen to go in the rough ,you ain't worried what is in there .

iam sorry to interject on this post ...but I have played quite a few Aussie golf courses ..nowhere near as good ...genuinely .

 

I get what you say about the temp greens in winter though in the u.k ..but surely when it rains in Queensland it really rains ,and that must affect the courses

 

 

[Gbye grey sky]

38 minutes ago, bunbury61 said:

seriously in terms of golf ...you have to be kidding .

around here we have the belfry ,the Warwickshire , maxstoke and loads of championship standard courses .

I have at least 10 within a 10 mile radius .

our golf courses leave the ones I played in oz , miles behind ( and this isn't a u.k v oz reply ..i don't care )

The other thing is , generally they don't need 1000s of gallons of water to keep them alive ,and if you do happen to go in the rough ,you ain't worried what is in there .

iam sorry to interject on this post ...but I have played quite a few Aussie golf courses ..nowhere near as good ...genuinely .

 

I get what you say about the temp greens in winter though in the u.k ..but surely when it rains in Queensland it really rains ,and that must affect the courses

 

 

My own club has very good drainage.  Heavy rain/storms tend to happen late afternoon and the course is generally fine the following morning aside from bunkers and patches of casual water but all gone within 24 hours.  Frankly, I have been surprised myself how few times the weather has prevented me from playing.

My comment was not aimed at being critical of UK courses, just the enjoyment or otherwise of playing them in the winter months.....but I realise many people do play all year round.  And I do like heat whereas I know many do not.

[bunbury61]

41 minutes ago, Gbye grey sky said:

My own club has very good drainage.  Heavy rain/storms tend to happen late afternoon and the course is generally fine the following morning aside from bunkers and patches of casual water but all gone within 24 hours.  Frankly, I have been surprised myself how few times the weather has prevented me from playing.

My comment was not aimed at being critical of UK courses, just the enjoyment or otherwise of playing them in the winter months.....but I realise many people do play all year round.  And I do like heat whereas I know many do not.

I like both , and wouldn't struggle in with ...no worries .....my mates are out this morning ....it may get too wet too wet occasionally ,but rarely too cold now ....

[Perthbum]

8 hours ago, Sandgroper said:

 haha bloody fair weather golfers, I’m not talking about Oz in general but Perth in particular has weather which suits those that enjoy the outdoors, much better climate than the UK.

I am a saffa so know what hot weather is, everyone is different but I find the temperate in the UK suits me far better,

[Perthbum]

2 hours ago, Paul1Perth said:

It's affordable too. Golf courses all over the place. Only taken it up recently as my son started playing a lot. Didn't realise it was so reasonable to play. Even that glorious Cambridge course wasn't too expensive.

We only had one golf course near where I grew up in Chesterfield (Tapton) and didn't know anyone that played. I think you had to talk with a nice accent and have a management title.

it is great value, under 35s get a discount at most clubs and at my club its £600 a year and for a lad under 18 its £120 a year, deals in the week at some good clubs £10 to £20 for 18 holes. I was down to scratch about 5 years ago but play off 5 now. Most kids taking up golf now will be at least playing off 10 or lower in 5 years.,,,great game, so many fantastic championship courses in the UK .

[Paul1Perth]

12 minutes ago, Perthbum said:

it is great value, under 35s get a discount at most clubs and at my club its £600 a year and for a lad under 18 its £120 a year, deals in the week at some good clubs £10 to £20 for 18 holes. I was down to scratch about 5 years ago but play off 5 now. Most kids taking up golf now will be at least playing off 10 or lower in 5 years.,,,great game, so many fantastic championship courses in the UK .

£600 a year sounds a lot to me mate. Do you have to pay to play after that too? 

