Winter in the UK

Late November and we are at that time of year, the dawn of winter. As is usual in the UK, the sun has retreated several light years away from us, bring down temperatures to near fridge-like levels; the clouds have roused themselves from their summer softness, filled up to darkness with contaminated water and wandered across the world to rain it on my doorstep. In fact, some days the downfall is so heavy that one could tip shampoo on one’s head, stick it out the window and get a hair wash in seconds. If you walk to work with washing powder in your pocket the weather will wash clothes for you.

We are looking forward to those colder days when the dawn is greeted with those soft white coats of frost covering. Pretty as a postcard until you walk out of the front door and, not knowing that the rain has set in a sheet of ice, find yourself flying base over apex through the air to land in a heap in the front hedge.

Following this period of time, the snow will arrive, though doubtfully in time for Christmas. A time of snowball fights on blocked motorways; mobile orange and blue Christmas lights supplied courtesy of the many roadside assistance vehicles; train racing to nowhere at 70mph because of ice on the rails and Carol singing because she is stuck in a six foot snowdrift.

We know when winter is over because that is the time when the local authorities finally send out the snowploughs to clear non-existent drifts and the spring rains return again.


However nature provides relief from this with white grass blankets across ever garden, red-breasted Robins singing on the window sill; children’s laughter as they toboggan across the fields and carrot-nosed snowmen smiling at the world.


In winter every cloud has a silver (or should that be white) lining.

the brit