“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.” – Edith Sitwell

 

Many of us suffer in the winter. The cold days, the draughty windows. The short days the bitter nights. I think it’s fair to say that most people pine for the warmer months. Personally, I think every season has its virtues. Certainly, in my opinion, there is not a month in the year that doesn’t have pros as well as cons.

I love spring. It’s generally not too hot and not too cold. It’s a symbol of new life after the barren nature of winter. However, it’s also a bit volatile. Is it going to rain, is it going to be dry and roasting? What am I supposed to wear?

I love summer. It’s the season of heat, of eating outside, of regular ice cream and Aperol Spritzes. We put the bulky winter threads back in the wardrobe for a while. But also, I run hot. And often, summer is too hot for me. Too humid.

I love autumn. I really like rediscovering my old jackets and sturdy boots. I enjoy the colours of the leaves as they change, and as they litter the streets around me. But it also includes the run-up to Christmas… and I find that immensely stressful.

Now winter has many downsides. I’ve named some above. But what are some of the things that comfort me about winter?

1. Cold Out, Warm In

Only an hour before I wrote this very sentence (which is in late October, by the way), we turned on a radiator for the first time. There is nothing quite like the feeling of a cold room being gently warmed by central heating. I remember finding the feeling of wrapping up in a duvet, next to the radiator, with my favourite book, as the wind howled, the rain fell or the frost crept up the window, immensely comforting as a child. Warmth and softness when you can see that outside is neither warm nor soft, is deeply comforting and relaxing.

2. Watch the Water Fall

When I work, I listen to white noise. My go-to sub-genre of white noise is rainfall. Sometimes even with rolling thunder in the background. The rhythm and tone of falling rain does something to the brain. It helps me to regulate the internal noise. However, this is no match for real rain. I never sleep better than when rain is pattering on the window. The pitter-patter functions like counting sheep for me. Watching falling rain, or even snow, is immensely calming also. Snow, in particular, is quite magical. There is something special about the humbling feeling of being so small against the will of the elements, and yet safe inside. There is something soothing about that reminder of the natural world.

3. Winter Food

Don’t get me wrong. Love a barbecue in summer. Love a fun salad or vibrant pasta in spring. I love stews, pies, soups and lasagnas too… but they don’t feature too regularly outside winter. A steaming bowl of tomato soup and a stack of marmite on toast is no good to me in the middle of August. Winter is the custodian of some of the richest, heartiest, hug-in-a-bowl…iest food there is.

4. Winter Clothes

I actually see summer clothes as a downside to summer. Shorts never seem to fit me right, I never have enough pockets for everything, and I have not as yet managed to find an item of clothing that can make me cooler than I would be if I were wearing nothing. Like I say, I run hot. In winter, warmth is achievable with many layers of comforting items. I like it to feel like I’m walking around wearing a fashionable bed. I like scarves and coats. I like ugly Christmas jumpers and 80’s coded sweatshirts. I like boots. I don’t like sandals.

5. The Sounds of Winter

There are sounds that the world only has in winter. I like to appreciate them. The crackling of a pub fire. A crunch as you walk across a sheet of fallen leaves or a fresh patch of snow. The silence of the outside world as the nights come earlier.

By Chris Thomson

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