My pal has family in Canada, Toronto area I think. He went over 20-odd years ago in winter and was foolish enough to go out to the corner shop in the evening without a big coat. "I'll be all right!" By the time he got there he was blue and shivering, and he's a big lad, he had to spend about 20 minutes warming up in the shop before he dared go back out. More recently his uncle, who liked a drink, was walking the mile or so home from the bar one evening in the middle of a Canadian winter and stopped, either for a rest or because he fell. Goodnight Vienna, he was discovered frozen the next morning by some children going to school. Not to be messed with, a Canadian winter.
Closer to home, I do appreciate the seasons and the British weather. I spent 3 years in France, and I loved it, but I never got the hang of the seasons. Spring is a delight, with cool mornings, light evenings and pleasantly warm days. The 6 weeks between late June and early August are hellish if you are doing anything more than sitting by a river. The heat, week after week, is crushing. Autumn is great, once you avoid the rainy days it's fine. Winter though isthe most dreary, grey period imaginable. It's never very cold, it seldom rains or snows. Instead you get highs of +5C and calm, grey, dismal weather. For weeks. Winter in England can be grim, with the Atlantic storms blowing through every 5 minutes and freezing drizzle the rest of the time, but at least it changes. You get the odd crisp, dry day, and it is nice to know that as the clouds scud by at least something slighly different is coming along in the next 24 hours.
