The great stay-at-home New Year's Eve: Sub-zero temperatures and credit crunch force revellers to snub bars and clubs

 

By Daily Mail Reporter

Last updated at 10:16 AM on 31st December 2008

 

 

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Pubs and nightclubs are bracing themselves for a quiet New Year’s Eve due to a grim combination of freezing weather and the credit crunch.

With night-time temperatures set to plunge below zero in many regions across the country tonight, a lot of revellers are expected to stay indoors.

Coupled with the deepening economic crisis, it all seems to be pointing towards a gloomy night for venue owners, who have already faced a decline in takings as well as a rise in overheads in recent months.

 

Enlarge Icy: Two brave souls tackle the frosty white winterland at Redcastle, near Inverness

 

 

Enlarge As arctic weather sweeps the country, frost surrounds a stag in Richmond Park, Surrey

 

 

Erika and Grantley Smith who run the Red Lion, in Bonvilston, near Cardiff, fear their pub might be empty on what is supposed to be one of their biggest nights of the year.

'We're supposed to be expecting about 40 people but whether they'll venture out with the weather I don't know,' said Mrs Smith.

A survey has shown that two out of three of us do not want to celebrate the evening with the traditional night out and will stay at home instead to ring in the year with family and friends.

A spokesman for the Post Office, which conducted the poll, said it was no surprise to discover that people were staying in.

'It's been a tough year financially for many and the expense of going out, coupled with icy temperatures and transport chaos, make a night in with loved ones a very appealing option for seeing out 2008,' she said.

The sober mood is in stark contrast to last year, when mild weather and better economic prospects helped bring out the crowds.

Those brave enough to venture out for Hogmanay in Edinburgh tonight will have to rely on festive cheer to keep them warm – with the mercury struggling to get above zero.

 

Enlarge Icicles take hold on the slippery banks of the river Orin near Inverness

 

 

 

Enlarge Freezing weather: As arctic weather sweeps the country, frost covers Richmond Park, Surrey

And the following night is expected to see temperatures plummet to an icy minus 5C.

Northern England and Wales will see lows of minus 5C and the rest of the country will experience temperatures of between minus 1C and 0C.

‘It is going to be quite cold in most places but the good news is that it is staying dry and winds are going to be generally light,’ said forecaster Claire Austin.

With fireworks displays planned throughout the UK many will be hoping for a clear night but scattered mist and freezing fog could spoil the view for some.

Some 700,000 people are expected to gather by the Thames in London for a £1.6m New Year’s Eve party, which will see fireworks and a mass Auld Lang Syne sing-a-long.

Superintendent Brian Pearce, who is organising the police operation, warned: 'Not everyone sets out just for a fun night. There are still criminals who use the cover of crowds to commit crime, so people should keep a close eye on belongings.'

Some 3,300 police officers from the Met, British Transport Police and the City will be on duty during tonight's London celebrations.

 

Tube trains will run all night and many roads will be closed to cars, including Embankment and Westminster Bridge.

 

The London Ambulance Service is bracing itself for a hectic night - due to a combination of New Year festivities and the icy weather.

 

Last year emergency services received 1,825 calls between midnight and 4am - a 16 per cent rise on 2006.

 

This month has been exceptionally busy, with 8-14 December being the biggest week ever with 31,833 calls - 5,000 more than the average week.

 

A spokesman said: 'The combination of the cold weather, alcohol and already high demand means we could end up with a record for calls on New Year's Eve.'

 

Revellers are advised to wrap up warm, eat before drinking and plan their journey home.

 

Manchester will see its first New Year’s Eve celebrations since the millennium and Birmingham and Newcastle upon Tyne will hold huge fireworks displays.

 

 

 

There is unlikely to be any let up in the cold weather for the first day of 2009.

Ms Austin added: ‘There will be some mist and cloud around in the morning. Central and eastern areas will see lots of cloud but western regions, such as Western Scotland and Wales will see the best of the bright sunny weather.

‘It will be a little bit milder in the East but still temperatures are unlikely to get above 4-5C anywhere.

‘It is still looking like it is going to stay pretty cold over the next couple of days with weekend temperatures of around 2-3C and minus figures overnight.’

Despite the frosty outlook, more than a half a million people are expected to line the streets of London tomorrow for the capital's 23rd New Year's Day parade.

 

The event, which will follow a two-mile route from Big Ben to Piccadilly, will begin at noon and will see 10,000 performers taking part.

