Raise your shovels in triumph

(Ok, so this picture doesn't necessarily have anything to do with digging through snow, but it's one of the first things that comes up when you type "shovel" into Google images. And it's quite funny.)

Thank you so much for all your constructive, if slightly bizarre advice as regards to the snow removal problem I've been facing (check out the comments on the post below). Although if I'm totally honest, I think some of you aren't taking the problem seriously enough. I'm talking about you, Mr CJ "buy a flamethrower".

Anyway, having thoroughly digested the advice given, and been thoroughly scared by Mr Sam's photo of a house which had collapsed under the weight of snow, I decided to tackle the problem head on, ie. with a shovel. The time for talking was past: quick, decisive action was required to defeat the snowy menace. And a ladder, I needed a ladder.

So on Friday afternoon I approached my supervisor, hoping that she'd be able to translate for me so I could ask the caretaker if I could borrow his ladder. Then a wonderful thing happened.

"Don't worry Lewis-sensei," she said. "The caretaker and the English teachers are coming to your house at about 2pm to help you dig out the snow."

I could have wept with happiness. Apparently the caretaker had been down to my house earlier in the day and saw that the boiler was slowly being smothered, so he put out a call for teachers to come and help dig it out. Amazing.

So later that afternoon I was treated to the sight of almost the entire English department trooping up to my house, shovels in hand, ready to battle the snowy menace on my behalf. One of the P.E. teachers even turned up. I was overjoyed.

After less than an hour of digging, the roof was cleared and the boiler was once more exposed. I struggled to think of something to do that would repay the kindness I'd been shown, so I did what any Englishman would do in the same situation: I made everyone a cup of tea. With biscuits.

So there you go, a happy ending; for now at least. More snow is forecast for this weekend, so my poor old house isn't out of the woods yet... Here's hoping the worst is over though.