Sledge

It's cold. There is snow on the ground. The centre of town was unusually quiet this afternoon, as if people didn't see the point of venturing out. Presumably because of the cold. And the snow.

Children were dragging sledges, though if truth be told there was not enough snow for a decent slide. The grass made every effort to poke through.

In the distance, the hills looked whiter. And colder. If any sheep were out in the fields, they were not easy to spot. Perhaps they had more sense.

It is difficult to drum up much enthusiasm for January. Maybe this is a particularly low point, now the festivities are well behind us, and the next pay day at some ill-defined time in the future. The sales are petering out, along with a few of your favourite stores. The New Year's resolutions of shedding weight and getting fit seem somewhat futile when all you want to do is curl up on the sofa with an Ovaltine and an Eccles cake.

A bleakly crumbling ruin. I can sympathise with it.