JustMe Posted March 13, 2006 Report Share Posted March 13, 2006 From last fridays Shetland Times comes the story of a woman living in Grobsness with two children and the boy having potentially life threatening illnesses. She "runs out of oil" just before the snow and she praises BP for "pulling out all the stops" to get fuel to her. Good for BP but has she never heard of contents gauges on fuel Tanks. She then runs out of food and medicine for her son. Ok so she had "ordered" medicine two weeks before the snow but surely seeing or listening to any weather forecast should have reminded her to make sure the food and medicine required was obtained in advance of the snow. Later the paper reports that as well as thanking her neighbours she said "that there should be contingency plans in effect for people living in remote areas during times of heavy snow". Well I have got news for the lady in question....there is a contingency plan for people liable to get snowed in. It is called "stocking up" and it means making sure you have food, medicine, heat and light available when snow is forecast. In fact I am inclined to go a bit further on this subject. If her son has autisim, epilepsy and asthma I would question the wisdom of living in Grobsness which even on a fine day is a longish drive to the nearest doctor. Thoughts anyone?. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigMouth Posted March 13, 2006 Report Share Posted March 13, 2006 It is far easier to rely on others than to be self-reliant! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pert Posted March 13, 2006 Report Share Posted March 13, 2006 I'm really not sure what point is being made here. I doubt if she intended to do any of the above. turd happens. The Shetland Times would have picked up on it as a heartwarming tail of community spirit overcoming the elements. Fair enough. People forget things all the time. Are we saying that you're not allowed to forget things if you have an ill child? More importantly, what business is it of anyone to pass judgement on where someone else chooses to live, based on a few paragraphs of information about their life, to the point where they post quasi-slanderous remarks on a public forum about it. I've just shelled out the best part of a hundred quid getting a new water pump put in my car. This is because I FORGOT to renew the coolant last summer, with the result that it froze and foot-sucked the pump, leaving me stranded in the snow. Mercifully, I have no sick children, so this is not the crime of the century. Feel free to start a thread about it, next time you need to pep up your ego. hindsight is an exact science. sphincter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
admin Posted March 13, 2006 Report Share Posted March 13, 2006 Come on folks. Everybodys entitled to state their opinion without being personnaly insulted. And try to keep the language clean. This is a public forum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PoolHaddock Posted March 13, 2006 Report Share Posted March 13, 2006 I have to agree in principle with you there pert. It's very, very easy to accidently run out of oil, especially if you have a large tank that only needs filling every 5 months or so. Also, if you actually pay any attention to the weather forecast 2 weeks in advance, chances are you'll spend most of your life in mild panic. Shetland is a very difficult place to forecast, and there was every chance, when she ordered the medicine, that the snow may not have arrive at all (if it had even been forecast at that point) Anyway....never leet. I was meant be at a university interveiw today. If only I'd listened to the forecast and realised the boat would be cancelled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pert Posted March 13, 2006 Report Share Posted March 13, 2006 Come on folks. Everybodys entitled to state their opinion without being personnaly insulted. And try to keep the language clean. This is a public forum The original post was a long-winded personal insult. Fight fire with fire! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moorit Posted March 13, 2006 Report Share Posted March 13, 2006 From last fridays Shetland Times comes the story of a woman living in Grobsness with two children and the boy having potentially life threatening illnesses. She "runs out of oil" just before the snow and she praises BP for "pulling out all the stops" to get fuel to her. Good for BP but has she never heard of contents gauges on fuel Tanks. She then runs out of food and medicine for her son. Ok so she had "ordered" medicine two weeks before the snow but surely seeing or listening to any weather forecast should have reminded her to make sure the food and medicine required was obtained in advance of the snow. Later the paper reports that as well as thanking her neighbours she said "that there should be contingency plans in effect for people living in remote areas during times of heavy snow". Well I have got news for the lady in question....there is a contingency plan for people liable to get snowed in. It is called "stocking up" and it means making sure you have food, medicine, heat and light available when snow is forecast. In fact I am inclined to go a bit further on this subject. If her son has autisim, epilepsy and asthma I would question the wisdom of living in Grobsness which even on a fine day is a longish drive