We can’t expect everyone else to get up and do things for us.
In the past week I have seen and heard the best and worst of human behavior.
In one estate in Pleckgate neighbours had got together and bought their own salt so they could at least assist the elderly folk living in their neighbourhood. I am sure there were countless others who did this without ever expecting anything in return.
On another road I saw an old man attempting to valiantly push a car up a hill as the female driver was struggling.
Blackburn with Darwen gritting teams praised for efforts
Elsewhere, people were out and about helping their neighbours wherever they could. A little bit of snow and bad weather was not going to stop them. They were probably made of sterner stuff.
In contrast, we have others who are constantly moaning over grit. If the road was gritted it was not gritted well enough. I’m sorry, it’s snow and ice and no amount of grit was going to shift some of it.
The ONLY people complaining should be the elderly or those who were unable to leave their homes because of the ice.
But the gritting saga did bring some things to the fore which could be fixed with common sense.
You can’t take anything away from the highways teams who worked really hard to keep the roads open. The main roads were clear on the same day which was not an easy effort.
There really needs to be another think about how the grit bins are refilled in some local councils. No point filling them in early December and then re-filling them when the snow is over.
A quick look at the forecast could have told you this needed to be done at the end of Christmas or last weekend. In three days when we are basking in eight degrees people will forget a grit bin ever existed.
I do feel we have become a society that expects everyone else to do the work because we feel a sense of entitlement.
Few people want to break a sweat anymore. It’s almost as if they have been conditioned to expect someone else to put a shift in.
I recollect many years ago clearing a steep road of ice, alongside a neighbour. As soon as we finished two able-bodied chaps came out and moved their cars. Glad we could help.