[bunbury61]

29 minutes ago, Paul1Perth said:

£600 a year sounds a lot to me mate. Do you have to pay to play after that too? 

no that would be a full membership - 7 days

Stratford oaks which is a nice little club is about £600 a year full membership .

the last one I was at was £1000 a year ...thats about average

[bunbury61]

45 minutes ago, Perthbum said:

it is great value, under 35s get a discount at most clubs and at my club its £600 a year and for a lad under 18 its £120 a year, deals in the week at some good clubs £10 to £20 for 18 holes. I was down to scratch about 5 years ago but play off 5 now. Most kids taking up golf now will be at least playing off 10 or lower in 5 years.,,,great game, so many fantastic championship courses in the UK .

I agree pb ...some of the courses ,local to both of us ,are stunning .

golf course wise ,we are bloody spoilt

[bunbury61]

1 hour ago, bunbury61 said:

I agree pb ...some of the courses ,local to both of us ,are stunning .

golf course wise ,we are bloody spoilt

decent again today

[Quoll]

7 hours ago, newjez said:

Bit stormy today down south.

Just been on a short trip through several local villages and easily half a dozen trees down - one just down the road from us was being cleared at 8:30 and all the other roads are now clear as well. Kudos to the tree people who must have made an absolute fortune today.

[newjez]

5 hours ago, Quoll said:

Just been on a short trip through several local villages and easily half a dozen trees down - one just down the road from us was being cleared at 8:30 and all the other roads are now clear as well. Kudos to the tree people who must have made an absolute fortune today.

Didn't have any troubles, but heard about a lot of trouble on the trains.

Turned out to be quite a nice day after all that huffing and puffing.

[Toots]

The village of Midlem in the Scottish Borders.

 

[bunbury61]

4 hours ago, Toots said:

The village of Midlem in the Scottish Borders.

 

m6 southbound in Warwickshire Friday morning

[Toots]

^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ 

Just shows the difference between the north and the south of the UK weatherwise.

[MelT]

To be honest it really depends where you live in the UK. I am in UK now and most days the weather has been glorious sunshine. I have been more active walking out in the sunshine (and seen other walkers and cyclists) enjoying not getting cooked like I do when I am in Qld. Can't wait to be in the UK permanently, for many reasons..one being no skin cancer and sun to hide from (highest rates in the world)..

 

[newjez]

Raining all weekend, but I'm decorating, and the kids are studying, so we don't care.

[LKC]

Well, we were hammered today!  Saw the forecast for snow, but realised that the fridge was bare and that I'd have to go and get some supplies.  No problem, I thought, I'll go straight after I drop the kids at school and get enough shopping for the weekend.  It had started snowing when I took the kids to school, and by the time I was on the way to the supermarket it was coming down quite heavily.  I got to the supermarket and got a small trolley full of shopping, only to realise, once I was at the checkout, that I had taken my card out of my purse to order tiles for our new kitchen the night before, and hadn't put it back in.  So, I drive the 9 miles home to get my card.  The roads are starting to get pretty dicey at this point, but I got back without incident.  I then drove back along to the supermarket.  The roads are now completely white, and it is difficult to see too far ahead.  I get to a large traffic island just before the supermarket, and manage to get myself stuck in a big frozen rut of slush.  I oversteer in panic, the back of the car is snaking around, and for a second I thought I was going to have a bit of a mishap.  Luckily, I remembered the advice that my driving instructor had given me, and managed to regain control and get to the supermarket without further incident.

After paying for my shopping and getting back in the car, I notice that there is a text message from school, saying that they are closing at 12, and that I was to collect the children asap.  No problem, I have to go through the village with the school in order to get home.  I drive the few miles to school, on roads that are like ice rinks, with snow coming down thick and fast, but make it and get the kids.  Our village is about two miles from the village where the school is, and it usually takes five or so minutes to get between home and school.  Unfortunately, on my side of the carriageway a truck had broken down a few miles ahead causing a tailback, and on the other side of the carriageway several trucks had got stuck coming up the hill out of our village.  A gritting/ploughing vehicle was getting the trucks out, but it took almost an hour to get home.  We live up a tiny single-track lane, which is on a bit of a hill, so I was a bit worried that I wouldn't make it up to the house.  However, my trusty Volvo performed magnificently, and we reached the drive easily.  Once the kids were fed, I got my snow shovel out and cleared the drive ready for my OH, who was also on his way home from work.

