DARK NIGHTS OR LIGHT NIGHTS

As British Summer Time comes to an end for another year, it brings up the old question, dark nights or light nights? It’s a theme I had my characters have a conversation about, why? Because we’re British, and there is nothing us Brits like more than complaining about the weather. Whether you like or hate the dark nights it’s always accompanied by the gale force winds, the sleet and snow, or the days where you can see the sun, but that thing isn’t keeping anything warm over our part of the planet. There’s no taps auf, as we say in Scotland, this side of October.

How could anyone want to vote for dark nights? You have to remember all the good points too. For a start, the clocks go back, so an extra hour in bed, never a bad thing. There’s Halloween for any of you that enjoy the scariest night of the year. A chance to get dressed up in the macabre or just an excuse to go to the pub with your mates, like we need an excuse! Then there’s Christmas. Who has watched their first Christmas film or put the Christmas playlist on in the car? Or is it a time of year to be Scrooge and to dismiss it all.

Is it just me or do our diets change in the winter too? I’m not sure if its from some ancestral gene in my DNA from Highland Crofters, or just because I grew up in a time where you could only buy seasonal produce, but the inclusion of homemade soups and stews make a comeback full of vegetables and mounds of mashed potatoes. Comfort food, that’s what we need to get us up when the alarm goes off and it’s still dark outside. A bowl of steaming hot porridge to warm the cockles of your heart, as you make that last minute decision to let the car run with the blowers on to defrost the windscreen or go for the spray and scraper.

You leave work and depending on the time, the streetlights are on and its dark again. If you were lucky to nip out at lunchtime or have a window in the office, you maybe saw some daylight, but chances are you’re leaving in the dark and you’re coming home in it too. Apart from the afore mentioned Halloween, nobody is coming to your door, so its off with the work clothes and on with the comfy pyjamas with a nice cosy blanket to put over your legs. A bowl of something warm and fulfilling, hot buttered bread and the scene is set for a night cuddled in on the couch watching a Christmas film, horror or one of the big budget releases that everyone is talking about.

Before we know it it’s the end of March and BST is back, Hooray! For some the light mornings and nights are a long-awaited gift that will instantly make them feel better. Going for a night out in town during the Edinburgh Fringe. Barbeques in the garden, friends coming over. Whether it’s the World Cup, the Olympics, or any other sporting or music event like Glastonbury, and TRNSMT Festival. There’s that excuse again to crack open the beers and have a party.

Food changes from hearty roast dinners to burgers and salads. Eating out, going for picnics or a time to venture out and explore the countryside around us. There’s Easter and Chocolate Eggs, lambs, and bunnies. Summer Holidays, whether you’re going further afield or a staycation, something starts to niggle at our inner being and the mass exodus has arrived. Usually starting off in a traffic jam, but that’s another thing us Brits are famous for, we just love a queue. We might moan about them, but we won’t jump ahead, and we won’t let anyone else do it either, you’ll stand and wait your turn!

The weather in the UK is getting warmer and those night-time temperatures are not pleasant. Putting our bedding and pyjamas into the freezer so we can get some relief, well for a few minutes at least. Sleepless nights and early mornings as our new friend, the sun, wants us to wake up early and start a brand-new day. It’s when many a shopper will spend some extra time in the refrigerator or freezer aisles to cool down from the excessive heat outside. There are also the bugs, flies, spiders, and wasps that try to ruin our day.

So, what will it be, dark nights or light nights? I personally will always choose the dark nights. Bundled up in the forty layers of thermal tops and leggings, big cosy socks, and the hat, scarf, and gloves combo with a massive padded coat to keep the wind out. Is there anything better than going for a walk on a breezy crisp day and scrunching through the fallen autumn leaves? Coming home to a warm bowl of homemade soup and watching the forces of nature battling each other on the other side of the window. Even getting to sleep is easier as you cuddle up under the covers with a good book or a better half, pull the duvet up and smile contented, knowing Summer is just around the corner.

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