DERRY JOURNAL Editorial: Smiles in the snow a welcome relief

And it couldn’t have come at a better time. It broke up the monotony of endless days behind doors and cut off from the outside world. Here at last was an opportunity to go outside and have fun in a safe way while getting some exercise. Those who had them pulled their sleighs out of sheds and down from attics, dusted them down and headed for the slopes. Others, inspired perhaps by the inventiveness of our own childhoods, made use of the trusty tin lids and cardboard boxes as make shift alternatives. Snowball fights were had, snowmen and even snow castles built. The excitement on the faces of children, who like the rest of us have been living in a sort of stasis due to the lockdowns, and who are no doubt missing their friends from school or the street at the minute, was very noticeable. They were beaming.

It might seem like a trivial thing, a bit of fluff on the ground, but in the current world that snow shower at the weekend worked wonders to lift spirits and remind us of happier times. Even pulling on the winter woolies and taking the dog out for a walk in it provided a wee lift, I’m sure, for many of us. It was a touch of the winter wonderland we never got to experience at Christmas or New Year.

The way people reacted shows the power of nature to work wonders and help us reconnect with the world around us. And perhaps too it showed the human capacity for resilience, hope in adversity, joy amidst the sadness, and we need that now at a time when so many people are losing their lives and getting seriously ill.

With no end to the current lockdown in sight, let’s just hope this wintry spell it is followed by a spring that matches the beautiful one we experienced last year. It would do us all the power of good.

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