1st November, 2009 - S.A.D.

There is no doubt about it: the unrelenting rain and darkness is affecting my mood. People suggest that this sort of thing is S.A.D. Syndrome. This, to my mind, is another statement of the bleeding obvious. Of course we are liable to feel a bit down when it has rained consecutively for 542 days and our neighbour has started shepherding pairs of animals into that oddly boat-shaped shed he has constructed at the bottom of the garden. And naturally, we will feel a bit blue when we haven’t seen the sun since April 2008.

The Scandinavians deal with this sort of thing by retreating into a world of “cosiness” – fireside chats, and warming drinks and the conviviality of good friends. And I tend to agree with them. I do not need a S.A.D. lamp. I need a snowball fight with the kids, and a few pints with my mates at the local, before putting scarf and gloves on and then watching my breath dissolve into the frosty universe.