Friday Group Therapy: Winter Activities

Yep, it’s Friday Group Therapy time for me again!

This weeks questions are about Winter stuff/activities.

1. What is your favourite winter activity?
   It’s taken me around 5 minutes to think of something: but I guess walking through crisp, clean, bright white snow and hearing the soft crunch of the snow underfoot is one of the most enjoyable.
2. What is your least favourite winter activity?
   Walking through mushed up, brown semi-melted snow. Slipping on the ice. Being cold.
3. What was your favourite winter activity as a child?
   Making snowmen and sledging down Croft Hill or through Bradgate Park.

1. What was your least favourite winter activity as a child?
   Snowball fights. Never liked them. Cold, icy balls being thrown directly at your face? No thanks!
2. Do you get a lot of snow or ice where you are? What do you think about your frozen precipitation situation?
   We had some snow around 3 weeks ago – but it didn’t even settle. I can’t recall a “decent” snowfall for a few years now. But back when I was living with my parents (around 12 miles away in the countryside) we occasionally had quite good snow (never on Christmas Day though – I think once it was on Christmas Eve and Boxing Day) – at one point it was so thick that the village was totally cut off. We had 3 roads leading into the village (and, yes, they were ‘proper roads’ and not dirt tracks) and all three were blocked because of the snow – it just blew across the surrounding fields and settled on the snow. I know the following day’s newspaper – the Leicester Mercury – had a front page picture (IIRC) of a bus getting stuck in the snow as it tried to get into the village.
   Because we lived ‘in the sticks’, we didn’t have the “gritters” come round (large trucks which just coat the road in a combination of grit and salt to melt the snow), but since I’m now living on the outskirts of the city centre our roads are cleared regularly.
   As for “frozen precipitation situation” – I think Brian’s been swallowing dictionaries again 🙂 If he means “what do you think of the weather” – then all I can say is that I’m British and it’s a strange British custom/hobby to continually moan about the weather (it’s either too hot, too cold, too wet, too dry, too windy or too quiet for us).
3. Rank the seasons in order of preference. 1=Favourite, 4=Least Favourite. Why do you feel this way?
   1. Summer (Favourite): Not too much rain, temperature is nice and moderate, my birthday and it’s just a nice time.
   2. Autumn: Still quite warm and sunny
   3. Winter: Christmas, good reason to ‘wrap up warm’, snow (sometimes), and ‘cosy’ feeling when having a legitimate reason to sit in front of a nice warm fire.
   4. Spring: It tends to vary between thinking it’s summer and thinking it’s winter – therefore you can go out in the cold frosty morning wrapped up warm and by midday be sweltering and sweating like there’s no tomorrow.
4. Tell us all about your holiday swag. What did you like? What will you be returning?
   Ooh – I got chocolates (Elizabeth Shaw mints), many books, a couple of videos, a sandwich toaster, an electric whisk, a box of food, a box of cleaning materials (don’t ask!), two jumpers, some socks and a strange strange game.
   I’m not planning on returning anything.

Extra Credit: What is your favourite holiday song? Post the lyrics. One verse and the chorus will suffice, but post as much of it as you want.
One of the songs I keep on singing at Christmas time is one that I actually recorded. Yep, this ‘ere blogger type person was on a single! Admittedly, it was with most of the rest of the rest of my primary school (Huncote County Primary School), “Bodgers Mate” and “The Enderby Band” – but “Joggin’ along wi’ mi’ Reindeer” did reach number 6 and beat other acts such as Debbie Harry, Chris De Burgh and Erasure when it was released in 1986.
Ok, it was number 6 in Hinckley‘s top twenty charts (and not the UK national charts) – but still 🙂

The lyrics? Here’s what I can remember:

In the winter time,
When it’s cold and wet and nasty,
You need something to cheer you up,
I’ll tell you what to do,
Give yourselves a party,
With lots to eat,
Lots to drink,
Then just leave the rest to Father Christmas.

Joggin’ along wi’ mi’ Reindeer,
Up above so high,
Joggin’ along wi’ mi’ Reindeer,
Riding through the sky,
And everytime I pass a house with little boys and girls,
I chose a present and scramble down the chimney.

…..
…..
…..
Some people they do say,
There really is no such person,
They watch the telly,
Read the News,
Don’t think nothing of me,
But I sit on your roof till your fast asleep,
Then down your chimney I do creep,
Leave a present and wish you Merry Christmas.

Joggin’ along wi’ mi’ Reindeer,
Up above so high,
Joggin’ along wi’ mi’ Reindeer,
Riding through the sky,
And everytime I pass a house with little boys and girls,
I chose a present and scramble down the chimney.

I also quite like “Winter Wonderland”:

Dick Smith, Felix Bernard 1934

Sleigh bells ring, are you listening,
in the lane, snow is glistening
A beautiful sight,
we’re happy tonight,
walking in a winter wonderland.

Gone away is the bluebird,
here to stay is a new bird
He sings a love song,
as we go along,
walking in a winter wonderland.

In the meadow we can build a snowman,
Then pretend that he is Parson Brown
He’ll say: Are you married?
we’ll say: No man,
But you can do the job
when you’re in town.

Later on, we’ll conspire,
as we dream by the fire
To face unafraid,
the plans that we’ve made,
walking in a winter wonderland.

Sleigh bells ring, are you listening,
in the lane, snow is glistening
A beautiful sight,
we’re happy tonight,
walking in a winter wonderland.

Gone away is the bluebird,
here to stay is a new bird
He sings a love song,
as we go along,
walking in a winter wonderland.

In the meadow we can build a snowman,
and pretend that he’s a circus clown
We’ll have lots of fun with mister snowman,
until the alligators knock him down.

When it snows, ain’t it thrilling,
Though your nose gets a chilling
We’ll frolic and play, the Eskimo way,
walking in a winter wonderland.

Walking in a winter wonderland,
walking in a winter wonderland.

However, Promoguy did make me think of that song in another way.