Nigel Dowson, Darlington haidresser, fellow blogger, and one of the best barometers of public opinion I know, was having a moan about school closures when I popped in for a haircut yesterday.

"How come that because I woke up this morning as a hairdresser, I can get to work. But if I'd woken up as a teacher, I wouldn't have been able to make it?" he groaned.

That was yesterday. This morning, he sent me the following text: "Not going to make it into work today - first time in 20 years."