A brief summary: (not summery!)
November
2028: The Prime Minister has announced that all but emergency
travel is forbidden due to the dangers of the very cold weather, as predicted by Imperial College London computer models.
Everyone
except emergency service staff and food retailers must work from
home.
To protect
people, the government will provide all citizens with a newly
designed duffel coat, which when tested on 43 people in clinical
trials during a 5 day period, proved completely safe and effective
for maintaining body heat.
December
2028: Conspiracy theorists are now spreading misinformation on
the internet which claim that asbestos fibers are integrated into the
duffel coat material, causing many people to reject the offer of a
free duffel coat.
January
2029: The government has now issued new directives under the 2028
Brass Monkey Weather Act which require that all government &
NHS employees must wear the protective duffel coat, or face being
dismissed. Also, no travel beyond 5 miles from home is permitted
unless the duffel coat is worn.
February
2029: Office for National Statistics figures show that 13,200 deaths per week have been recorded since the cold weather began.
This figure is far greater than the annual UK average which is 13,203.
80% of the
deceased were recorded as non-duffel coat wearers due to their body
temperature being less than 1 degree Celsius at time of death.
March
2029: Despite the cold weather having greatly eased, people are
still dying, though in lesser numbers. Of concern
is the number of younger duffel coat wearers who are still dying, but
not from the cold.
This
phenomena is termed, Obscure Health Syndrome Hazard Involving Trauma.
(OHSHIT)
April
2029: Duffel coat manufacturers have advised the government that
their product will only protect against the cold for a limited time.
As such, they are recommending that people are given a 2nd,
3rd, and 4th duffel coat to wear every 3-6
months.
Critics of
the duffel coat scheme who refused to wear them, have been told that
wearing the duffel coats had almost certainly saved hundreds of
thousands lives.
Anti-duffel coat wearers insist that their own clothing provided them with a
tried & tested, safer, and more effective insulation.
Various
government officials and advisors who were found to have ignored the
rules regarding duffel coats, have been given a stern talking to.
