Winter is coming, and that is heartening

Winter is nearly upon us. Who is looking forward to it as much as I am? I am so very excited about it. For the first time in nearly 8 months, going outside will not be excruciatingly difficult or a risk to one’s health. Night markets are already popping up around my area; they shut down towards the end of last winter.

Joggers have started appearing too; I see the same ones again that I used to see last year. A cooler breeze has picked up so that one’s clothes are now flapping in the wind and the skies have become more interesting from a painterly perspective; they’re not just blue. I particularly look forward to the varied cloud formations, the different sky colours and the grey clouds that blanket the city. And yes, I also look forward to the rains, no matter how heavy they are. It’s true that the rains are more fun to watch when you are at home but when you have to get to work, they can cause problems on the roads. So let’s pray for rain only at the weekends.

Ok, let’s talk about outdoor activities. These are sort of put on hold during the summer. So, it’s important to take advantage of the good weather that’s on its way. If you need to walk or run, perhaps not use a treadmill at the gym. How about just taking a walk or running round the block over and over again? I used to walk around the outside of my huge building twice and the whole process took me about 20 minutes. That means that I had 20 minutes of exercise every day. Time actually passes more quickly if you do it that way because you not only have fresh air (which seems to be fresher in the winter) but you also have distractions with outdoor life.

Now kids, in my opinion, spend far too much time lounging around in the corridors of their buildings and generally making a ruckus. I’m sure they’re out there because they’re making the same ruckus inside the flat so the parents sort of shoo them out of the flat to play in the corridors so that they become other people’s problem.

I understand the noise they can make and the need for them to be outdoors. But I assure you that sitting in a narrow corridor is not being outdoors. How about taking them to the park or an outdoor play area where they can play football or run around until they’re too tired to make noises at home? 

This is also the time for outdoor dining. Yes people have still been dining outside restaurants during the summer months, I don’t know how they do it, but in the winter it might actually be fun to take in some cool air and have a nice cup of coffee. A cup of coffee in a covered coffee cup is something I would consider in the winter months. Winter is also the time when shops are laden with Halloween paraphernalia followed swiftly by Christmas decoration. I notice that it’s still October but the shops are now being filled with Christmas ornaments. It’s only a matter of time when trees will start going up.

These are all signs that winter is coming. It’s not like in England, Europe and the West, when there is dread associated with it. Snow is pretty to look at but try wading through it for work and it becomes a nightmare. You can slip, your car can skid and accidents do happen. The rains in the UAE are fun to look at but we all know what it’s like when we have to get somewhere. It’s difficult. But it happens rarely. Imagine this almost every day in some parts of the world. In England it rains all year round. There are winter showers, summer showers and even April showers.