So true. We did carry on driving in snow. On roads that were properly gritted as can be seen in the picture. The road is totally devoid of snow. Not like the lamentable situation around Bournemouth last Thursday afternoon when snow that had been forecast fell on schedule at 2pm and crippled the roads around town by 5pm. Both major bus operators pulled all their services off by 6pm after many buses became stranded on hills all around town because of a lack of pre-gritting. On my time with LT we were never taken off the road in snow and although I drove in snow many times - which admittedly was never as great a problem in central London - I never felt it was unsafe. And it wasn`t just because RM`s were more capable, all of the rear engines types kept on going too.

Your story about the skidding tanker reminds me of a frightening near miss I had in RM 1446. Whilst stationary at the main stop in East Sheen an idiot car driver came out of Safeway`s car park right in front of an artic which braked on a wet road and almost jackknifed. The tractor unit came straight at me and its mirror turned my offside (metal) mirror around. I thought I was going to be crushed in the cab. I was probably still shaking when we got to Hounslow! And yes, there is always a story to tell about each bus in your garage. I`ve just told one!