He and Julie had moved the dining table to the rear of the room and after covering it against damage; they had used it to store water and all of the food in the house. Everything that could be eaten or drunk was brought in except the frozen food, which remained in the garage. The other reason they had chosen the dining room was its position close to the external connecting door to the garage. A short hop and they had access to a protected and secure area. Josh planned to move firewood from the barn into this handy annex if he could.
He had already manoeuvred the cars as far into the corner as sensible, leaving as much room as possible for log storage. He would now have to judge whether and when to risk the weather, make sorties across the yard, and fetch the firewood. He had a wheelbarrow and considered using that as transport. That depended on how it coped in the snow. It was one of the trendy modern versions with a very large ball at the front. It might just do the job, and he had no real choice but to get the transfer of wood completed as soon as possible. However, he didn’t relish the task, as it was a high risk venture.
Meanwhile, Julie had moved all warm clothing and bedding to the dining room. This was stacked up at one side, awaiting mattresses. These Josh brought down from the guest bedrooms – two singles as he couldn’t manage a double. They placed these at the front and centre by the fire, and then carried the sofa and two armchairs from the sitting room into the diner. These they used to make three sides of a square and they now had a cosy little Scout camp, as Josh referred to it.
Next was the window. They drew the curtains and used a spare duvet to cover the large Victorian bay by nailing it to the surround. When they had finished, a better job of secondary double-glazing would not be found.
Finally, they bought in toiletries including paper, electrical items such as kettles and a toaster which they would dispense with as soon as the electricity failed – which it did later that day. However, Josh had a couple of portable ‘Handilight’ gas lamps and some spare cartridges, so they could have lighting if they so chose. Candles would suffice in the short term and they had plenty of those, as Julie was an ornamental candle collector and had dozens of decorative examples from around the world, plus a few ‘Yankee’ candles She had never expected to light them, but necessity was now the watchword.
The heating in the house was already up to maximum and had been for the past twenty-four hours, since they had returned from the abortive trip to the airport. All internal doors were closed and curtains drawn with lights out. They couldn’t think of anything else to do, so they settled down to eat on that Wednesday lunchtime ready for the new siege of Stalingrad. They listened to the radio for snippets of information but precious little was being broadcast, and what there was, was pre-recorded ‘muzac’.
The next and biggest task would be to get as many firewood logs from the barn across to the connecting garage and they scheduled this exercise for later that afternoon.
Day 4
Wednesday 18 December
General Update – 9:00am
It had now been snowing continuously over the entire United Kingdom, including Northern Ireland and parts of Eire for more than sixty hours. In parts of the UK the snow was four or five feet deep and drifting had caused tremendous problems for the bodily movement of human beings.
All transport had ceased to function and most vehicles were now buried or partly so. Electricity was still available in a few, isolated locations but generally, most of the population was existing in the dark.
Many, many thousands of people had been caught in the initial blizzard, and thinking that it was just the usual British winter snow shower, had paid it scant regard. Many of these people paid for this casual approach with their lives. Countless of them died in their vehicles or whilst attempting to escape to safety. Totally ill equipped for the conditions, they had simply frozen to death.
Millions of people were trapped at work, or in the tube, or on trains, or on buses, or in shops, or in military camps, or in schools, or in hospitals. They all faced the same dilemma – make a break for home – sometimes miles or hours away – or stick it out at work and hope that the British ‘Dunkirk/Blitz’ spirit would win through. In the end it turned out to be ‘the devil or the deep blue sea!’
However, those unfortunates stranded at work suffered a predictable fate when the electricity failed and the heating went off. Exposure and hypothermia took its toll and whether it took a day or a week, most of these people died as they cowered from the cold.
Citizens who remained in their homes fared best of all. Those who realised that the snow was a serious threat ‘got their act together’ and hunkered down for a siege. However, many of those trapped were housewives, whose husbands were entombed in the snow or whose children were lost. They had little idea or inclination how to survive. Many were the elderly or infirm, or both. They could do little to help themselves and if helpful neighbours invited them in, they were very fortunate – but, in most cases, were only delaying the inevitable.
All in all, the UK was in a very sorry state by that Wednesday morning. The Government could not help – how could they? They were just as hamstrung as everybody else. It didn’t matter who you were, it was extremely difficult to cope with incessant, driving snow of these proportions. Nobody could. Not even Eskimos or the likes of famous explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes. Even they have to take shelter eventually.
Observers from abroad could only sit and watch. The coast of France, Belgium and Holland were also affected and many of the inhabitants were fleeing inland. Expatriates watched in complete horror as the British Isles and Eire suffered a total communications black out. Travellers and holidaymakers attempting to return to the UK were bewildered and stranded, relying on the hospitality of strangers and, of course, profiteering had quickly reared its ugly head.
