11 January 2026

Gloom and Doom

The weather for the past 2 weeks has not been great. I appreciate nowhere near as bad as other northern counties of the UK or Northern Europe, but nevertheless grim and grey. We managed to escape any of the heavy snow in London, but the temperatures have hovered near freezing, sometimes dipping below or just slightly above. It has meant I have been nervous to switch off my central heating at night as I am terrified the water pipes will burst and cost me a fortune to rectify.

In the last 10 days I have been out of the house once. Partly because I managed to catch a cold-like bug at new year and so was full of sniffles and coughs, but also because it was too grim and cold to bother going out. On Thursday I had a good excuse to attempt an outing - a choir social event in the evening - no singing just partying - but I cried off as the forecast was not good and I was also fearful my car battery might not spark into action as I had not driven it for over a fortnight. I didn't want to be stuck in the cold and dark if it gave up on me. As it happened, a lot of my choir friends decided the same, so I was pleased I didn't miss much. I wouldn't have been able to drink alcohol anyway, as I am still trying to please my poorly stomach by avoiding triggers, so too much risk for little gain, so to speak. I did manage a drive to foodbank to volunteer there on Friday and it felt so strange being out after so long indoors. I think I'm turning into one of those animals that hibernate.

2 comments:

JayCee said...

I am definitely one of life's hibernators. Any excuse to stay at home rather than venture out into the cold and wet windy weather.
Except, of course, for the occasional little holiday somewhere drier and warmer preferably.

DawnTreader said...

My few outings have been restricted to very short walks in the immediate neighbourhood. (And if not for the need to take out some household waste to the bins now and then, I'm not sure I'd have bothered at all!)