Happy Christmas from CJS.

Today is our last day before we close for our holidays at 5pm tonight. The office will reopen on Tuesday 4 January.

Sorry about the card, we know everyone is fed up of the white stuff, but it was set long before the weather gods decided that we needed a White Advent never mind Christmas...!

Despite the weather we hope you all have a lovely Christmas and send you our best wishes for a prosperous (and employed) New Year.

Last Weekly of 2010

So that's it then. We've pressed print for the last time this year. It's online for all to read with links to download your calendar for 2011. (Get yours here) this edition also has the Training Calendar for January in addition to the usual jobs, 82 this week of which 71 came direct.
This year we've advertised 2641 different paid posts and lots of volunteers too.

Ok, what happened to today?

I don't understand where today went, suddenly it's 5.30 and the heap on my desk is almost as high as ever, unlike the snow which is melting rapidly.
So quickly - CJS Weekly went to press as normal earlier today, it's already online and this week the penultimate edition of the year is seven pages with 31 new paid posts of which 20 came direct to CJS.

Fingers crossed for a better week next week, we will at least be able to drive into work (assuming it doesn't blizzard again), main tarmac roads are fine and a man with his digger have liberated the lane.
Right then back to the paper mountain, crampons on, axe at the ready...

St Petersburg?

All right who moved Goathland to Russia?


TB was sent home yesterday at about 2ish and was one one of the few drivers who managed to make it to their destination.

A sudden unexpected 'dollop' (it's a new local word for vast, unimaginable quantities of snow) cut us off once again, so much so we've actually been mentioned on the BBC national news although their reporter could only get as far as just outside Pickering (about 8 miles from CJS over the moor tops). And I've changed my list for Santa and have requested a dog sled with four huskies, although perhaps a troika might be more practical...

Well, despite the mountainous white stuff the last paper Monthly edition was put together, printed and stuffed into envelopes. This morning it was carried in rucksacks up to the Post Office (snow too deep for heavy sledges) only to receive this missive from RM - "Due to the continued adverse weather along the East Coast of Yorkshire we ask that any mail you have today is taken to Whitby Post Office by 14:00 or Whitby Delivery Office by 15:00. " About as much chance of that as flying to the moon! So it's all in the village Post Office waiting for when the roads finally open and a van can get in. Digital edition is online and being sent by email right now. Read the seventeen pages by clicking here.

So far, so good then.
I'll go and excavate the log pile (trough) now. Keep warm and happy reading.

Royal Mail delays

Some readers are reporting not receiving their copy of CJS Weekly. Unfortunately this is down the adverse weather conditions. CJS Weekly was left at Goathland Post Office for collection as usual. However, Royal Mail are stuggling, to get through both for collections and deliveries.

This part of the email we received from Royal Mail.

Dear Customer,

Mail collection, distribution, processing and deliveries are taking place across much of the UK, however, mail snow and icy conditions are continuing to affect our ability to maintain normal services in a number of areas today (6 December).

We have contingency plans in operation to keep mail moving and minimise disruption wherever possible. Our managers are regularly reviewing local weather conditions and we are committed to maintaining services to customers wherever possible. In these extreme conditions the safety our people is our number one priority. We're sorry there may be a small, unavoidable delay to items posted in and out of those areas in which the severe weather conditions persist.

Conditions are changeable, however, areas most affected are listed below:

	Deliveries	Collections
South East & East Anglia	TW,SS, RM, PE, CM, IG, DA1-18, BR, CR, RH, BN, TN, CT, ME, KT15	TW,SS, RM, PE, CM, IG, DA1-18, BR, CR, RH, BN, TN, CT, ME, KT15
South West	DT, BH, PO, SO, TR	DT, BH, PO, SO, TR
Northern Ireland	BT	BT
North of England	DL, M, CA, BB, SK, OL, CW, S, DN, LN, NE, SR, DH, LS, BD, HX, HD, YO, HU, and TS	DL, L, M, CA, BB, SK, OL, CW, S, DN, LN, NE, SR, DH, LS, BD, HX, HD, YO, HU, and TS
Scotland	ML DG11 & DG13 DD1-11 PH TD1-14 FK KY AB10-16, 21-25, 30-35, 41-43, 45, 51, 53-56 ZE KW1-13, KW15-17 IV1-5, 8-13, 17-22, 24, 28, 30, 36, 40, 42-43, 45-49, 51, 54-55 & 63 G32-24, 62, 64, 65, 67, 76, 77, 82-84, Rural parts of KA7,14,16,17, 24 EH1-42, 47-55	G, PA, KA, DG, EH, DD, PH, TD, FK, KY, AB, ZE, IV
Midlands	NG	NG

As you can see the CJS Office is on both lists, this means that not only is delviery to you slow, your letters to us are also being delayed. If you've sent something by post to us and not yet received the expected response please contact us to check it's actually reached us.

If your copy of CJS Weekly has not reached you then please contact us for some temporary online access details.

It's stopped

For now anyway, only a few flurries today to add to the 56 cm (that's 22 inches) already lying on the lawn. The outside temperature has now warmed up to -4c. The bird feeders have been busy and we now have three pheasants, the hen blackbird who sits on the bird table has fluffed up to football size today and hardly left the window. However, the roads are opening up again and post has been delivered and the collections office in Malton are hoping to make it to Goathland again tomorrow, so we will again sledge your CJS Weeklys up to the Post Office and then keep our fingers crossed. Needless to say with half the country closed it's not that big at six pages with 28 new paid posts, 18 of which came direct to CJS. And there's the second Christmas warning - only two more to go! (eek). Digital copies are now online and available.

Over half a metre and it's still snowing

That's just in the village.

These were taken yesterday at approx 2pm by one of our fire crew out providing support to the diggers (yes, that's diggers and not gritters!)



This is the view from the windscreen of a land rover. The vast whiteness in front of you is the main road into the village from Whitby.










And this is the land rover on the main road into Goathland at the junction to the hamlets of Beck Hole and Green End (that's where AW lives).

Since then the wind has blown quite a bit more and lots of has fallen, yesterday we measured the depth on the road at 40cm, now it's over 50 (about 18 inches, but we have metre ruler not a yard stick!).

I'm off to find a way of hitching the dogs to a sled...