 

Mayor of London Boris Johnson said: 'This year's parade offers the spectator an amazing array of entertainment provided by the many music ensembles - marching bands, concert bands, jazz bands, orchestras and choirs - who participate each year.'

 

Although the cold weather is making our fingers go blue and our noses bright red, the freezing weather is performing an attractive makeover on the landscape.

 

Enlarge Ice on the runway: Geese slide on a frozen pond in Wanstead Park in London

 

The glittering frost turned all that was green to a crunchy, pristine white. Icicles fringed the river banks and transformed ponds into slippery slides for the geese.

Anyone who ventured into the fairytale scenes was met with a great gulp of fresh icy air that helped to clear away the last vestiges of Christmas fug.

Even better, the day came with a promise of warm weather to come.

 

Enlarge

GEESE TAKE OFF FROM A FIELD AT REDCASTLE NEAR INVERNESS....PIC PETER JOLLY

Enlarge The rising sun fails to warm the frosty ground or these early morning walkers in Richmond Park today

The Met Office is predicting that the average global temperature in 2009 will be more than 0.4c above the long-term average, making next year warmer than this one was, and the hottest since 2005.

This comes after a freezing December, in which the first ten days were the coldest on record since 1976, with lows of minus 12.7c.

Yesterday the Met Office revealed that the UK's average temperature for the start of the month was nearly four degrees colder than the long-term average of 5.2c.

John Hammond, of the Met Office, said: 'This year temperatures have been lower than we are used to for some time due to winds coming from the north and north-west. We are on course for this to be one of the coldest-Decembers for several years.'

Enlarge

Two wrapped-up couples walk along a shaded lane in the Wiltshire countryside yesterday. The UK has seen temperatures drop to freezing with further cold spells forecast

"With night-time temperatures set to plunge below zero in many regions across the country tonight, a lot of revellers are expected to stay indoors."

 

:laugh3: WIMPS!!! :P

 

-5 at the lowest. Good grief, it's the end of the world. You can't possibly go out in that. You might actually get a little tiny bit cold. :thinking:

 

 

... Heh...meanwhile, we're getting another proper full-blown blizzard tonight. Probably lose power again. Hopefully not for too long this time. :dozey:

"With night-time temperatures set to plunge below zero in many regions across the country tonight, a lot of revellers are expected to stay indoors."

 

:laugh3: WIMPS!!! :P

 

-5 at the lowest. Good grief, it's the end of the world. You can't possibly go out in that. You might actually get a little tiny bit cold. :thinking:

 

 

... Heh...meanwhile, we're getting another proper full-blown blizzard tonight. Probably lose power again. Hopefully not for too long this time. :dozey:

 

So I take it that won't stop you going out then, you hardy soul??:rolleyes:

a good curry, bottle of wine & sh*ite telly. What more could you want?

 

S :)

a good curry, bottle of wine & sh*ite telly. What more could you want?

 

S :)

 

What about Coldplaying??:D

WIMPS!!!

 

...said the Canadian, who probably can't stand temperatures over 80 degrees for more than a few minutes at a time. ;)

So I take it that won't stop you going out then, you hardy soul??:rolleyes:

It won't stop most people around here. I think a lot of them are making plans to stay out overnight so they don't have to worry about getting home. Goodness, parking is going to be a nightmare with the overnight parking ban in place.

 

Me? Hurricane force winds, whiteout conditions, heavy snow, and more likely than not lots of power outages... not my idea of fun. (Which reminds me I should charge my mp3 player and cell phone just in case it's out for a couple of days...) But I didn't have any plans anyway since I don't really drink and my friends who normally plan things have moved away. :( *sigh*

 

...said the Canadian, who probably can't stand temperatures over 80 degrees for more than a few minutes at a time. ;)

 

*looks up Fahrenheit* 80 (27C) is about my favorite temperature. :nice: The only time my feet are ever not cold. 90 (32 C) or more and I'm sort of useless... but we don't have any air conditioning anywhere except at the mall. :thinking: I once walked about 6 miles when it was about 98 here after I missed a bus...

Wonderful photos :)

 

Reminds me that I should go out and take my DSLR camera to the park tomorrow to get some nice shots. The weatherforecast says it should be sunny but cold :confused:

But MoMo, your used to the cold temperatures ;)

 

I wish we had a proper winter, not this rubbish weather.

 

Minus 6 at the moment on the hills of Hampshire

sh*ite telly.

 

S :)

you watch Al Jazeera? :stunned: