I swore at the television. Loudly.

Life The snow is drifting in Liverpool now, as thick I've seen since we moved to Sefton Park in the early nineties. We've often referred to there being a white out here when just frost has blanketed the land. Now, looking out across the field it's almost impossible to see anything, only the silhouettes of kids and parents playing, though slowly they're disappearing too.

At about two o'clock this afternoon, just as I was getting ready to go out and buy a newspaper, I swore at the television. Loudly. In fact, I used the words fuck and off. A report about the weather had appeared on BBC News. During a montage of vox pop interviews recorded during rush hour this morning, a snow-swept man was shown standing in front of a London tube station said: "The roads haven't been gritted," he said "You can't get about... it's like we're living in a third world country."

I hate vox pops at the worst of times. In select circumstances, admittedly, they can offer a valuable eye witness account, even with the prevalence of camera phones whipped out of pockets at the merest hint of something newsworthy happening. But more often than not, they're verbal noise, ill informed filler material when a report is running short in which a member of the public finds themselves desperately try to say something intelligent when a camera or microphone or both has been shoved under their nose.

Which is why I know our friend didn't think his language was as offensive as all that. He was obviously very unhappy that the snow had brought the city to a standstill and disrupted his routine. True it can snow in third world countries, but he's referring to our infrastructure not being able to cope with the influx of weather which is a bit different to not having access to running water. Ever.

As Rob says, our country is unused to these conditions, we don't have the infrastructure because its such an uncommon scenario these days. Having worked for a council, I know how difficult it can be to grit an entire area, and because you don't have the staff or vehicles, you have to pick and choose where you're going to attend and someone will always be disappointed.

So let's just enjoy it while it's here, shall we, and not lose our temper about it. And yes, I do appreciate the irony of me saying that.