Britain set to sizzle in hottest temperatures ever (Possible 100F+)

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/07/17/060717182201.9novv9u4.html

Britain could soon swelter in the highest temperatures ever recorded, weather forecasters said, with a 30 percent chance that Wednesday will become the country's hottest day ever.

Temperatures of 37 degrees Celsius are expected in southeast England and forecasters at Britain's Meteorological Office say one or two areas could experience 39 C (102.2 degrees Fahrenheit).

That would beat the previous high of 38.5 C, recorded at Faversham in Kent, southeast England, on August 10, 2003, and make parts of the Britain hotter than Spain or Greece.

<snip>

"Over coming days, even hotter air will move across from continental Europe causing the temperature to rise even further," he added.

<snip>

Bookmaker William Hill said it would have to pay out 100,000 pounds (145,000 euros, 182,000 dollars) to punters who have bet on the temperature if the thermometer hits 38 C.

[Warpy]

1. Most people there don't have FANS

because temperatures in the high 70s are considered a heat wave.

Expect to see a lot of deaths. This is BAD.

[RamboLiberal]

3. Yep - gonna be a bunch of deaths

Probably on the continent as well!

Don't you just love it when idiot Repukes denying global warming counter it never killed anyone! :sarcasm:

[JuniperLea]

44. Oh go on with your junk science!

We all know that's a lot of hooey!

:sarcasm:

[SensibleAmerican]

83. On the flip side, they're going to point to the deaths ...

to show how the European governments failed to save their own. And frankly, their criticisms back in 2003 weren't that off the mark. Doctors were taking vacations whilst people were dying and the elderly could not afford A/C.

America has not done its part on global warming, but Europe (nor America for that matter) have done their part in managing medical disasters. These governments have the capability to do that, but the 2003 European heat wave and Hurricane Katrina showed how the governments of developed nations have dropped the ball.

[aquart]

4. I was about to say. They aren't equipped for this at all.

They don't even know about putting ice in a glass and pouring liquid over it.

[BooScout]

5. Uh yea ...they do....

We even have ice cream over here.:eyes:

[dysfunctional press]

8. ain't that the truth!

it drove me NUTS trying to get a proper amount of ice in a drink over there.
i even went to burger king and asked for EXTRA ice- which meant that there was a 1/2 inch of ice instead of 1/4 in the bottom of the cup. i finally got used to telling the morans to fill the cup with ice to the top, PLEASE, before adding the coke.

[chat_noir]

10. morans (sic)?

Why would you use that word? That's how that culture does it...it doesn't make it moronic.

Maybe they think that we're "morans" for getting so much ice...and so little soft drink (flavored water)...in our take-out cups.

[dysfunctional press]

14. when i repeatedly ask for LOTS of ice-

and they consider that to be 1/4 inch or so...that melts into nothing as soon as the soda is introduced.

i consider that to be moronic in ANY culture.

[bennywhale]

30. We actually consider it bad form to fill cups up with ice because

you are getting less of what you paid for, ie the drink.

[dysfunctional press]

50. i'm paying for both.

the drink and the ice that cools it, and dilutes it as it melts. i like that.

[bennywhale]

64. Ok ok, just tryijng to explain where the

motivation for doing it comes from, generosity. Maybe you should lighten up a bit and concentrate on the biiger things in life.

Also, does it ruin your day that much to have a little less ice in a drink???? Just enjoy your surroundings of a foreign culture and soak it in. I don't much like breakfast in France, i prefer English breakfast, but i can appreciate it when sitting on a side street in Paris or Nice.

Just relax a little

[tabasco]

34. Grow up.

Not everybody in the world does things like we do here in the USA.

I consider people who do not understand that moronic.

[Mandate My Ass]

41. exactly correct

I've never come across an ice-packed glass anywhere in the world except here. It just isn't done and I find it quite refreshing myself. Most beverages are served cool rather than frigid and it improves the taste IMHO.

Good luck to the Brits. I've been there three times and was treated like gold.

