Whiteout wipeout

As Donna Summer once said, enough is enough. This snow stuff was great for the first day (or two), but I have decided it is a new year (Happy New Year, by the way) and it is time for the snow to go.
Jane and I were trying to think when it started. Jane had to drive her school minibus up in the glens, in snow, on Friday 18th December. I didn't encounter it until early the next morning, when I drove over to Ullapool. Although the A835 had been gritted, it had had little effect between Garve and the Braemore junction, which made for an exciting drive over the hills. The snow had not settled in Ullapool but my pupil, Kim, was concerned that, with a lot more snow forecast, they would close the A835, leaving me with a possible 100-mile detour to get home. I had already resigned myself to missing the Strictly...  Final, but to miss Match of the Day as well! While the weather remained snow-free in Ullapool I decided to stay, but, by 4 o'clock, big flakes began tumbling from the sky, so I headed carefully home to find that the snowfall now stretched across the whole of the Highlands.
Of course, we certainly weren't the only area. A few inches of snow (particularly in England) is headline news. All other news about soldiers being killed in Afghanistan, world leaders failing in Copenhagen and even the race for the Christmas No.1 was pushed down the priorities as snow hampered last-minute Christmas shoppers. In some parts of Bedfordshire it was so bad that some of my friends had to postpone their game of golf. I shouldn't be glib, thousands of people had to abandon cars, or even spend the night in them. But, no-one died. Around the same time, over twenty people died as a result of severe snow storms in central parts of the USA, but our media thought it more important to focus on people who took 3 hours to get out of a Tesco's car park.
The Tuesday before Christmas I returned to Ullapool. I have to say, the gritters and snowploughs had performed minor miracles to keep the main roads clear and, in Elgin (in particular) even the most minor road was clear of snow and ice. So, although I set off in plenty of time to deal with icy roads, I enjoyed a clear drive and reached Ullapool almost an hour early. Unfortunately, Ullapool's side roads were not clear of snow. I had four pupils, Eilidh, Kim, Mascha and Jayanne, all scheduled for tests on the Wednesday. Although I was still able to give lessons in the snow (in fact, I believe it is an unmissable opportunity to gain such experience), I had strong doubts about the tests going ahead.
Mascha actually lives in Surrey, but, having failed her first attempt in Reigate, she had booked a test in Ullapool because she was staying with family there over Christmas. Kim is moving to France early in January, so would only get one shot at the test. Eilidh's test was paid for by her parents as part of her Christmas present. And Jayanne had been increasing her lessons recently in the run-up to this test.
Because Ullapool is only a temporary Test Centre, the examiner has to drive over from Inverness to conduct the tests. The senior examiner called me to ask what the roads were like in Ullapool. With my pupils wanting so much to take their tests the following day, it was with some reluctance that I had to tell him the roads were not suitable. One criterion was that the curbs must be visible (especially for the reversing manoeuvres), but that certainly was not the case on many of the roads. As a result, not only were all the tests cancelled, but, understandably, all four pupils preferred to cancel their lessons too. Disappointing for me to drive all the way to Ullapool for four, instead of fifteen, hours work, but even more disappointing for those that were unable to take their tests.
I then had four hours of lessons cancelled on Christmas Eve and, since Christmas, I have had another eleven hours of lessons cancelled due to the snow/ice; some of them by me (when I was concerned that the pupils' skills may not have been up to the conditions), some of them by the pupil.
Worse still, I have two more pupils hoping to take their test, in Elgin, next week and there seems to be no respite from the snow. With so many tests being cancelled there will be a huge backlog of tests in the region.

As I said, I liked it when the snow first arrived, it meant that I could have snowball fights with my grandchildren and it made the scenery was even more spectacular. But, with blue skies and white snow giving way to white/grey skies and white/grey icy snow, it is now like looking at a never-ending Joy Division album cover.
The snow stopped for a few hours this afternoon, but more is forecast later tonight. According to the Met office website, the temperatures over the next five days are not going anywhere near the -12C we had a few days ago, but they don't look high enough for anything like a thaw.

I have decided  it is Andy's fault (my pupil in Aviemore). Back in the Autumn, he said that the spectacular abundance of berries on the Rowan trees meant that we were in for a lot of snow in the winter. I quietly dismissed that as bumpkin nonsense and optimism on his part (he is a keen snowboarder). I still think it was bumpkin nonsense, but it is always nice to have someone to blame.