Summer has died. Again. Every year the sunshine children mourn the passing of another hot and happy season and turn with arms crossed and scarves wrapped tight to face falling leaves.
There are still a few warm days here and there as the Earth begins to tip, moving us a little further away from the sun every day.
Summer has died. Again. Every year the sunshine children mourn the passing of another hot and happy season and turn with arms crossed and scarves wrapped tight to face falling leaves.
There are still a few warm days here and there as the Earth begins to tip, moving us a little further away from the sun every day.
And then suddenly, it’s 5pm and pitch dark. The little heat that has soaked into the ground in the day is gone before even the street lights come on.
A hand venturing from under the covers to turn the page of a book is enough to send chills down heavily blanketed bodies.
It’s always a shock. Winter creeps up on us like ivy through a broken window. Icy tendrils inching closer and closer in until we’re sleeping in gloves and balaclavas. It’s dismal.
Allow yourself one sigh, rub your goose bumps quickly, and cover freezing earlobes with briskly rubbed hands just once. It’s time to count our glacial blessings.
Winter is many things to many people: cuddling by a roaring fire, catching up on reading swaddled in blankets, boots, coats, scarves and hats.
But there’s something far better than all that, something that makes us happy on a biological and a sensory level: food. All the best things about winter involve food.
Cuddling by the fire: roasting marshmallows. Reading under the covers, dipping chocolate espresso rusks in sweet tea.
Wearing your just unpacked winter accessories: showing them off by going for coffee with a friend. Fresh dinner time possibilities arise: soups, stews, pastas, quiches, pies, curries… All the heartiest, richest food.
Even the snacking possibilities expand to dizzying proportions. Just-baked muffins and scones with butter, hot pies and hot chocolate.
Rusks, biscuits and hot toast with chocolate spread. You’ve forgotten all about summer haven’t you? So stop moping and complaining about the cold when there’s so much to look forward to. Hurry up, winter!
