Snow blizzard 1BB had her first proper adventure last night: stuck in the back of the car in a snow drift on the M23. For eight hours. It sounds incredible; impossible even, but that’s where we spent yesterday evening, along with the world and his wife.

I’m not quite sure where the snow came from – well, obviously it came from the sky – but it came down so quickly and in such volumes that chaos ensued within minutes.

That will teach me. After failing to check the weather forecast and driving from Sussex to Surrey to be ladies that lunch in blissful ignorance of the snow clouds gathering, BB and I duly arrived to pick Misery Guts up from work in creepy Crawley on our way back.

Big mistake. By 6pm visibility was zero and traffic was nose to tail at a standstill as the snow fell and blew and swirled. BB loved it (above). We eventually made it to a service station, where she had her first ever Burger King. Needless to say, she loved that too.

By this time we were resigned to a night in the car, and decided we may as well be in a car in a queue than in a car in a car park. The blizzard that ensued was amazing (below).

Snow blizzard 2

Snow blizzard 3

Everyone rallied together, in true British style. Misery Guts rescued a damsel in distress whose fuel cap had frozen (that’s not a euphemism), I leant my mobile to a man whose phone had run out of battery and Ollies Removals gave out furniture blankets from the back of their van. It really was that desperate, and the stories you’re hearing on the news today really are true.

Oh, and did I mention Misery Guts is Type 1 diabetic and his blood sugar levels need to be kept in check via access to regular snacks and meals?

By midnight we finally started to move, and thanks to local radio all manner of alternative routes were mooted. We thought we’d chance our luck, and slipping and sliding all over the place we set off through little known villages of Sussex. We found a man stuck in a ditch on the way, and Misery Guts was treated to a mud facial while trying to push him out (below).

Snow blizzard 4

We eventually made it home at 2am. What should have been a 60 minute journey from Surrey to Sussex took BB and I almost 11 hours. And we were among the lucky ones.

So my lesson is this: listen to the weather forecast and when forecasters say don’t make unnecessary journeys, don’t.

The only problem is this: the Tesco shop hasn’t arrived and we have just two nappies left…