[dysfunctional press]

51. i don't mind so much their peculiar aversion to chilled beverages-

but when the customer makes a specific and repeated request, it takes a total moran NOT to get the message...in ANY culture.

that's something that you'll hopefully learn as you get a little more life experience under your belt...:hi:

[PaulaFarrell]

60. or maybe they thought you were the moran

and were just trying to annoy you. That 'the customer is always right' stuff doesn't play that well over here

[bennywhale]

29. And you know i went to Italy and they baked their pizzas in this shitty

stone oven thing. Fucking Philistines. Oh and when you ask for beer in the UK they give you one of their beers????? whats all that about???? I mean all youwant is a McDonalds and a Bud and these people don't even get that right. They need some cultural education man.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

36. Heh.

The KFC(shudder) here charges 10p for ketchup. I've seen it make American tourists go apoplectic, and I've only been in that hell hole twice.

[JuniperLea]

45. Heh! Yeah, what were they thinking??

All I know is that the last time I was in London, no matter how sweetly I tried to speak, the people there seemed to wince the moment they heard my voice (and probably the "accent") in an expectation that I would be rude to them!! I felt so badly! I went out of my way to be ultra nice, quite, calm and I smiled... A LOT! Sure, I'm merely a pesky Colonist, but damn! I love my ancestor's country of origin and it really hit me hard to have people so put off every time I opened my mouth.

Yikes. Now I know where the term "Ugly American" comes from... *shudder*

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

35. You know what drove me nuts?

Having to speak Spanish when I was in Spain. Who the hell do these people think they are? And you should have seen what the thought "coffee" was. Despicable, I tell you!

[Ezlivin]

48. In France it's like they have a different word for everything

Credit to Steve Martin for that one!

[pitohui]

20. they think they're cheating you

they do know abt ice but they think putting a lot of ice in a drink is a scam to cheat the buyer

it is actually meant to show how honest and honorable they are that they don't get all that abundant w. the ice!

[dysfunctional press]

52. but i always make specific requests for LOTS of ice...

with an emphasis on the LOTS.

maybe LOTS means something different in english?

[pitohui]

69. i don't know, i have a heavy accent

i don't necessarily presume anything other than they didn't hear or understand the word "lots" or "extra" when i ask for extra ice, half the time i don't think to do so anyway

[AlCzervik]

56. i was there in April, they had ice and indoor plumbing and walked upright.

[hatrack]

67. Maybe when a few thousand European old folks die, you can repost, OK?

In the mean time, maybe you'll find yourself in this WP editorial - an EDITORIAL - from back in 2003. Enjoy!

Thursday, August 14, 2003; Page A18

TO LISTEN TO THE FUSS Europeans are making about their weather, anyone would think that it was actually hot over there. In Paris, shops have experienced a run on electric fans.

EDIT

Okay, so maybe it's a bit warmer than usual. Temperatures across the continent have shot up into the 90s and once or twice have topped 100 degrees in London and Paris. But is this really hot -- hot enough to close businesses, hot enough to cancel trains (the tracks might buckle), hot enough to wax nostalgic for the summer rain to which some Europeans, notably residents of the British Isles, are more accustomed?

Last time we checked, the weather here in Washington was in the upper 80s, which is average to low for this time of year. Temperatures in Houston and Dallas in the past couple of days have topped 100, as they usually do in summer. Yet somehow, no one's talking about extraordinary measures being taken by Texans or Washingtonians. On the contrary, President Bush, who qualifies as both, by some measures, is currently mocking the press corps by pretending to enjoy jogging in the Texas heat. Not all Europeans may want to go this far -- but maybe they will now at least stop turning up their noses at those American summer inventions they've long loved to mock: The office window that doesn't open, the air conditioner that produces sub-arctic temperatures and the tall glass of water, served in a restaurant, filled to the brim with ice.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A55850-2003Aug13?language=printer

Nothing like 35,000 deaths to rouse the Post's editorial board to the heights of hilarity, huh?

[SensibleAmerican]

82. People don't have fans because energy is way too expensive in Europe.

n/t

[BooScout]

2. Oh lordy....

The one saving grace is it does cool off into the low 60s at night here in the UK. Something tells me I'm heading down the hill to the Snoker Club and their A/C tomorrow.

[muriel_volestrangler]

6. Except the Tuesday-Wednesday night forecast for Cardiff is 24C

ie 75F. http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/lib/includes/fsssi/city/cardiff.html

Good luck ...

