Now that's what I call snow

Published 15 Jan 2010 11:29 0 Comments

THE current cold spell may be causing chaos across the region, but it's prompted one man from Peebles to wonder what all the fuss is about.

James Robb remembers the winter of 1963, when snow drifts were piled ten feet high at the side of the road and he was forced to head out whatever the weather in his job as an Automobile Association (AA) inspector.

James, 83, spent 35 years working for the AA and began his career in Peebles in 1954 where he would attend to stranded motorists on his his motorbike and sidecar.

But it is the winter of 1963 that sticks in his memory, when Scotland saw some of the worst weather on record, with heavy snowfalls and gale force winds which lasted nearly three months.

James and his trusty AA minivan were deployed all over the country to help motorists caught out by the extreme conditions, with none of the technology that today's mechanics enjoy.

Mr Robb told the Peeblesshire News: "There were no mobile phones or navigation systems, so when I left for a job I just made sure I was prepared with a hot flask, a blanket and a shovel.

"You have no idea how difficult it was to try and fix the old ignition points with frozen fingers, it was such a fiddly job.

"The old minis were great in the snow, we put metal studs in they tyres and away we went.

"I think back then there were less cars on the road but also people were more used to driving in snow as the winters tended to be harder.

"Lots of people didn't have central heating or even freezers to store their food in, but everyone coped because people looked out for each other.

"If any of the AA men got stuck, we didn't worry because we knew that someone would always take us in and look after us."

And as for the recent snow, James finds all the chaos it has caused rather amusing.

"When I look out the window and see cars wheel-spinning in a couple of inches of snow I just laugh.

"All the panic on the news about the big freeze is funny, after all, it's just a bit of snow."

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