January has not been kind to the London commuter. Journeys to and from work have mutated from the tiresome to the ridiculous. Wet socks and red noses now come as standard as we undertake epic campaigns that Ranulph Fiennes would recoil from. Yes, yes all this snow was awfully Christmassy in December when the sound of boot meeting snow was savoured, but now we’d rather walk on the road and brave the onslaught of cars than tackle the ice.

We used to sigh at the sight of 4 minutes on the District Line, now we’re lucky if it says 14 minutes (not that you’ll get on it anyway). Trains decide to linger at stations so to “even out the service” while everyone on the train knows this is to “give the illusion of a decent service”. Planes stop, trains we’ve covered and automobiles slip and slide all over the place because we’ve run out of salt (the nation’s obsession with fish & chips was bound to catch up with us).

It’s hardly surprising so many of us fail to get from home to work and another massive portion simply don’t even bother to try. It’s no contest; sit at home in the warm as newsreaders scream about the oncoming snow apocalypse or venture out and endure a journey six times longer than normal?

Stating that everything comes to a standstill when snow strikes is a cliché but there’s little else we can do. Estimates suggest disruptions caused by the weather over the last week may cost the economy billions. Not exactly ideal timing considering you know what. Isn’t it time that we learnt from our European and American friends and learnt to carry on despite the weather? Perhaps this is the perfect time to invest in a virtual office service. Mail Forwarding and Telephone Answering services are available where you can give the pretence of having trudged into work when in fact you are working from home. Business as usual!