Boss' work never ends

The scene this morning as I drove out to take the dogs for a walk is probably the better photograph and can be seen in the Extras,

However, the one chosen tells a bit of a story. It was taken on our way home after the walk. Our near neighbour Mr Boneberger clearing not just the pavement in front of the family house but also the family business. The area that needs to be cleared is much larger than it appears on the photo, extending down to the next house and including a large amount of forecourt in front of their joinery business. There are also the side and back of the building including large carpark which have to be done.

Mr Boneberger is deputy chief of our village's voluntary fire brigade and usually the first one on the scene as he works in the village and close to the firestation. Many of the volunteers work in the larger towns, 20km away. Last saw him in action about two weeks ago when a car driver hit a fallen tree on the road not far from us.

So while jealous of his John Deere tractor set up, not envious of the task. He isn't just doing it for fun but he is legally responsible for the safety of his employees (I suspect around 15-20) but also customers, suppliers safety and would be held responsible for the costs of any medical treatment that might occur. That is the reason why all consumer protection agencies will always say that if you have one insurance, then 3rd party liability.

His neighbours at the very left of the photo have cleared their bit of the pavement as required by law, even though it doesn't belong to them. The parish council delegates the task to all property owners to clear the pavements. Monday to Saturday from 7:00am, Sundays from 8:00am. And until 20:00am. And it matters not if you are on holiday on a South Sea Island, in hospital, can only get around in a wheelchair or at work. And if it snows again after you have cleared it, you have one hour after the snowfall stops to do it again. And it should be 1 meter wide so that two people can walk by side-by-side. And if the snow plough comes past at 80km/h and dumps the snow back on your pavement, then out you go again!

It is the reason you will often see small 4x4 SUVs (notably Suzukis) dashing around towns with a snowplough on the front. They are contractors clearing private people's paths and especially places like supermarket car parks.

No more snow today and none forecast until Tuesday. It's not enough for me to bother getting out the snow blower to do our property and we simply shut our gate so nobody comes on our property. The postman is careful and only has 3 steps from his van to our postbox.