COUNTING chickens is a hazardous occupation and it worth remembering that on Monday, June 2 in 1975 play in a county championship match between Derbyshire and Lancashire at Buxton was abandoned due to snow.

But in all probability the ‘beast from the East’ was the last hurrah of a winter that has seen too significant snowfalls resulting in the all too predictable disruption across the country and in Ludlow and south Shropshire as well as across Tenbury and the Teme Valley.

It’s been a story of roads blocked, trains cancelled, schools closed and shops running short of basic provisions.

Business has in the past taken me to cities like Helsinki, Oslo and Stockholm in the deep of winter where life goes on as usual despite weather than would inspire blood red stay at home warnings in this country.

It is easy to wonder why we are such wimps but also unfair.

The difference is that countries like those in Scandinavia are used to it and have prepared accordingly.

A taxi drive took me from the centre of Helsinki to the airport along roads of sheet ice at breakneck speeds, or so it seemed because he was used to driving in such conditions – it is n accident that the Scandinavians have produced a catalogue of top rally drivers.

In the centre of Helsinki there is heating under the pavements to make sure that they are kept clear. Major investment is made in the infrastructure and equipment to cope with winter so should be not be doing the same?

The answer is in an ideal world yes but from a pragmatic point of view probably not.

Prolonged spells of very bad winter weather such as in the winters of 1947-48 or 1962-63 are thankfully extremely rare – perhaps once or twice in a lifetime events for most people.

Otherwise the cold snaps are usually short, lasting just a few days. Therefore, it hardly makes sense to make huge investments of money that we have not got in infrastructure and equipment that for the vast majority of the time would just be standing idle. So, it is probably a case of when the snow and ice does come continuing to muddle through in the best traditions of the British.

After all, people for the most part work hard and face a lot of pressure so a few extra days at home every so often courtesy of the weather may not be such a bad thing. This is not intended to be flippant because for people who have to get to work and those who for example live on the streets bad weather is a terribly serious business.

But for most of us the best thing is to accept it will soon pass.