[BooScout]

25. Yea I saw that later.....

It's now 9:15 am and already 76F (25C).....the only thing left that I have to fall back on is the fact that I am originally from Atlanta and hope my heat & humidity genes kick in.

[Lisa]

13. let's hope that trend continues ...

It's when nights are so hot and humid that people don't get a chance to cool off, that heat stress mortality increases (as happened in Chicago a few summers back).

[Gman]

7. Don't they drink warm beer in England?

That's a normal July day here in Texas.

[dysfunctional press]

9. they don't understand the concept of ICE or cold drinks.

nt

[KatyMan]

22. Not warm beer per se

you can buy all the 'Extra Cold' lager and Guinness you want. What you're thinking of is Real Ale, what would be called beer in the UK. It's kept in the cellar and is usually the temp of the cellar, which is generally quite cool, and in winter dang cold. It's not warm, but generally cool. Much more thirst quenching than lagars as far as I'm concerned. And the beer isn't flat, it's just not fizzy because there's no CO2 in it.
Personally I've always hated how you go to McDonald's in the States and get 5oz of Coke in a 20oz cup. To me drinks that are too cold lose their flavor, but that's probably my own weirdness. ;)

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

37. I think I was born in the wrong country.

The lots-of-ice thing bugs me, too, and real ale didn't bother me at all when I moved to the UK.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

46. If you want REAL warm beer (i.e. lager) try the remote parts of China

You can get warm beer, warm Coke, and warm orange pop, all at stores labeled "leng yin" ("cold drinks").

I finally figured out that what they meant by "cold" was "not hot like tea." :-)

[JuniperLea]

47. Mmmmmm.... Real Ale.... !!!

Never apologize!


CAMRA!!!

[T_i_B]

57. CAMRA member reporting for duty!

Spent most of Saturday at Chelmsford beer festival, had a great time (even if I did get very sunburnt) and I have to say that it really was busy, to the point where by the time I left at around 8:30pm we had nearly run out of beer such was demand!

Roll on the Great British Beer Festival at Earls Court in 2 weeks time! :bounce:

[BooScout]

26. No they don't....

Jeeze Louise people knock off with the stereotyping 20 or 30 years old.

[nealmhughes]

27. Hey after 4 years in Blighty, I still have a taste for beer that is not

near frozen and soda that has allowed to warm up -- my new pet peeve is being stared at when I announde to the barkeep "Do NOT give me frosty mug for that Guiness! Pour it and then give me a whiskey sour and a coke while I let is warm..."

It ought to be a good time to go visit Scotland...

[lovuian]

11. A big WAKEUP call for Brits with Global Warming but the

Queen will have her aircondition on in the palace...

meanwhile the poor will die

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

33. Hell, most of the middle class in the UK...

...don't have aircon. And people here are already awake. People who've lived here longer than I are saying that there's much, much less snow during winter than there used to be.

[BooScout]

38. Trust me......Brits know more about Global Warming....

than most Americans ever will know.

[bennywhale]

43. Ok, i'm trying to sleep here in Britain and i can't, its so fucking hot

probably not as hot as over there but i've got a big old red brick terrace with people packed in on all sides of me. i can also hear the family upstairs not sleeping much (noisy bastards) Thing is i'd open my windows but round here i'd get robbed, so i think i'll just get drunk and stay here on DU till i pass out.

probably not medically recommended but a tried and tested britiah method of dealing with problems.

[Nihil]

49. Cheers!

Suffering from a slight case of "f*ck it, it's so hot I've just got
to sit here drinking red wine" so I raise a glass to you (and all fellow
DUers who happen to be on-line)!

:toast:

[Lydia Leftcoast]

12. Ooh boy

I'm going to England in August and attending a music festival where most of the concerts will take place in a cathedral.

I know from experiences on the East Coast that those old stone churches stay cool for a while in the summer, but once they heat up, they STAY hot.

:scared:

ON EDIT: According to the Yahoo forecast for the places I'm going, it looks as if the heat wave will be short-lived. Let's hope it's a one-shot event.

Evidently the "heat wave" will be like heat waves in the Pacific Northwest, namely, nasty during the day but always cool at night.

[Rex]

15. I nearly died today from heat exhaustion.

I live in Texas, and was driving home from a job interview, started getting dizzy, sweating, I puked in the truck and started seeing double. Had to pull over on the side of the road because I was seeing double and couldn't focus on the road. I don't know what the temp was, but it is 10:30pm here now and 90 degrees outside!