to the nearest doctor. Thoughts anyone?. Is this the same people who were in conflict about respite ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigMouth Posted March 13, 2006 Report Share Posted March 13, 2006 I have to agree in principle with you there pert. It's very, very easy to accidently run out of oil, especially if you have a large tank that only needs filling every 5 months or so. These sort of issues are sorted out with a pen and a calendar. A monthly check is all that is required. Why not have a backup system too. What happens for instance if the fuel pipe became blocked to the boiler? If it is important it needs a little more attention. I used to have a friend who never bothered to put fuel in her car. It was her husband's job as far she was concerned. When she ran out on the motorway she realised the value of self-reliance. Commonsense is what is lacking in this story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustMe Posted March 13, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2006 Hindsight may be wonderful but so is a bit of forward planning. Maybe it was the lady's first experience of snow and I am glad she got over the situation. However she cast the first stone by saying there should be a contingency plan in place. I am sure there is but at the same time there has to be some responsibility taken by householders when "weather events" are forecast. That said what happend to the snow we were promised last weekend?. As for the respite care problem I thought that had been solved when the family left the area.....not sure though. And as I see it my original posting was not a personal insult.....not knowing the lady I would not do that.....but it was a critical point about her inaction given the bad forecast and a comment that Grobsness was a bit far from help when she has a sick child. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Distortio Posted March 13, 2006 Report Share Posted March 13, 2006 Mercifully, I have no sick children, so this is not the crime of the century. are you forgetting the ones you keep in the car boot? if they weren't sick when they were bundled in, they should be pretty well malnourished by now... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pooks Posted March 13, 2006 Report Share Posted March 13, 2006 When I saw the topic I knew this thread would hold strong views. To start with I would like to say that I don't know the woman personally or of the situation that she is inDISCLAIMER>, however, I think she was a bit rude to suggest that somebody should go out and risk their lives because she didn't stock up before the poor weather arrived. I am sure that there are many people that find themselves with the same/similar dilemma when these situations arrive but surely it would be a bit much for there to be a service to everyone incases like this. IIRC she said that the road to her house was pretty much out of bounds, so if she couldn't get out then how does she expect anyone to be able to get in? I know for a fact that the emergency services were very busy during "the big freeze". Is it okay to expect Oscar Charlie to turn up with your medication when there could be somebody else critically ill and in need of an airlift? I wouldn't want it on my conscience that somebody had died because of a decision I made. All in all, the lady get her medication, nobody died, the snow went away and we are back to wind and rain. Another happy Shetland ending. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peeriebryan Posted March 13, 2006 Report Share Posted March 13, 2006 Whar is Grobsness? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Njugle Posted March 13, 2006 Report Share Posted March 13, 2006 Toony! It's a turn off on the Voe-Aith road, (known as the alps to us non-toonies ) Which goes about a mile north around the coast of Gonfirth. You can't see the houses from anywhere else. If you are on the main road to brae, just before Olna( ) and look left, it's the headland that's sticking out. *I'm wasting my time here aren't i?* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pooks Posted March 13, 2006 Report Share Posted March 13, 2006 It is &searchp=newsearch.srf&mapp=newmap.srf]here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Njugle Posted March 13, 2006 Report Share Posted March 13, 2006 All in all as Pooks said nobody died, the fuel truck driver had every right to say no, though most of them will give it a try, bless em, the forecast was not as bad as what came, and we all make mistakes. This whole condemnation leads me nicely to a point..... What about all the hill walkers and mountaineers that get rescued every year, they ALL should have been better prepared, had contingency plans and known the forecast, but it still happens, and are they prosecuted? No, of course not, condemned a little sometimes, but usually there's no finger pointing at all, despite the fact that people have to risk their lives in the rescue and helicopters cost thousands to run. And finally, should the poor woman stand up and say "I am a doofus and I really should try harder". No of course not, neither would you. It's human nature to propose a solution that is blameless ie the"contingency plan". None of us are perfect So should mountain climbing be banned? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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