Winter is here. But don’t be glum about the short days and cold winds. There’s so much to celebrate, from big coats to bonfires.
1 The drama of saying ‘Winter is here.’ Say it out loud now. It feels good, doesn’t it? It makes you feel powerful and prophetic. Now try saying it about the other seasons. “Spring is coming.” You sound like Kate Humble. “Autumn is coming.” A weird conker fetishist. “Summer is coming.” Boots advert. But “Winter is coming” is sexy. It’s full of drama and foreboding. You’re predicting death, essentially. You sound deep. And Game Of Thrones has only enhanced this. Now you’re not just declaring that you know the order of the seasons, you’re alluding to the fact that you watch good drama. You’re telling people you can differentiate between a dizzying number of identically named characters. This means you’re cleverer than them. Remember that.
2 Being able to see sunrises. A few weeks ago the only people who saw the sun rise were bakers, night workers and the chronically sleep-deprived. In the dead of winter, the sun doesn’t rise until at least seven. Everyone sensible’s awake by then, and the first thing they see is a gorgeous pastel explosion: a sky-sized swirl of reds, pinks and yellows that makes them awed to the point of tears to be living on such an impossibly beautiful planet. Then they Instagram it, and it may as well be someone’s dinner or a cat’s face. Seriously, people are idiots.