Global warming is going to kill us all.

[Patchuli]

16. Ice bath time!

It's 93 here in Northern California. The Sacramento valleys get way hot but it's been horrible the past week. I hope you feel better!

[Rex]

17. Thanks I do!

I'm just glad I made it home. Ugh 93, I looked at the 5 day forcast and its 99 here almost everyday. :(

MMMM...ice bath! Dam that sounds good! :hi:

[Patchuli]

40. It's been hot here and when

I lived in Los Angeles that I had to put my cats and dog into cool baths to get their body temps down! They fought like hell going in until they realized how good it felt! I was misting my dog last night with a water sprayer and then turning a fan on him! He was grinning ear to ear! I wish we had a creek or a swimming hole for him!

[sofa king]

18. I was there during a heat wave in the 1980s.

"Heat wave" being defined in this case as a two bright weeks of daytime temperatures over 85 degrees, often climbing into the low 90s. Some people were outright miserable under exposure to direct sunlight, and the style of the young hoodlums I was exchange-studenting with was severely cramped because it was too hot for them to wear their heavy and ornate denim and leather jackets.

But most of the people I knew happily took the opportunity to visit the nearest body of water (never far away in Britain) and shed more clothing than they normally would. English women are just as beautiful in bikinis as American women are--they're just a little more pale. Aside from considerable concern for the health of those who couldn't afford to get out of the heat, the whole thing seemed to be welcomed as something of a novelty.

Oddly enough, there were quite a number of families in the small town I was staying in which had air conditioners. I don't know if it was a sort of status symbol like riding lawnmowers in the American South, or if the British really hate hot weather, but I wouldn't have needed them at all, even during those two weeks. Coincidence or not, when the heat wave hit my adopted family packed up and went down to the mud flats--I mean beach--at Weston-super-Mare. Now that I think of it, one of the primary attractions of the place we stayed may have been the window units in our rental cottage!

Years later I was in Christchurch, New Zealand when a single, freakishly hot day came along (nearly 41 deg C, or about 105 F, almost an all-time record for that town), and everyone was walking around acting like they were going to keel over and die. Really freaking out. I don't know if anyone actually did die, but I was genuinely concerned for all of them, because they were so miserable. I hope things don't get that bad for the poms.

[pitohui]

19. "why we all love will hill" (gambling website)

i just read a post of that title on another website, so i thought i'd throw that out for shits and giggles

all yall who bet the over/under for this, stand up and be counted, i totally missed this one!

BTW i was in london that day it reached 38 degrees C and it was hot but not you know, usa or central american hot, so i had no idea why it made headlines, i thought they were just being silly, now i know it must be something rare

hang onto your hats, folks, the ride is gonna get bumpy

[KatyMan]

21. Because hot is hot

and it was hot but not you know, usa or central american hot

38C is hot, especially in a country, as was said earlier, where it doesn't get all that hot and there are far too many places without AC. Stand around in Victoria Station in London waiting for your train (or even sitting in the trai) when it's in the upper 30's and tell me again it ain't hot.

Being originally from Houston, which is like living 8 months of the year in a furnace, I know whereof I speak :D

We had similar temps about a month or so ago, so we went out and bought a portable AC unit for the bedroom. It's my favorite piece of kit in the house!

[pitohui]

23. yeah we didn't do the underground that day

we did the bus, and my friend (who was sitting in the aisle) was saying, damn it's HOT, but i was sitting by the open window so only vaguely noticed

at the end of the day when we were watching the news he's all "i told you it was hot!"

[T_i_B]

73. Going by train in this weather?

I don't envy you that. Indeed to tell you the truth I'm dreading going to and from London on the train on Satuday for that very reason.

Mind you' I'd have thought it's more of a sauna on the train then on the platform of the station. And don't get me started about the heat on the Picadilly line!

[shanti]

24. they'll have to name this planet "crematoria" soon

:eyes: this is getting fuggin ridiculous. everywhere you look, the temps are around 100 degrees.

[LiberalFighter]

28. Blair should invite Dimwit to explain that global warming doesnt exist

[leftyladyfrommo]

31. I was in Scotland one hot summer and it was miserable.

There is no air conditioning and no fans. All we could do was open the windows.

