It’s March in Ireland. It’s been March for a few days now. March is usually about preparing for the year ahead after the dreaded months of winter have finally passed. At this time of the year, we think of spring cleaning, gambolling lambs, fresh starts and new life, while budding daffodils bring a cheery yellow hue to the dreary greys of the landscape and flow in the gentle breeze as bees begin to brave the outside in their search for pollen.
But as in the fictional land of Narnia, there seems to have descended an eternal winter in Ireland and the United Kingdom. Months have gone by without any relief from the wind, rain and now snow. Instead of bursts of colour from the ground in the form of flowers and wild wonderful weeds, there’s been heavy snowfall over the last few days, causing chaos and carnage on the roads and in the lives of everyone everywhere. Despite its beauty, the snow brings cities like Derry to a standstill as people struggle to begin their daily routines. In Ireland, matriarchs have stocked up on bread, tinned food and bottled water, thinking the end of times has finally arrived. I’m almost inclined to agree with them. Children have been revelling in the delights of snow days, snowball fights and building snowwomen — while the adults around them wail and groan at the extra burden of having to take care of their spawn because of a burst pipe at school.
They’re calling the current storm the ‘Beast from the East’, which is probably a slight exaggeration. Although it is quite rare for weather like this to be lingering on after February. We’ve had quite a few storms over the winter months and now spring has arrived in name only, heralding the worst storm yet. Many of you in Dubai have long forgotten the horrors of snow and ice. And I’m afraid going to Ski Dubai to have a play in the snow park is nothing like living with six inches of snow covering everything as far as the eye can see. Although the snow park is pretty amazing.
It makes me worry though just how much the weather affects us, especially when things take a turn for the worse. We’ve been at the mercy of horrible weather for months now, with most of us simply trying to battle on through with the hope of better days to come; a bit of the sun’s warmth on our faces and a chance to wear that expensive T-shirt we bought on a whim last autumn.
I found icicles outside the window this week — icicles! I’ve never seen them in real life before and were a beacon of real Arctic conditions. One must ask whether this is indeed the end of days and whether climate change is creeping up on us sooner than we thought, or wanted to believe. If we can’t handle a bit of a storm over the winter months and if shops are running out of bread, then how are we going to handle the effects of climate change? And where are we going to get our bread from?
I’ve got a notion to become like those conspiracy theorists; visualising the end of days in everything around them, stocking up on cans of tuna and any other type of canned goods that can survive an apocalypse; armed to the teeth with every type of weapon in the belief that a post-apocalyptic world will be one made up of barbarians and Mad Max maniacs. Again, I’d be inclined to agree with them. Perhaps buying an extra couple of tins this week won’t hurt, can’t be too careful.
Christina Curran is a freelance journalist based in Northern Ireland.
