What happened to snow being one of life's great joys?

STAY indoors!

- James Innes-Smith

London, left, is near-empty after snow while it's business as usual in New York

Danger to life! Transport chaos! As Storm Goretti sweeps across the UK and the usual panic about a slight drop in temperature sends the country into paroxysms, I’m reminded of a time when waking up to a soft blanket of snow was considered one of life’s great joys; a time when children built snowmen while their parents looked on in delight as drab neighbourhoods were suddenly transformed into powdery paradises.During those chilly Eighties' winters when cold snaps seemed to last forever and villages across the country were routinely cut off by 8ft-high snowdrifts, we all seemed to manage perfectly well. Northern regions in particular often resembled the Antarctic with heavy snow falling for days on end.

Going to the shops for a pint of milk became an epic adventure as we negotiated our way, Captain Oates-like, along high streets, waist deep in the white stuff. Yes it was a bore having to wear uncomfortable boots and an itchy balaclava - for added grip my mother wore thick socks over her shoes — but we were much hardier back then and carried on as normal, albeit with a snowy spring in our step brought on by the heart-stopping beauty of a frosted tree.