At last. Snow came to Britain last week. It sounds great fun, ooohhh, but can be dangerous, aarrgghh.
How can it be that something so small and fragile looking when in isolation, can cause so much chaos, havoc, and danger as well as arousing so many differing emotions. The difference between snow and the other weather types is the ‘oohhh’ factor of snow, which I will return to later.
Rain has devastating effects on towns and villages. Destroying a lot of personal, valuable and important things. It also takes lives, quickly and ferociously. Yes, we need the rain to give us water, and it does look good across lakes and rivers, but it is still deadly.
Wind blows everything about. Rips up trees, houses and other buildings, knocks over most things in its path, including us. Some people may find it exhilarating watching, or even chasing, the winds.
The sun. What about the sun, the element which many people look for in annual breaks, regardless of the time of year. No-one seems to acknowledge the danger of the sun. Sunburn has ruined many a person’s holiday – laying out in the sun, falling asleep, turning into a beetroot. And the pain after, can’t move or dress. It hurts in the shower. And now we’re hearing about more and more instances of some kind of sun-related skin disease.
So, what about snow? It falls from the sky looking pretty and harmless. Then more comes and it gets faster and heavier and before anyone knows it, they are housebound. Prisoners in their own homes. Roads and pavements are covered making it impossible to drive or walk. Attempting to do so would be madness, dangerous, absurd. One inch in Britain causes standstill, traffic jams, fear. How do countries manage where there are several inches, or even feet of snow regularly.
It causes chaos. Those people who do venture out run the risk of accidents as they may not be used to these conditions. Hospitals often report increased numbers of fractures and sprains from falls and crashes. Even some of those who do go out to enjoy it end up in a hospital waiting room. This has the obvious knock-on effect for the remainder of people who are ill and want to see a doctor or go to the hospital – even longer waiting times!
In addition, there will be the increased expense. Cars. More accidents happen, some are even unavoidable as cars skid and slide, but the damage still needs repairing and paying for. Add to that the extra heating needed to combat and beat the falling temperatures. From this we get the ‘eat or heat?’ question. People in today’s society should not be faced with this dilemma. Because everyone is going out less often there is the possibility of increased feelings of loneliness. People can’t be visited as often or checked in on.
But…
Isn’t it lovely? The white stuff falling in winter, especially at Christmas. Fun to play in and look at. As soon as there is enough snow on the smallest of hills, dozens of children, and parents pretending they are children (nothing wrong with that!) are out with sledges or anything they can sit on to go down a hill, quickly. Races, tricks, making the slope faster. An enormous range of sledges, seeing who’s is the best or quickest. How many people will fit on one sledge? How far can you go standing up before falling off? Great fun, laughter, smiles. Even the cold and wet gets forgotten for a while. Then, leave the sledges and slides behind, and make snowmen and have snowball fights. Getting hit by a snowball, although painful, never seems as painful as anything else. At no other time would anyone go out and make themselves wet and cold. It is magical.
When the playing has finished, usually when darkness starts to settle or the snow has been worn away, its time to go home. Taking off the cold and wet boots, socks and clothing, getting into something warmer and drier. All sitting together drinking Hot Chocolate and eating toast around the fire.
Playing in the snow can be fun and magical, a great time to be with family and friends. But as with just about everything, there are things that need to be remembered: to stay safe and that it won’t be the same for all families, not everyone will be lucky or privileged enough to enjoy the snow or the treats after.
So, whatever your situation or place in life, when it comes, if you are of that type, enjoy it safely and have fun.
Man on a bike. 