Quote:
Originally Posted by John Elwin
Just back from a birthday party where one of the others present was rubbing his hands with glee as he has a snow-ploughing contract with the council.
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That takes me back! When 'I were a lad' up in N Norfolk there were no council teams of gritters and snowploughs. It was all down to the local farming community to try and keep the roads clear, with proper old wooden 'ploughs' dragged behind a tractor. Sometimes there would be a 'riding mechanic' on the plough to adjust the width being ploughed as the road widened or narrowed. Even in the '60s locals were still doing the clearing, but I think we're paid by the council. Less ploughs and more front mounted buckets and blades, some extremely home made!
And in those days we needed clearance machinery, as it snowed enough to block the roads nearly every year. I can remember at the beginning of every winter that certain open stretches of road would have snow fences erected on the windward side in an attempt to stop the stuff drifting. How things have changed!