When I had finished that, I went to have a look down the lane, and saw that my OH's car had got stuck on the hill.  So he, two neighbours (one of whom was stuck further down) and I set about clearing the lane.  An hour later it was much improved, and with the help of a random stranger in a Land Rover Defender who helped tow the cars, both OH and the neighbour made it onto their respective drives.  The four of us were stood at the bottom of our drive, congratulating ourselves on a hard job well done, when the local farmer drives by in his tractor, with a snow plough on the front, clearing the remainder of the snow in one easy sweep.  It was perfect comedy timing!

When I told people that we were moving from Australia to Scotland, they asked how we'd cope with the cold weather.  It is assumed that to live in such conditions, we must spend the best part of the winter indoors.  Mother Nature has thrown an absolute blinder at us today, but with the help of the local community (including the farmer who drove past with a smirk on his face), our difficulties were overcome, and we got to spend the remainder of the day building an igloo in the garden.  The weather is the weather.  You can't change it, you can just adapt your behaviour to it.  Today has shown me that the community we have chosen to live in is the right one for us, and I am so happy that we moved back, whatever the weather throws at us.

This is our igloo.  Sorry about the bad photo, it was dark by the time we finished 

[MelT]

Lovely to read about your adventures today... Our friends in Scotland were planning to drive down to visit us tomorrow - However, with the arrival of so much of the 'white stuff' it has meant we cannot meet up this time (our planing trip to come home). Look forward to seeing our friends when we move back for good by Sept 18. They said Scotland had not seen snow like this for quite a few years... keep warm and safe xxx.

[LKC]

8 minutes ago, MelT said:

Lovely to read about your adventures today... Our friends in Scotland were planning to drive down to visit us tomorrow - However, with the arrival of so much of the 'white stuff' it has meant we cannot meet up this time (our planing trip to come home). Look forward to seeing our friends when we move back for good by Sept 18. They said Scotland had not seen snow like this for quite a few years... keep warm and safe xxx.

Yes, our neighbour said it hasn't been this bad since 2010.  Apparently, the next village along got 6 inches in an hour!  It is up to our kids knees in our back garden, and they are 9 and 11, so it is pretty deep!

[Skani]

4 hours ago, MelT said:

. Can't wait to be in the UK permanently, for many reasons..one being no skin cancer and sun to hide from (highest rates in the world)..

 

Don't be complacent about it just because you are in the UK.   This from  http://www.britishskinfoundation.org.uk/SkinInformation/SkinCancer.aspx

Quote

Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the UK, and rates continue to rise.

At least 100,000 new cases are now diagnosed each year, and the disease kills over 2,500 people each year in the UK - that's seven people every day.

The incidence may be higher in Oz but mortality rates are higher in the UK because there is less early detection.   So you will still need to have sun protection.

[newjez]

2 hours ago, LKC said:

Well, we were hammered today!  Saw the forecast for snow, but realised that the fridge was bare and that I'd have to go and get some supplies.  No problem, I thought, I'll go straight after I drop the kids at school and get enough shopping for the weekend.  It had started snowing when I took the kids to school, and by the time I was on the way to the supermarket it was coming down quite heavily.  I got to the supermarket and got a small trolley full of shopping, only to realise, once I was at the checkout, that I had taken my card out of my purse to order tiles for our new kitchen the night before, and hadn't put it back in.  So, I drive the 9 miles home to get my card.  The roads are starting to get pretty dicey at this point, but I got back without incident.  I then drove back along to the supermarket.  The roads are now completely white, and it is difficult to see too far ahead.  I get to a large traffic island just before the supermarket, and manage to get myself stuck in a big frozen rut of slush.  I oversteer in panic, the back of the car is snaking around, and for a second I thought I was going to have a bit of a mishap.  Luckily, I remembered the advice that my driving instructor had given me, and managed to regain control and get to the supermarket without further incident.