In short, there was little anyone could do. UK inhabitants could only try to survive, whilst ex-pats could only wait and watch with increasing apprehension.
Day 4 – Grantham, Lincolnshire – 9:00pm
‘We go tomorrow, as planned!’ Brady was up early and had made his decision and would confirm it when the others were awake.
He had been upstairs checking the weather. It was still pretty bad, although the wind had dropped slightly and the snow was falling almost vertically in thick white clumps. This helped prevent drifting but the damage had been done during the previous two days. Cars were almost buried and the entrances to the houses opposite were completely blocked.
There was no street lighting and the area outside the house was an eerie and ghostly white. There was snow everywhere. The roofs of the Edwardian houses opposite had about two or three feet of snow laying extremely precariously, and it was starting to slip and cascade down to the surface below. He imagined that roof loadings would soon become an issue, as the weight of snow would contribute to collapse. He had no idea how much snow would cause problems, but he did know that UK property was not designed to withstand these loadings. He had seen housing in Germany which was specially constructed to withstand deep snow, but even they didn’t have to bear this much.
It wouldn’t be long before flat roofs started to go and then slanting roofs would follow, bringing yet more misery to the occupants. In fact, as it only took six or seven feet of snow to collapse a special designed and strengthened roof in the Arctic regions – so what chance did UK housing stand?
Jane and Chris were just waking up. The gas fire was still operating and Brady was frankly amazed. He couldn’t believe that the system could hold out this long. But he wasn’t complaining – not at all - he was grateful and would be delighted to receive twenty-four hours additional supply.
‘What's the drill for today, skipper?’ asked Jane brightly. She had spent a restful night sleeping soundly after her few glasses of wine, and was now raring to go.
‘I’ll fix breakfast, whilst lazy bones here gets up and dressed.’
Chris gave her a sleepy look and turned over.
Brady smiled and offered to help out
with the food. As they left the HQ, he gave Chris a friendly kick and hinted strongly that he should now get up, which he did as soon as the adults left the room.
After breakfast, they set about preparing for the start of the trek scheduled for the following morning, which Brady announced would be at 10am sharp. He went through the route one more time, focusing closely on ‘Day One’, and when he was satisfied that they had committed it to memory, he turned his attention to the clothing and ski kit.
Each person would carry a backpack with a sleeping bag attached. Chris had a smaller pack which Brady’s son had once used. Brady would also pull the sledge with supplies covered by the tarp which he'd liberated from ASDA. They would all have skis and poles, and Brady and Jane would carry the navigation equipment.
Brady had to decide what exactly to take. Clearly, they would pick up supplies en-route, if they could, but they should be self-sufficient to some degree. He decided that Chris should carry the light equipment – packets of soup, OXO, teabags, chocolate and limited spare clothing – there would be plenty of that to be sourced en-route. Jane could manage a bit more, but not too much, perhaps some of the lighter equipment such as spare cartridges for the Gaz cookers. Brady would hump the heavier gear. No backpack – just the sledge with food and spares. Actually, he would wear a backpack but it would be essentially empty and perhaps after a day or two he could dump the sledge and transfer necessities.
He persuaded Jane and Chris to carry out a complete dress rehearsal with their kit, and made them repeat it, and so that they knew how to get dressed in the dark – he snuffed out the candles. They then laid out their kit in neat piles ready for the morning. The skis and poles were propped against the wall.
Then it was time to pack the rucksacks and affix the sleeping bags. This they did carefully and tried each one for size so that they were totally comfortable, ensuring that there was nothing digging into their bodies. Brady adjusted them for height and when he was satisfied, each rucksack was positioned on the floor next to the skis.
This had taken several hours and it was now well past lunchtime, so they stopped and had some mugs of Bovril, and Jane cooked three frozen pizzas from the freezer. That afternoon she would cook up all of the sausages and chicken nuggets, let them cool and in the morning distribute them individually amongst the three rucksacks, in outer pockets, so each trekker could snack when necessary.
Brady was pleased with his two students and he liked to think that he’d forgotten nothing – at least nothing important. He completed some more route study and then addressed himself to the issue of egress from the house. Probably the best way was out of the HQ window – as he had done before. The rear exit was difficult. There was no real place to get out of a window safely and the rear garden was fenced, so they would have to haul everything over a wall. No, it had to be the front.
By the end of the day, everything was ready for their departure. They would have a slap up feed this evening and then get a good nights’ sleep - get up at around 7am; eat, finish packing, dress, and hit the road.
Brady was nervous but when he looked around the room he knew that they were as well prepared as they could be in the circumstances. The only question in his mind was what drama and adventures the next week would bring? It was that which really worried Brady – it was not only the poor weather conditions en-route, but mainly the type of fellow human being they might meet.
