Well, the ‘Beast from the East’ did its very best to disrupt life for everyone last week.

Conditions on the roads and railways, as well as at Glasgow Airport, were horrendous and a red alert for weather was, for the first time, issued in Scotland.

Many businesses were affected, as people just could not travel on the roads due to the amount of snow that had fallen.

Drifting snow, caused by strong winds, made some routes impassable. Trains had to be cancelled and the airport was temporarily closed.

A friend of mine who had hoped to jet off to Alicante, in Spain, from Thursday until Tuesday had his holiday cancelled.

Schools and nurseries had to close, with GP and dental surgeries affected too, as a lot of staff couldn’t make it into work.

The emergency services had a terrible time of it as they tried to respond to those in urgent need of assistance.

However, the chemist in Mains Drive, Erskine, defied the odds, with staff on duty, ensuring that patients were able to get their emergency prescriptions.

The local grocery shops, whilst open, had many empty shelves, as delivery trucks just could not get through with supplies of milk and bread.

However, on the plus side, a community spirit came to the fore, with many people helping to clear the snow from the streets, car parks and neighbours’ paths.

I heard of two teenagers in Bishopton who helped an elderly man up after he had fallen in the snow. They took him home, made him comfortable and then cleared his path and pavement of snow.

They even returned the next day to check up on him and brought him some soup.

In Bishopton, Inchinnan and Erskine, I heard of folk getting together to clear whole streets of snow – making a huge difference to those who had to venture out.

I would like to thank everyone who went out of their way to help others. Your community spirit is much appreciated.