After paying for my shopping and getting back in the car, I notice that there is a text message from school, saying that they are closing at 12, and that I was to collect the children asap.  No problem, I have to go through the village with the school in order to get home.  I drive the few miles to school, on roads that are like ice rinks, with snow coming down thick and fast, but make it and get the kids.  Our village is about two miles from the village where the school is, and it usually takes five or so minutes to get between home and school.  Unfortunately, on my side of the carriageway a truck had broken down a few miles ahead causing a tailback, and on the other side of the carriageway several trucks had got stuck coming up the hill out of our village.  A gritting/ploughing vehicle was getting the trucks out, but it took almost an hour to get home.  We live up a tiny single-track lane, which is on a bit of a hill, so I was a bit worried that I wouldn't make it up to the house.  However, my trusty Volvo performed magnificently, and we reached the drive easily.  Once the kids were fed, I got my snow shovel out and cleared the drive ready for my OH, who was also on his way home from work.

When I had finished that, I went to have a look down the lane, and saw that my OH's car had got stuck on the hill.  So he, two neighbours (one of whom was stuck further down) and I set about clearing the lane.  An hour later it was much improved, and with the help of a random stranger in a Land Rover Defender who helped tow the cars, both OH and the neighbour made it onto their respective drives.  The four of us were stood at the bottom of our drive, congratulating ourselves on a hard job well done, when the local farmer drives by in his tractor, with a snow plough on the front, clearing the remainder of the snow in one easy sweep.  It was perfect comedy timing!

When I told people that we were moving from Australia to Scotland, they asked how we'd cope with the cold weather.  It is assumed that to live in such conditions, we must spend the best part of the winter indoors.  Mother Nature has thrown an absolute blinder at us today, but with the help of the local community (including the farmer who drove past with a smirk on his face), our difficulties were overcome, and we got to spend the remainder of the day building an igloo in the garden.  The weather is the weather.  You can't change it, you can just adapt your behaviour to it.  Today has shown me that the community we have chosen to live in is the right one for us, and I am so happy that we moved back, whatever the weather throws at us.

This is our igloo.  Sorry about the bad photo, it was dark by the time we finished 

The geraniums are still alive. Surprised. Still in flower. We have had a frost, but only light.

[Toots]

2 hours ago, LKC said:

Yes, our neighbour said it hasn't been this bad since 2010.  Apparently, the next village along got 6 inches in an hour!  It is up to our kids knees in our back garden, and they are 9 and 11, so it is pretty deep!

Your daughters look thrilled.    They were so looking forward to seeing snow.

Enjoyed reading your post about your shopping trip.  

I've been hearing from my Scottish friends.  Most of them live in the countryside and are using their horses to carry hay and feed to the other livestock.  Hard work for country folk with animals to care for.

 

 

Edited January 19, 2018 by Toots

[Toots]

5 hours ago, MelT said:

To be honest it really depends where you live in the UK. I am in UK now and most days the weather has been glorious sunshine. I have been more active walking out in the sunshine (and seen other walkers and cyclists) enjoying not getting cooked like I do when I am in Qld. Can't wait to be in the UK permanently, for many reasons..one being no skin cancer and sun to hide from (highest rates in the world)..

 

I am an outdoors person and perhaps because I don't have the usual peely wally Anglo skin - even though I'm Scottish, my skin is fine.  I get it checked every year just in case.  I am out in wind and rain, sleet and sun.  Mind you I'm not in Qld but even after years on the mainland I don't have a problem with my skin.  

Edited January 19, 2018 by Toots

[Gbye grey sky]

Spare a thought for Muscovites.  I was reading today that they had just 6 minutes of sunshine and one glimpse of the moon in the WHOLE month of December (the average is a measly 1 hour per day) and the blanket of cloud is still stuck there.  No snow for Xmas either as the temperatures that month were 5.8 degrees above average - though still chilly obviously.  SAD, literally.