Snow business like Snow business!

 

I did a blog in December 2020 that started like this…

There was a dance band leader back in the days when all the music was black and white, called Victor Sylvester. A wee touch of the Victor Sylvesters means that it’s been snowing quite hard for a fair wee while. This is because, in the days of Victor Sylvester dance bands and all the young folk going to the dancing on the weekend, it was a thing to learn how to quick step etc. by buying a pattern of footsteps.

This was on a long sheet of white paper that you unfolded on the carpet, it had black and white footmarks on it and you simply followed the numbers. It was like a sophisticated twister for below the knees. I believe these instructions sometimes came with the appropriate gramophone recording where a voice would tell you the speed to move at, and the most famous of Victor Sylvester’s was slow, slow, quick, quick, slow which then becomes "snow, snow, thick, thick, snow".

Because it is snowing here again.

Well that’s not exactly true. It was snowing early this morning. Then there was a deep frost which froze the snow, now it’s raining and there are gale warnings for this afternoon – ‘threat to life’ gale warnings. 

But the gritters have been out and if you recall the blog of 2020, we do name our gritters and treat them like pets. We follow them online and they have popularity competitions.  The public can vote to name the gritters and here are the most popular at the moment.

                                           

Gritney Spears.

For Your Ice Only... I kind of like that one!  (We can see him get to work online live on the Gritty Tracker Website and see where he is and what he’s up to, probably outside Greggs having a sausage roll and a coffee. Well, the driver I mean but you never know....)

Troon Raker is in Kilmarnock.

Calvin Harr-Ice is out in Dumfries so he’ll be busy.

The infamous Gangsta Granny Gritter  will be very busy up in Dingwall where many of the roads are still closed. As Billy Connolly once asked, How does the man who drives the snowplough get to work? I think I used that joke back in 2020 as well.

 You might recall that all this started after the UK public were allowed to name a research ship for Antarctic exploration in 2016. A Scottish person, being funny, put forward the name Boaty McBoatface …..and that won the public vote. Oops.  I think the boat was eventually called The Sir David Attenborough but the people who work on it/her called her 'Boaty'. Or Mrs McBoatface when being polite.

Here are the gritters out doing their stuff before the gale comes.

Sir Andy Flurry

Gritty Gritty Bang Bang

I Came, I Thaw, I Conquered

Mary Queen of Salts  

                                                   

The entire UK have got in on the act now-

Voldergrit

Thaw Enforcement

Itsy Bitsy Teeney Weeney Yellow Anti-Slip Machiney

David Plowie

Mr Plow

The Ice Destroyer

Gritallica

Ready, Spready Go!

Snow Angel

Sprinkles

Grit A Bit

I Want to Break Freeze

Mega Melter

Basil Salty

Polar Patroller

Snow Dozer

Licence to Chill

The Incredible Ice BEAR

Walter The Salter

BFG – Big Friendly Gritter

Sled Zeppelin

Snowlar BEAR

Frosty

The Snow Buster

The Snowclaimers--- I bet that goes 500 miles, and then 500 miles more!

Always Be Grit-full

Sir Salter Scott

Snow Connery

Nitty Gritty

Grit-Tok

Mrs McGritter

Gritty McVittie

Spready Mercury

Luke Snow walker

Ready spready go

Grit Expectations

Sir Grits-A-Lot

Plougher O'Scotland

Gritty Gonzalez

Sandy The Solway Salter

Snowkemon Go

Slippy McGritty

Grits-N-Pieces

I want to break freeze

Yes Sir, Ice can Boogey

Penelopy Grittstop

Gritter Thunberg

Darth Spreader

Ploughlo Gratteeni

William Wallice

Fridge of Weir

Gerry Raffersleigh

Grittle Mix

                                                

Scotland has 208 gritters and the rules for naming them are – it can’t be too long, and it can’t be anything copyrighted by Disney as Disney seems to have no sense of humour. So they came up with Salt Disney.

 And my fav still is ----Snow Business like Snow business.

All photographs by Douglas Skelton because his dog goes out in the snow.... and my dog is recovering from a dislocated knee cap so is not allowed anywhere slippy. That's my excuse and nothing to do with the fact that Douglas is a very good photographer.

Cheers

C