[bennywhale]

42. Air con and fans are just two of the

luxuries that we spoilt fat glutonous West take for granted that add to global warming.

Its our obsession with luxury.

I say (and a lot of the rest of the world say) so fuck, its hot, find a lake, open a window and chill out.

Thats why the US with 5% of the worlds population produces 25% of the worlds Co2 emmissions.

Its pretty disgusting

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

32. Currently 88 degrees here...

About 60 miles north of London. It was 82 about an hour ago.

[BooScout]

39. 83 here....

About 18 miles from Cardiff.

[muriel_volestrangler]

53. Bedford and Heathrow at 35 centigrade, 2pm BST today

ie 95 Fahrenheit. http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/europe/uk/obs/latest_obs.html

(though the Met Office site is wilting in the heat too - too many people checking how hot it is, I guess).

[AlCzervik]

55. scuse my ignorance here but do you all have air conditioners

there, is that a common thing? I was in London for the first time in April and i loved it, it was still pretty chilly compared to the sweatbox of northern california. Loved you're country and i hope we can visit it again.

[T_i_B]

58. It's not a silly question

Air conditioning is not really common to tell you the truth. and the reason for that is that our weather tends not to get hot enough for it to be needed by most people. We are on the same latitude as Hudson Bay when all said and done. Trouble is, global warming is here and that looks like it may change things in that regard.

[lonestarnot]

54. The roof,the roof, the roof is on fiar.

[Lisa]

59. highest July max (36 C) broken (Wednesday)

http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/

"The previous highest July maximum temperature (36.0 deg C at Epsom in 1911) has been beaten. Today, Charlwood, near Gatwick Airport, at 1432 , had a temperature of 36.3 deg C"

Sympathies to everyone over there -- I just heard from my ex-roommate who's now living near London -- she says that if she hadn't seen similar weather while attending grad school in southern California, it's so warm that she would have freaked out by now! (She adds that, "At least in Santa Barbara we had air conditioning ...")

[lovuian]

61. Its called Global Warming

Welcome to intolerable Heat Britain with the rest of us...

[NotGivingUp]

62. They're killing us folks...and it's high time we do something about it.

[hedgehog]

63. Does anyone have any idea how hot the Gulf Stream is running?

I keep hearing that if the Stream gets warm enough,it will slow down or stop due to changes in salinity. What I'm wondering is whether those who expect Northern Europe to freeze in that situation have taken into account the fact that there will be a gain in direct solar heat absorption.

If the Stream is warmer than in the past, that may explain the high temperatures in England AND indicate what to expect when hurricane season sets in.

[Lisa]

66. there are some sites featuring recent satellite imagery and buoy data

http://marine.rutgers.edu/mrs/sat_data/?nothumbs=0&product=sst®ion=capehat
http://fermi.jhuapl.edu/avhrr/

Buoy data:
http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/

(I found that link on this other page ...)
http://findanswers.noaa.gov/noaa.answers/consumer/kbdetail.asp?kbid=344


Near the UK (click on dots to look at data):
http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/maps/United_Kingdom.shtml

[hedgehog]

74. Wow - the ocean off Ireland is running at 60 to 65 deg!

Do you have any idea of what the normal temperatures are?

[Lisa]

75. depends on the exact location ...

you might try doing a search on "historic sea surface temperatures". Here's one for Bundoran, Ireland (though I imagine it would be good to get a location as close to that particular buoy as possible).

http://www.surf-forecast.com/breaks/Bundoran.seatemp.shtml

[hedgehog]

77. Wow again!

Surfing in Ireland, who knew?

That's exactly the info I was looking for. Water temperatures at this buoy off the coast of Donegal appear to be running 5 deg F above normal for this time of year. That can't be good.

[Lisa]

78. it'll be particularly interesting when winter comes around ...

That's when the Gulf Stream impact is felt the most. In theory, warmer SSTs in the winter months should mean warmer and moister conditions ... kind of similar to what things were like during the Norman Conquest (when temperatures were mild but winter rain damaged crops and led to decreased food availability in England). Though I don't know whether ocean temps actually were warmer offshore, back then. I guess the Medieval Warm Period wasn't all fun and games! Once things started to cool off, in the late 1200s, the winters got drier so harvests got better. (Terry Jones discusses this in his "Medieval Lives" book.)

