South Wales gritting crisis leads to Wales team dilemma!?

So Wales has had to brave the big freeze this week, and in the midst of all this Welsh local authorities have declared a gritting crisis and gone to war with the Highways Agency!

Across Wales there has been considerable snow fall and numerous schools have shut nationwide, although Cardiff seems to have got off relatively lightly (hasn’t stopped the schools shutting though).  I’m proud to tell you dear reader that Wales SC staff have manned the office despite the real temptation of snowball fights in neighbouring Bute Park.

The big dilemma in the Wales office is whether to attend the very important cheque presentation that one of our supporter groups, the highly esteemed Swansea Branch, has organised for this evening at Sketty Hall.  Due to snow and sleet and freezing conditions the Wales teams is a little wary of braving the major motoring artery in Wales that is the M4 (especially during the gritting crisis / war).

The Swansea Branch have been fundraising even more than usual this year because it is their 50th Anniversary!  We are thrilled that they are going to London later this month to receive an award for ‘Fundraiser of the Year’ from HRH, The Princess Royal.  This evening they will be presenting their special 50th Anniversary Cheque to the Rt Hon Shan Legge-Bourke, President of Save the Children in Wales and Lord Lieutenant of Powys.

We really want to go to the cheque presentation as Swansea Branch are such a wonderfully committed group but we are wary of the gritting crisis that threatens relations between Welsh local authorities and the Highways Agency!  According to Wales Online the Highways Agency has been accused of blocking supplies to Wales – where stocks are running low after a week of icy weather – to allow English roads to be gritted!

We in the office are dubious as to whether this is all to be belived, but we may consider stocking up on table salt from our local Spar shop in case of a gritting emergency on our travels (…sorry if this causes a UK-wide salt shortage on one of the busiest take-away nights of the week)!