Oh and also it appears that those in Westminster havnt grasped the idea of what a 1 in 20 year event actually means. Its not that there will be 1 event like it in 20 years, just that an event of this magnitude has a likelihood of happening in 20 years, but there is nothing to say that it couldnt happen every year. They seem to think it all means that 'oh, it snowed like buggery last year so it'll be fine for the next 10 years or so!'.
Share winter weather equipment (grit trucks, ploughs etc) with countrys in the southern hemisphere i say, cost is split 50:50 and every March/October we hire a big boat, stick all the equipment on it and ferry them to the country thats about to have a winter. Less storage costs, less purchase costs, economies of scale, all that. Maybe il send that into the Big Idea website!