At the risk of being prosaic and therefore dull, I'd like to drift back towards the original post. I wish 'they' wouldn't say that we're in for a long, bitter winter because, in saying that, it almost always disappoints. I get all the woolly stuff out in anticipation but just get rained on instead. I love winter for reasons lyrically expressed by Goatboy but get very frustrated by the indifferent dribbly conditions that usually prevail. Still, I will remain ever hopeful that 'they' might have got it right this time...