The Return of Winter -- Misha Herwin
It’s
the return of The Beast from the East. Our area has an amber weather warning.
Schools are shutting early and people cancelling their appointments. At the
hairdressers this afternoon four of Julie’s clients had cancelled first thing
this morning because of the weather.
On
the midday news a BBC presenter up in the Derbyshire Peak District talked about
extreme conditions. Behind him the fields had a light covering of snow, the
roads were clear and as he informed us it was snowing one or two flakes drifted
lazily down from the sky. It would, however, he assured us become much worse
when the temperatures dropped over night.
Well
maybe they will, or maybe they won’t. I don’t deny that there are large falls
of snow in some parts of the UK, but in others we are in danger of making a
“Drama out of a Crisis.” If indeed there is any crisis to be had.
It
is as if we have to be constantly surprised and therefore unprepared for the
fact that from time to time we actually have snow. With such an attitude no wonder
everything grinds to a halt. We are programmed to see snow as something with
which we cannot cope, whereas in fact for most of us snow this late in the year
is little more than in an inconvenience. The pavements are slippery and the roads
wet with slush. It is cold and there is the question of our heating bills but
for most of us it is manageable. And it will only last for a relatively short
time.
Years
ago, when we lived in rural Shropshire there were a couple of winters when we
got snowed in. With enough oil for the heating, wood for the fire and food for
people and cats there was something magical about having to stay at home and
being able to shut out the rest of the world.
There
have been moments today when I have been tempted to put everything on hold,
curl up with a book and read. It’s not worked out like that. There was a clinic
appointment, a hair cut, a visit to the pharmacy and of course a blog to write.
In
other words in spite of the Met Office’s amber warning life went on as usual.
Comments
Honestly, people ought to look at footage of 1962/3, or read some accounts of life in Britain during WW2 e g Nella Last's diary. Now those were serious winters with houses snowed in for months on end, pipes frozen, no heating or groceries.... feather-bedded, that's what we are.