Is it a diversion from talking about what is important?

With the ‘will it, won’t it?’ approach to snow in East Devon, our household is constantly between excitement and disappointment.

Having two children desperate to build snowmen and get off school has that effect.

It also means that weather is an even more frequent topic of conversation than usual.

Weather seems to be the great stand-by of conversation topics for us Brits; it seems to form a kind of icebreaker whenever I meet anyone, from our postie to folks in church and around villages.

The sad thing is that conversation rarely gets any further. Talking about weather is a diversion from really talking about what is important.

Many of us are quite reserved; we don’t talk about our feelings, hopes or fears – yet it would do us good to share. Part of being human is learning to ‘be’ with one another – perhaps we need to open up a little more!