[hedgehog]

79. Now I'm wondering what was happening in 1848.

That year was notoriously cold and rainy.

[Lisa]

84. I'll bet there are some historical climatology studies on that ...

Might be worth checking the Royal Meteorological Society's bulletin, "Weather" -- or other science journals. I seem to recall that someone had reconstructed the weather patterns from the year of the potato famine (around that timeframe) and tried to figure out the synoptic circulation -- though I did a quick library search just now, and I couldn't find the title in that particular journal. It's got to be somewhere!

One author (John Kington) even managed to re-create weather from the 1780s, so I would imagine that the data might be even better from the mid-1800s.

[jkappy]

65. 2002 Heat Wave Killed Thousands in Europe

Or do I have the year wrong. The majority of deaths occurred in France and many also in Portugal, while the rest of Europe suffered from the oppressive heat and humidity.

[Arugula Latte]

68. We're supposed to hit 106 in Portland, Oregon, USA on Saturday.

Holy crap! That is practically unheard of!

My family in the San Francisco Bay Area has been sweltering in the 100s for days on end this summer.

Thanks a lot, President Fuckhead!

[arenean]

70. Hottest July England & Wales temperatures ever recorded

Hi all,
I work at the UK Met Office, and as predicted, yesterday the record was broken for the hottest July temperature in England since records began.

36.3 deg C (Charlwood, Surrey) - previous record 36.0 deg C (Epsom, Surrey)
& in Wales,
33.9 deg C (RAF Mona, Anglesey) - previous record 33.6 deg C (Usk)

I was lucky, being in Exeter in the South West of England, as we had some high cloud which took the edge off the temperature in the early afternoon.
I'm going to the weather briefing which is held every Thursday for Met Office staff, in an hour or so, and I'll be able to let you know what the prospects are for the coming week.

[arenean]

71. Next week

OK, I've just come back from the briefing.

High pressure building again tomorrow (Friday)Humid

Fri night & first part of Saturday - thunderstorms in south. Humid

Sunday - warm & muggy

Monday & Tuesday next week - heatwave conditions building again (maybe not quite as hot as this Wednesday though)

Wednesday - moist, warm air being pushed up from the continent (Spanish Plume) bring more thunderstorms

End of next week - fresher winds from the west (temps probably still higher than average for time of year though)

[muriel_volestrangler]

72. Welcome to DU!

(slightly belated, I see). There's a UK subforum - http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=191 - if you feel like a cup of tea and a nice sit down. :-)

[arenean]

81. Thanks Voley!

Thanks for the welcome Mrs Volestrangler!

I didn't even know there was a UK sub-forum. Rest assured I'll be strolling by for a piping hot cup of tea and a muffin....

[Lisa]

76. welcome to DU!

Thanks for the updates. Regards to your colleagues at the office ... they sure saw this one coming! I was talking to someone who works at the Canadian equivalent of the UK Met Office, and she noted that in these kinds of situations, early forecasts (and heat emergency plans) may well be saving lives!

[arenean]

80. Thanks!

Thanks Lisa,

Funny you should say that, as we all got this e-mail this morning!

There has been much attention paid to the current heatwave, especially to the record July temperatures yesterday. Much of the attention has been paid by our own staff in the manner of attending to effective communications, team working and planning.

Over the past three days I have been really impressed and proud of the way that teams from across the Met Office have pulled together to handle the heatwave. Together you successfully spotted the event, predicted it correctly, planned our communications, handled the PR and verified the outcome.

Together you handled 150 calls from the media on Monday, 170 on Tuesday and 520 on Wednesday! You did this with enthusiasm and skill, ensuring that we gave a consistent message. People handling the media were able to link the heat event to wider issues such as the impact of the heat on health and national infrastructure and also linking it to climate change impacts. Although many of you will have been busy, from a senior management position, everything went like clockwork, calmly, with the minimum of fuss and our PR objectives achieved. A great job - well done! Success like this is only possible if we all pull together as a single team.

Particular thanks go to the teams in London, Aberdeen, Birmingham, Manchester, Edinburgh, Reading and Belfast, and the Ops Centre, Obs Supply, Customer Centre, Health and the Press Office teams in Exeter.