Bugger off Winter

Winter makes me miserable.

I'm not exactly a sun-seeker - if anything I'm inclined to be more uncomfortable if I'm unable to escape from the heat in mid-summer. Yet this long, cold winter has gone on too long for my liking.

I think I may actually suffer mildly from that SAD syndrome - but then I think everyone feels slightly more miserable in the winter of course.

I went along to a local football game last night, to stand in a cold, windy field for Two hours. It also meant a 3½-mile walk each way along pavement-less roads in drizzly rain to get there. Lord knows why I did it to be honest but sometimes I fancy the idea.

I don't think I'll fancy the idea again having nearly contracted frostbite & influenza in the process.

I wouldn't mind so much if it were a REAL winter. Like what they get in America when it's -20°C and snowdrifts are deep enough to bury a man in (and are frequently used for this purpose). Then you can wrap up in serious heavy-duty gear, get your 4x4 out and follow the snow-plow into work. I certainly wouldn't have been convinced walking 7 miles last night in that sort of weather was a good idea.

Here in Britain though, we have a small percentage of a normal continental snowfall and everything is fucked, plus personally we don't ever seem to have the right clothes ready for anything approaching freezing temperatures. You know it'll get cold, but it's never THAT cold - so we are always unprepared for it.

Britain just seems to do all the seasons a little half-heartedly. Winter for me is a constant worry about whether I need to be carrying scarf, gloves & hat around with me, then either freezing when I do not take them or sweating like a beast when I do.

Then there are added hassles like using the tube in winter. Ye gods, if that's not a misery in rush hour if you are wearing seven layers and your winter woollies. By the time I get to my destination, there is enough sweat streaming down my back to drown a Shetland pony.

At least it's not raining too much. No, that's Springtime's little treat. Then it's a whole new thing to be annoyed about.

I don't have anything funny to say today. I just want it to warm up.