Finally…a return to the snowy winters of my childhood and a perfect illustration of how indifferent our winters have become, writes Emma Suddaby.

Not that I’m particularly fond of snow, but if it’s going to be cold, we might as well go for it and have the lot. And what we’ve had in the last week has been no different to the snowfalls we had frequently when I was a child. 

And like kids today, we rubbed our little hands with glee at the prospect of a day off school. But we knew the weather would have to be atrocious, the roads impassable and the schools closed, before that would happen. And even then, I remember being ploughed to school in a 4×4 before being turned, mercifully away at the gates.

One good snowfall, now, and the whole infrastructure of our great country grinds to an all-to-willing halt. We all love a guilt-free day off but if I’m honest, I don’t really understand how a school can close due to bad weather… It’s not a football match or a garden party…. They’re not going to get their hats wet… it’s a school, it has walls and a roof, electricity and heating.

When I was at school, the teacher’s who’d managed to get in would then open up for the more adventurous among its staff and pupils, who’d battled through the snow to attend. 

We’d be herded into the main hall to play indoor games until the final tally was taken and a decision made to shut, or not to shut. And they usually did close the school and we got to go home and make sleds out of coal sacks….but that’s not the point.

The point is, we learned that you’ve got to at least try to go about your normal daily business even in mad weather. Even when there’s a large part of you that’s rubbing its hands together, praying for a day-off!

And a big shout goes out to everyone else out there who, like me, is less than steady on their feet.  

Picturesque though the wintry weather is, we know only too well that for us there’s a darker side to its beauty – it’s like an ice-rink out there! When it snows, a whole portion of society is not thinking snowflakes and sledging, they’re thinking slippery pavements and fractures, so spare a thought for us!

And just to change the subject completely, Shropshire is becoming a right magnet for the blue-blooded, lately, you can’t turn around without bumping into one Royal or another…Exciting to hear that Prince Edward, the Duke of Wessex will soon be visiting Shrewsbury to open the new Theatre Severn. I’m sure Salopians will warmly welcome him – and the best possible start that his presence will give the new theatre. Wonder why his brother didn’t take the job? Oh, that’s right, he’s not keen on ugly buildings, is he..?