It was with this in mind that he went downstairs to the cellar and opened a secret door; behind which was a cabinet which held his twelve-bore single barrel shotgun and plenty of rounds. He fancied that he may have to shoot at something more threatening than a clay pigeon.
Day 4 – Sandringham House, Norfolk – 6:00pm
The Queens’ Senior Protection Officer at Sandringham was satisfied that everything was under control. He reasoned that everything that could be done, had been done. The Royals had been marvellous and their co-operation and deference to his control had been first class. He should have expected no less. HM had clearly indicated to the other royals that the police officers in the house would supervise proceedings and all of the other family members agreed.
There were plenty of supplies and fuel in the house, placed there for such an emergency. The major issue was staff. Although most were handpicked, it was impossible to foresee the current crisis and managing these people was a challenge. He appealed to their sense of duty and once they really appreciated that they had no option – they knuckled down to the routine – although routine it was certainly not.
He allowed as much telephone contact with their families on the outside as was possible. This helped enormously, but not for those who could not get through. They had been here now for three days, confined by the appalling conditions. His contact with the outside, on secure radio channels, had left him in no doubt as to the severity of the situation and that no assistance would be forthcoming – from any quarter. He was on his own – and his sole duty was to ensure the safety and survival of the Royal Family – at any cost.
He estimated that the fuel for the boilers would last at least a month, if used sparingly and wisely, although he needed to keep everyone warm and fed. He had underground storage of oil and gas and an electricity generator which ran on diesel. There were no immediate fuel issues. He had four men permanently assigned to monitoring the supply of fuel, and its protection from the cold and snow.
Food was marginally more of an issue. Eventually, it would run out. He had spent much time with the catering manager working out menus. Frugality would be the maxim, but a supply of hot food was essential. Families were living as closely packed as possible and unused rooms were shut off, with heating turned down to a minimum to prevent freezing pipes. Daily association was organized in the main anterooms so that heat was not wasted. Everyone ate together at the same time and accepted what they were given. HM saw to that. Additionally, it was announced that if one wasn’t in the main downstairs gathering area – then one should be in a bedroom. Generally ‘one’ was!
Consequently, everyone fell into the routine with a smiling face and a sort of family atmosphere developed. Clearly, they were all appalled by the situation and after the senior RPO had briefed them on the general outlook for the UK over the next month, their worry turned to horror.
They all realised the severity of the situation and senior Royals spent many hours discussing the options for recovery after the snow stopped and began to thaw and clear. They were worldly-wise enough to realise the potential disaster a thaw would bring and were hoping that external foreign assistance would quickly arrive. However, communications were not great. Although the police at Sandringham had power to transmit and receive – the people with whom they were trying to communicate were struggling. Power was down throughout the UK and specific information concerning the general situation was scarce.
The Prime Minister and his very small group of advisors and staff were stuck in No 10’s underground rooms. They had similar problems and were cut off from civilisation as well. HM spoke to the new PM, who she'd only met once, when asking him to form a government, and she quickly realised that he was also helpless and stranded. He would be of no use. She also spoke to Sir Ian James, an old, familiar and reliable pair of hands. He revealed the loss of the new PM’s family and confirmed that as a result, the PM was virtually useless as a leader. When all of this was over a new man would be required at No 10. Perhaps that might be a reprieve for the old, recently defeated politician now in retreat in Yorkshire. At least he had the experience to deal with the coming challenges. Party politics would take a back seat when the country had to deal with the recovery phase. HM sighed and expressed her condolences. But she too had relatives in outposts around the UK and although some were in contact by radio, many were not. However, this was not a time for faint hearts, and in the final analysis she would appoint the strongest person for the job of bringing the country back to normality.
However, such a scenario had yet to develop. Immediate survival was the
major issue and of all the citizens of the UK, the Royal Family at Sandringham was in the best position to endure this adversity. The Queen would do her best to see that they all did.
Day 4 – Selby, Yorkshire – 4:00pm
Julie and Josh could put it off no longer. They were lovely and warm and snug in their dining room, surrounded by their supplies and living essentials. Even a battery-operated cassette was playing music. However, the logs in the barn required immediate transfer to the garage. If they waited much longer, it would be an impossible task. The snow would engulf everything.
However, there were several obstacles to be overcome.
Firstly, a mode of conveyance was required to transport the logs. Josh decided that the large barrow with the giant ball acting as a wheel would do the job. He estimated that he could get ten logs at a time in the barrow, so twenty trips at five minutes per trip should do the trick – about two hours. Josh would load and haul the logs to the garage door and Julie would unload whilst Josh recovered. She would then stack whilst he returned for the next trip, keeping the garage door closed. They were fortunate that this garage had so many exits, so that the main up and over could stay shut. Both of them would dress warmly of course. Frostbite was not to be their first mistake.
Snow! The Series [Books 1-4] Page 27