As London recovers from a fall of frozen water from the sky, bizarre and never seen before in the month of February, and the transport systems react with dismay and amazement, I can’t help but be reminded of the famous(ish) letter which W.S.Gilbert (of ‘… and Sullivan’ fame) wrote to the Times of 28 September 1897.

To see what I mean, merely imagine every reference to ‘Saturday’ to be a reference to snow in the following:

“In the face of Saturday the officials of the company stand helpless and appalled. This day, which recurs at stated and well-ascertained intervals, is treated as a phenomenon entirely outside the ordinary operations of nature, and, as a consequence, no attempt whatever is made to grapple with its inherent difficulties.
To the question, “What has caused the train to be so late?” the officials reply, “It is Saturday”–as who should say, “It is an earthquake.”

… over a century has passed, and it appears the situation has, like the trains themselves, hardly moved forward a great deal.

*Apologies to Peter Hoeg