I have to admit to feeling more than a little embarrassed about being a Brit this week. While witnessing, via TV, the nation’s poor attempts to deal with snow and ice I’ve been thinking what a load of wimps we’ve become. Anyone watching from a country where they have real winters EVERY year, must be thinking the same way. How pleasing then it was for me on Sunday when I met up with an acquaintance  who lives in a small village in the Dales. It was the first time he’d been able to get out of the village in a week. He told me that being snowed in had brought all the residents together for the first time since he’d moved there. They helped each other out, looked after the elderly, cleared paths, shared food, met at the pub and he said no one was particularly bothered that they had been temporarily cut off from the outside world. Community spirit restored – they do say it’s an ill wind…

Photo shows the scene at our offices last week – glad to report our staff made an excellent effort to get into work throughout the worst of the weather.