Picture the scene - a bitterly cold winter's morning in Southend-on-Sea, and a local couple are listening to the local radio over breakfast.
"We can expect 8-10 inches of snow today," enthused the DJ. "You must park your car on the even-numbered side of the street, so the snowploughs can get through."
The good Essex wife, we'll call her Tracey, pulled on her thickest pair of white socks and ventured out to move the family car.
A week later, breakfast time again, and the DJ has bleaker news:
"We are expecting 10 to 12 inches of snow today. You must park your car on the odd-numbered side of the street so the snowploughs can get through," he said, urgently.
Being a good citizen, Tracey again pulls on her thickest white socks, this time with matching white headscarf and mittens, and ventures out to move the car as instructed.
The weather conditions are unprecedented - even Michael Fish realises it's snowing - and, a week later, as Southend shivered along with the rest of the UK, a familiar voice made an even grimmer announcement:
"The weather conditions this month are the worst on record - we are expecting 12 to 14 inches of snow today. You must park...."
At that critical moment, the batteries died and the sound faded. Tracey was ashen faced with worry, what should she do? She turned urgently to her husband and said:
"Darling, I don't know what to do. Which side of the street do I need to park on so the snowploughs can get through?"
Her husband looked wearily over the top of the morning edition of The Sun, and said calmly:
"It'll be fine honey - why don't you just leave the car in the garage this time."
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