Counting the profit of the snow

Somebody, somewhere, is, right now, sharpening his or her pencil to work out the ‘cost’ of the snow to the UK economy. It will be a huge figure and we’ll all look at it in disbelief, wondering how it could get so high and how they managed to work it out. It’s almost become a tradition.

It’s also, in my view, completely wrong. I’m not going to argue with the figures on lost sales or responses by our emergency and local services. Of course snow costs, but it also pays. On the first day of February, having had a gloomy January, the surprise of a ‘snow day’ brings many of us a lot of joy. It’s an unexpected gift that gives us permission to return to the duvet, to have a slow breakfast, to take time with friends and families.

Across the snow hit counties there are countless groups of parents and children out in the cold, sledging, making snow men/women, having snowball fights – the positive impact on the community when this happens is huge. Local pubs fill with people and quality time is spent together. Snow gives us a chance to experience the Danish concept of Hygge – the quality of time together.

Yes, there are people struggling, and some people will have to gruel the bad weather. Businesses will lose some sales and offices face partial shut downs. But it’s not an overall negative sum. On Monday we will return to work more refreshed, energised and positive than if we had all worked on Friday. 

We don’t ‘lose’ work, it will just wait for us and we’ll catch up. Global commerce is 150,000 years old – it won’t suffer because we have a wintery Friday. So let’s make this snowy day a positive one and talk about what it gives us, rather than what it takes away. We can’t fight it, so let’s enjoy it.

I’m ending this here, as I have a large pile of snow to dump onto a small child.