When I first arrived, one thing that struck me was how much people talked about the winter with a sense of dread – so I wondered what would I think about it.

In the middle of July, we’re well past the winter solstice and the days are slowly, very slowly lengthening and I think it’s time to say…. I like winter here!

The good bits for me are:

• bright and brisk days – it’s currently hovering around 3 degrees in the day and a bit below 0 at night. Cold enough to wrap up when you’re outside and feel energised; (not close to bone chilling, hurts when you breathe Canadian cold)
• leaving work and it’s still light at 5pm
• seeing the sunrises and sunsets – because I’m awake to see them!
• it’s calm – not all the time, but regularly. The wind is much less intrusive in June and July – we’ll see about August
• snow, which makes things pretty and everyone just carries on, nothing closes (having lots of 4WDs helps)
• having a good reason to wear my furry French snow boots regularly!
• no endless discussions about whether to close schools or not (this makes me very happy)
• walking in frosty, snowy conditions with beautiful light and the ground crunching under your feet

However, there are things that are a bit of a pain:

• It does feel very dark in the mornings compared to southern England. We start work at 8am and in the middle of June it is completely dark until sunrise at 8:59, it has slightly improved now to 8:48! It’s quite hard to get going in the mornings – I know it’s the payoff for lighter afternoons but still…
• Snow is lovely but ice is horrid. When it’s wet and cold, its gets icy quickly and it can take you by surprise, especially on smooth concrete paths – a surface to beware of.
• Deicing the car every morning for 10 minutes or so, and sometimes having to clear the windscreen every time I get into it during the day.
• The price of fresh fruit and vegetables are now astonishing – however the freezer section is very helpful. I’ve learnt that frozen, pre-sliced onions are a thing and they cook very well in all the things I’ve needed onions for so far.

I suspect that modern winter here is much, much easier than it was – as we move from well-insulated, heated house, to vehicle to heated office. It must have been a much bleaker experience in the days of horses for transport and peat fires – which is well within living memory.

On balance though, my verdict is I like winter here.