cold

Cold comfort: Ten ways I know it really is winter

November 5, 2018 By Ellen 2 Comments

It’s winter again. I love winter. A quick glance at the calendar tells me that it’s mid November and the fact we are at 55 degrees north mean that it’s winter. Autumn is over and spring is a very, very long way off. But if you need other clues, here are my top ten hints […]

Snow, in January, who’d have thought?

January 17, 2018 By Ellen Leave a Comment

I’m looking out on what has been called, of late and on social media, a winter wonderland, but what, in reality, is what you’d expect to see at this time of year, in this part of the country. I’m sure that the yellow and amber warnings make it seem worse. I suppose if more people […]

This has been a week for a little nasal gazing

October 15, 2017 By Ellen Leave a Comment

Every flipping year. It’s the same. Just when I think I’ve avoided getting the back-to-school lurgy, I succumb. Wouldn’t it be good if the frequency of snot-storms reduced as you got older? A tiny bit of compensation maybe. This year’s version has been particularly horrible – snotty and bad-tempered. And far worse, of course, […]