Autumnal Blog The First: Cold Vs Cosy

Personally, I think extremes are over-rated. Why does it have to be uncomfortably hot or nut-chillingly cold, exactly? What’s wrong with the middling seasons? With that in mind, I’ve decided to run a short series of FTBD entries paying homage to the wonderful season of Autumn. (Or “Fall”, to the Americans among you.) I promise truly, there will be no pseudo-poetic bullshit about falling leaves.

Looking at descriptions of the October-November season, the notions of “It’s too cold!” and “It’s nice and cosy!” seem to come up most. Since these two words are the same length and begin with the same letter, I have decided they must be basically comparable. Certainly, I can justify a blog entry on the internet in which I pit them against each other.

So, which is correct? Are they both fairly accurate? Does feeling cosy make the cold outside worthwhile? Or does it only serve to remind you of the central heating bill?

The Cosy Side

(“Cosy” is a hideous word to spell. IT NEVER LOOKS RIGHT.)

Anyway, this is the pleasant feeling of snuggling up in a nice warm house, with or without partner, and enjoying not being out in the cold. Accessories include central heating, hot chocolate, woollen clothing and some form of indoor entertainment.

Yes, it costs money to sustain, but… wait a minute, so did that plane to Majorca in the summer! So it doesn’t really matter, does it? Anyway, it’s a good excuse to hit a nice warm pub and while the evening away with a pint. Those of you creatively inclined, there’s a good reason why the ludicrous and masochistic NaNoWriMo exercise happens at this time of year.

Because after all, you don’t want to go outdoors. You’ll catch your death, then probably get hit by a skidding car. BUT WAIT. If we’re doing all this stuff only because we can’t go outdoors, aren’t we just settling for second best? Is that really a good thing? Is it possible this is all a sham?

The Cold Shoulder

On the other hand, it’s bloody cold outside, it really really is. But not in a romanticised, white way, no. We’re getting more of a nasty, dark, miserable brand of cold. It’s possible this is a largely British phenomenon, but nonetheless, here’s what “Fall” weather means to me:

Basically, you get up in the morning and stomp off to work. Your only consolation, in a good autumn morning, might be a soaking from the rain, sticking your foot in a puddle, then finally getting a pleasant case of windchill from standing on an over-exposed train platform.

Live through this, repeat in reverse, arrive home in time to spend the night wrapped up, not doing much because it’s bloody cold. As if the oncoming winter wasn’t enough. Honestly, you’d think the one up-side of imminent global warming-mageddon would be a slight uptick in temperature.

A Conclusion, Of Sorts

Don’t be fooled by the hate-speech in the previous section, I love Autumn/Fall/the season between summer and winter. But it’s primarily because of the cosy and in spite of the cold. It’s also a bit because I usually get a lot of writing done, whether in NaNoWriMo form or on my own.

But it is true that I do this simply because it’s too bloody freezing to comfortably go anywhere I can’t sit indoors. Still, there’s a certain uncomfortable romance to hunching over a coffee in this weather, or turning my little desk lamp on, in the darkness of 4:30PM, and pretending I’m in The West Wing.

Can you get that in summer? No, there’s a bloody great light shining in your face. And winter… well, winter has its moments, but at some stage the cold becomes so biting that it damages the cosy. It’s a delicate balance.

This is probably the girliest thing I’ve ever written. Feel free to mock below, or chip in with your thoughts on the cold/cosy debate if you want to take pity on me.

(NOTE: I had a worrying feeling that it might technically already be winter, but I asked a meteorology PHD student and she seemed at least 29% sure it doesn’t happen until December. So I might get one more homage to Autumn out before it ends!)