I've always liked winter. There's nothing nicer, or cosier, than curling up indoors on a cold winter's day, bundled up in soft wool jumpers and snuggly socks, all snug and warm and relaxed with a nice mug of tea and a good book/trashy TV marathon. It can be the perfect way to spend an afternoon.
THANK GOD FOR PARKAS
However, this is only true if it's, you know, actually winter. It is officially now spring - it's almost April, for crying out loud – and yet we're still getting winter weather. Yesterday I went out in a parka, a giant woolly scarf and hat, and leather, fleece-lined gloves. And I was still cold. A few days earlier, I had to give up on my umbrella because the wind was apparently blowing in every single direction at once (is this even possible?), so I got soaked in icy rain.
SLEET, SNOW, ICE
As every day brings yet more rain, sleet (SLEET!) and howling gales, it feels like this winter will never end. And like many of us, I feel like I'm reaching the end of my tether. I'm not asking for much - I just need a tiny bit of sun. I need to be able to go out without gloves and not lose all feeling in my fingers after five minutes. I mean, it's Easter next week! Isn't it meant to be getting warmer?
REMEMBER THE HEATWAVE LAST YEAR?
The thing is, things really were different for a few glorious days last year. This week last year, temperatures reached 22 degrees. IN MARCH. It was properly warm. I remember having my breakfast out in the back garden and thinking, 'Wow, this summer is going to be brilliant!'
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A SPEEDY RETURN TO HIDEOUS
And yet, as we all know, this lovely weather didn't last. The actual summer of 2012 was hideous, which is probably why this never-ending Narnia-style winter feels so awful - it feels like it's been going on for a whole year. In the summer of 2012 there were floods all over the UK, and Ireland was drenched in lashing rain.
Last year, the Irish Times reported that
- the summer of 2012 saw "rain at about 200 per cent of the 30-year average.
- Western coastal areas are running at between 100 and 150 per cent of the long-term average.
- Average sunshine is also down, between 70 and 90 per cent of typical, he said.
- Average temperatures have also been depressed with summer season averages running at a half to one degree below average."
- And to make it all better they reported last month that we had 25 hours of sunlight in Dublin for the whole month of January this year.
PLEASE LET US GET A SUMMER THIS YEAR
In Ireland there was barely a day of sunshine to be had last summer. I don't care if it's all the jet stream's fault, I just want to be able to go out without a cardigan again. Which doesn't look likely at the moment, as the Met Office issues snow warnings and huge chunks of Northern Ireland are shut down by the snow. I'm just hoping we get a summer this year.
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I'm trying everything - making sure I do go out and meet friends even when the weather's so hideous it makes me never want to leave the house again, knitting socks in cheerful colours, trying to notice the few signs of spring when they appear (not helped by the fact that the daffodils in my back garden have been beaten down so much by the rain they're all practically horizontal). But I'm not sure it's enough. This weather is seriously grinding me down.
So how are you coping with this eternal winter? Does it really affect you or can you handle the gloom with ease? Do you have any tips to beat the neverending gloom? And could one of those natural sunlight lamps help (seriously, I'm considering getting one)?
