This article resonated with me. I've always felt the seemingly perverse poetry of the north.

But I was puzzled that this article didn't address the possibility of a hobbled Gulf Stream bringing a Siberian climate to the UK. That seems to be a very troubling and real possibility if you look at the science.

Bill, Washington, DC

A wonderful article, and I can only agree - winters aren't what they used to be! To those that claim the warming is "natural", how do they account for the fact that the sun's output is currently at a long-term minimum, and yet we are headed for another winter of mild nothingness?

And weather forecasters should be banned from using the phrase "At least it will be mild"!

Rob, Hampshire,

Snow appears already to have effectively vanished in much of the southern U.S.A. Our home area has not seen a single flake of snow in the past three or four winters. On this December morning I walked outside before daylight in short sleeves and felt perfectly comfortable. I wonder now whether we will ever see anything colder than a mild overnight frost again.

D.L. Anderson, Crossett, AR/U.S.A.

Winter seems to lack its former punch, clarity, whatever. The wide array of seasonal "experiences" seems lost in a cacophony of dullening warmth. The truth is that, compared to warmth, we have an intrinsic dislike of cold, and it seems more the emotional connotations it incites that draws people to it.

My perception of the North is somewhere of sparsity; somewhere with scope and an infinite hope lying ahead. When I go away, I generally want to get away; to lessen the activity in my life and not worry about things. On the other hand, my opinion of Southern locations is overcooked, with a culture accentuated to the point of tedium. I guess I'm too much of a dreamer and can't stand having things laid out for me.

Euan McArthur, ulverston, united kingdom

Add to all this a blight of slugs and other pests on garden produce. Without the winter cold to thin out their population last year, they were in great numbers this.

P Orphyry, Skipton,

I have always loved crisp cold winter mornings. Each and every year I watch the weather reports hoping for snow. Each year I get three months of drizzle instead. Every now and again we have a brief snowfall and the roads seize up, motorists abandon their cars on the M4 and Londoners write articles about the end of civilisation. I put on my hiking boots and hurry to get a walk on the moors and through the woods before tomorrows rains wash it all away. There is a beauty in cold that all to many people are not prepared to try

John, Grassington, Yorkshire Dales

Now if you meant in 50 years what these white people, I may understand. I would worry about the EU becoming a third country continent, due to not being able to sustain its self due to generous benefits and social security hand outs.

Tez, Yalding, Kent

Great article. Three words of advice - move to Chicago! As a Brit growing up in Yorkshire I too remember a childhood of "deep" snow and my village being cut off for days. But as an avid skiier and winter advocate I can distinctly remember just one occassion in the 13 years I later lived in London with measurable snow (half an inch). Of course the city ground to a halt and everyone outwardly pretended to long for the "cold snap" to be over, but I have long held the view that most Brits are secretly deliriously happy at the prospect of snow breaking the mild, drizzly monotony. Here in Chcago we've had nearly a foot of snow in the last week, there are ice-storm warnings and frost-bite advisories issued all winter. The seasons here are almost a cliche of themselves; scorching summers, autumns of bright red and yellow leaves. All that seem to have sadly disappeared from the British weather almanac.....even in Yorkshire.

Nick, Chicago, USA

Be careful that you don't get what you are praying for. Global warming could in a few years 'turn off' the Gulf Stream and our winters could become as savage as those in Labrador or Minsk.

Anthony Back, Wellington, Telford, England

This is merely sentimentalist nonsense - by gone memories of so called endless winter blizzards. Yes, the number of significant snowfalls has fallen to one or two per winter but how many winters have really been whiteouts? Yes, we see less frost due to a NATURAL fluctuation of our climate cycle but by and large our temperate climate has always been within a certain range. We all get romantic notions of our childhood days of building snowmen and slides but how often did this really happen? I was in Germany early this year during blizzard conditions and freezing temperatures but was glad to leave the postcard image behind and get back to my Atlantic cocoon! As the modern world necessitates ridiculous daily commutes just to keep on top of the bills I, for one, am glad to see out a grey, dreary winter without the need to de-ice my windscreen every morning and watch the country come to a standstill at the mere hint of whiteness! Roll on summer!

A Andrews, Ballymena, UK

Oh, quit your whining about so-called "global warming".

The climate changes in synch with the sun's output. (DUH)

Stop trying to frighten the feeble minded with junk science.

Remember Y2K?

Simon, Toronto, Canada

One thing I don't understand about cold lovers is when asked why do you love the cold so much the reply i got was that 'you can stay in, draw the curtains and sit around a warm and cozy fire'.

Warm and cozy????

Go figure.

Zak, London, UK

When the clocks go back every October and it starts to get dark earlier, the prospect of Winter approaching seems to bring forward feelings of excitement and longing for the cold. Those frozen, clear days without a cloud in sight enthrall me, though it's not just the weather, it's also to do with it getting dark early. I can still remember the week I spent in Trondheim on holiday a few years ago as if it was yesterday, it was incredible. I'm definitely a Winter person, which seems to amuse most of my friends for some reason.

George, Manchester,

"We need the cold to sustain us in every way."

Apart from those pensioners who would otherwise die of hypothermia

dr Smith, london,

Yes, one of the good things about living in England that a foreigner sees is the marked change of season -- Madonna famously remarked on this as a key good thing about the place.
It is amazing to walk in bright winter sunshine across a snowy landscape.
And perhaps going along with a new determination to have an outdoor café culture, I've found that as long as the sun is bright you can actually lay the towel out on the lawn and read a book outdoors even when the headline temperature is eight degrees!
Maybe, then, I've come down with the summer-all-year bug after all?!

steve moxon, sheffield,

It is so funny that you would actually write about this because these ideas have been haunting me this fall/winter season. When the light hits the sky the way it does at this time of year, I expect other qualities to be present such as cold and some snow at times. There is a melancholy that has confused me until I read your piece. Thank you for putting my feelings into words.

frankie, virginia beach, virginia

I was in Russia in winter last year, and apart from a few occasions it was muggy and grim. Certainly NOT the thick snowy icy expectations that not only myself expected, but every Russian in Moscow had known every year. In fact, some Russians said there is probably no Russian alive who had seen the winter so mild. They had to make a "fake" ice rink in Red Square, it got so bad. Climate is changing everywhere and much of it is natural (in my opinion) with some down to us.

I remember the deep snow in winter in Britain about 25 years ago. Mind you, I was also a lot smaller then and that may explain how it seemed so much deeper. It is nice to have distinct borders of Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter.

Nowadays, they tend to bleed into each other and can't quite make up their mind which is which. Sad. But I believe you really lament the feeling of cosyness of warmth and intimacy that comes from huddling up as a family due to the cold, when you refer to it being "spiritual" somehow.

Adam, Wells, Britain

It is not without reason that Aldous Huxley observed in his "The New, Brave World", that the company among the exiles in the Hebrides will be better than down there in the South

Mariusz Kuklinski, London,