For those of us in the northern hemisphere, the end of the summer to early autumn is one of the most beautiful times of the year. September is often a golden month, there is still a lot of residual heat in the air and some warm early autumnal golden sunshine. But there’s also the merest hint of the cooler weather to come just around the corner. As we move into October, the hint of cool becomes stronger, obviously, but we still generally enjoy some beautiful autumnal sunshine if we’re lucky and the fact that the leaves are beginning to turn simply adds to the overall charm.
But by the time we get to November and December, we’re truly entering the winter months. The weather turns cold, the clocks get turned back (in late October) the nights draw in and it all gets very cosy of necessity as much as by desire!
For many people, this is a magical time of year; one to enjoy and make the most of in the run up to Christmas. But the period immediately after the New Year’s celebrations and the long haul back to spring can be a bit of a …, well, long haul!
January and February are often the coldest, bleakest months of the entire year and March seldom offers much of a reprieve unless we get lucky with an earlier than usual spring.
One of the best ways of coping with this stretch if you can get your enthusiasm going is to take a keen interest in winter sports. And by “winter sports”, by the way, we aren’t talking about skiing and curling so much as sports you can watch from the comfort of your own armchair in front of the television. This may sound like encouraging people to be sloth-like, but it isn’t necessarily so. There are lots of opportunities in the winter to get out there and get active, and if you can afford to go skiing, then go for it. But otherwise, the evenings do tend to be long, cold, they’re often wet – and most of us do stay in more of necessity.
For people who are really into their sports – this isn’t much of a chore obviously. But for those of us who have to try to stay interested, it can be a bit of an effort. But it does pay dividends in terms of keeping your interest up and keeping you enthused.
In football, the Champions League games, the English Premier League games and other matches from around Europe can really keep up your interest in the very late and early parts of the year as things get exciting. The trick is to “force” your interest early on if need be. This will probably call for a subscription to satellite TV but this is a saving if it keeps you in more and interested in the proceedings.
England’s tour of Sri Lanka and the one-day international cricket World Cup in New Zealand and Australia this winter is also a great way of keeping your enthusiasm going. A wager on proceedings can help too. If you check out the latest World Cup cricket betting odds with Bet365, for example, you’ll see that England are 6-1 shots and might give you a good run for your money.
Don’t forget, too, the Australian tennis open in Melbourne at the end of December and early January – and all the other sports action from around the planet to help stave off the winter blues. You just have to get into it all in plenty of time, then you enjoy it more and honestly…the time flies!
