So it’s official, British summertime ends this weekend.
This fact elicits an almost 100% groan rating, so as a devotee of winter, I am putting a case for the defence of this most misunderstood and underrated of seasons.
My first witness is Edith Sitwell, who wrote:
Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire; it is the time for home.
Get Closer –
to yourself and to others.
Those colder longer evenings, dreaded by so many, are an excuse for so many of life’s hedonistic pleasures. Relax into the joy of snuggling down under a soft blanket with a pacy read.
Winter offers a real excuse for comfort foods. Soups that even the culinary challenged amongst us can manage to perfect. Invite some friends round for nourishing suppers of slow stews or macaroni cheese that offer a cuddle of goodness and a background for good conversation and an appreciation of domestic life.
Couples may feel they miss the sunny freedom of a long light night, but now is the time for all the best autumnal cliches. Lighting candles, turning lamps down low – marshmallow topped hot chocolate, early nights and a chance to listen to favourite music while cosying up together.
Keep Healthy
We need at least 15 minutes a day in daylight to top up our vitamin D, so it’s not all about mohair blankets and toasted tea cakes, gorgeous tho they are.
It’s important to get light on our skin and keep the body moving too.
That brisk saunter round the park makes the winter treats so much more deserved and rewarding.
Read, Paint, Love.
Now there’s time for ourselves too. The escapism of a great novel, the chance to explore a hobby and tap into some latent creativity, and importantly, there’s time for couples to stay home and get closer. Try an evening of Digi-Detox and make your partner the focus of your attentions.
My second witness for the defence is Jennifer Jones in ‘Success is the Quality of Your Journey’ she writes –
Winter is a time of gray, velvet weather drifting towards us. It arrives
on “little cat feet” and curls itself around us like the fog in Sandburg’s poem.
The weather is a friend if you make it one. I look forward to the gray,
quiet time for solitude, contemplation, reading, long conversations with
friends. Colors are softer, sounds have more depth, the pace is gentler.
Instead of resentment at the lack of sun, snuggle into the gray velvet
quilt and make yourself a cup of tea.
Feeling better about it all now?
Winter is the time when the inner things happen, a time to take stock and replenish the natural rhythms of nature. It’s what we need.
And with winter here, can spring be far behind?
Christina Fraser