Mark Woods: Snow no-show means a dull winter

In his six-year-old mind Christmas equals snow. There’s snow on the cards, snow on the decorations, even snow, or something that looks very much like it, on top of the cake for goodness’ sake – but no snow on the ground.

And to top it all the television is showing wall-to- wall white stuff in America while we get rain and enough wind to make a game of football in the garden a near life-threatening pursuit.

I’m with him 100 per cent. If all this rain had been snow the mood across the country would be considerably brighter. Yes the trains would have been even worse, yes we’d have run out of grit 48 hours in, but all in all we’d be happier because of snowmen and sledging and the sheer beauty of it all.But I reckon it’s more than just fun and aesthetics that makes snow more feelgood than other weathers. My pet theory is that it’s precisely because everything stops and getting to work or the shops temporarily becomes so difficult that most people get a sense of snowy well being. The complicated and often meaningless stuff we fill our lives with these days goes by the wayside and for a few hours we stare out of the window and concern ourselves with the basics – are we warm? Do we have shelter? Do we have enough food? And where did we put the sledge ?

On another note I saw with interest the suggestion that people are charged a tenner to attend A & E which did the rounds last week. I can see why it’s being mooted but the real reason why A&E departments are so over- stretched is being ignored.

Just how difficult is it to get a GP appointment?

Lines open at 8.30. You call at 8.30. You are number 23 in the queue. You wait. You are told all of today’s appointments are taken. You hang up and are eventually forced to the only medical outlet you know will see you.

Perhaps GP practices should be charged £10 for every person on their bloated profit-making practices that they can’t see each day. They could certainly afford it. Twitter@mark_r_woods