As is traditional we get a little snow and the country grinds to a halt. And yes, this is sensible and rational: we don't spend the huge sums that Sweden or Russia do on snow proofing the place because we don't get this sort of weather very often.

However, we do have a nice little proof of how we're ruled:

Welsh councils can use 12,000 tonnes of road salt on the roads in 24 hours, while salt mines could only provide the UK with up to 6,000 tonnes in the same period, he said.

"If we get the same [snow] conditions here in Wales, it's going to be extremely difficult to sustain supplies.

"It's up to central government to prioritise where the salt goes, but councils will have to prioritise locally, which could be difficult in some areas."

Well, OK, fair enough: councils can use far more salt in a day than can be supplied in a day. But the salt mines are open 365 days of the year (or they certainly will be once my bureaucrat reallocation plan is brought in) and we need to salt the roads only, what, ten or 12 days a year? So it really shouldn't be beyond the wit of man or committee to get salt in in July and keep it ready for December now, should it?

But apparently it is: which tells us something about government really. If they can't do simple things like this then why are we allowing them to attempt the difficult stuff like health care, crushing inequality and educating the nation? They're simply not competent to deal with them, are they?