A wet and windy winter? Let it snow

IT’S time to look out your snow shovel and Faroese-wool long johns if recent weather forecasts are anything to go by, as several experts are predicting another very cold winter.

A missing jet stream and slower climatic activity at the poles have been highlighted as pointers that we are in for another Arctic winter, so we should now take full advantage of the warm Caithness summer weather... if you can find it.

The county was hit hard last winter with freezing temperatures, ice and snow from early November right through to January, with only a couple of thaw days that resulted in localised flooding as the snow melted and then refroze.

James Madden, from weather organisation Exacta Weather, predicted the harsh conditions experienced over the last two winters, and is once again forecasting record-breaking snowfall and freezing temperatures during November, December and January.One of Mr Madden’s main methods of analysing long-range weather conditions is analysis of solar cycles. The sun is predicted to be heading for a "rest period", which means we may well have another relatively windless, very cold winter.

UK-based Positive Weather Solutions has also predicted that the winter months will be colder than average everywhere in the UK and that some regions will experience significantly colder-than-average temperatures between December and March.

The agency, which has a relatively high success rate in its long-range weather predictions, has also given a 36 per cent chance of Ireland and Britain experiencing a white Christmas. This prediction is reflected in the latest news from bookies, which have shortened the odds of snow falling on Christmas Day in Dublin and London.

Of course we in Caithness may be truly unlucky and end up with our more familiar wet and windy winter, as seen last weekend. Bring on the snow!

SOME unreconstructed sexist Scotsmen in the Highlands don’t want service-sector jobs as they are "women’s work", if a study commissioned by the Joseph Rowantree Foundation is to be believed.

The research into poverty and ethnicity by the University of the Highlands and Islands, and University of Edinburgh, was based on a relatively small sample of 32 people from four ethnic backgrounds – white Scottish, Eastern European, travellers and Chinese. The study focused on people living in the Highlands and Fife.

The report states: "Some white Scottish men expressed concerns about the diminishing opportunities in accessing well-paid, skilled manual occupations in their local areas. The decline in mining and manufacturing in Fife and traditional rural-sector jobs (agriculture, fishing and forestry) in remote rural areas of Highland affected the ability of white Scottish men, in particular, to access well-paid craft and manual jobs.

"In addition, white Scottish men, in particular, appeared reluctant to take on what was perceived as ‘women’s work’."

In the Highlands, the people interviewed said cuts to public-sector jobs had reduced employment opportunities, and a lack of public transport affected chances of taking up work further from home. Less manufacturing jobs in Fife was also seen as important.

Chinese, East Europeans and travellers all mentioned concerns about being discriminated against when trying to find work.

All participants said that being poor restricts food choices, heating your home and finding accommodation. However, Scots and East Europeans under the age of 35 were more optimistic about escaping from poverty.

The study also found that participants considered language provision in the Highlands to be insufficient and inflexible. A lack of affordable childcare was an issue for all single-parent mothers with school-age children, and it was most acute for Chinese women with limited English and lacking family or social support structures nearby.

I SPY, with my little eye, something beginning with... W." Yes, it’s wind turbine – a welcome Caithness addition to the list of answers in the traditional I-spy game that keeps your kids from bouncing mad during a boring car journey.

Research by car hire price comparison site carhiremarket.com has found that while 51 per cent of Brits favour using electronic gadgets to keep the kids amused on car journeys, some 47 per cent rely on traditional car games like I-spy, 46 per cent on music or audio books, and 36 per cent with classic sing-alongs.

According to the PR, the most popular classic car games to keep kids entertained while driving at home or in a hire car abroad are I-spy, the number-plate game and spot the landmark. Having never heard of the number-plate game (too few cars here?), or spot the landmark, I have decided to bear these in mind to add to the heady delights of sightseeing during car journeys.

Points of interest during my own family’s car journeys include the current clear-felling of trees at Hastigrow, revealing a huge crane at Subsea 7, shire horses near Stanstill, the Pentalina en-route to Orkney and many container ships. Not a bad total for our barren wasteland of Caithness.

Parents in the West Midlands and Scotland (51 per cent) seem to be the most keen on classic car games, compared to 37 per cent of Londoners, who rely on music to keep car journeys grumble-free (45 per cent).

Parents from Yorkshire are perhaps the most adamant that through boredom is born creativity, says the blurb, with 23 per cent saying they don’t entertain their kids in the car here or abroad.

My own family also alleviate boredom during car journeys by stopping the car and getting out, which always helps.

A shop assistant in Aviemore once told me that the secret to a good holiday when her children were young was to buy a large bottle of cough medicine (not for her, but her kids). Perhaps it’s just as well the school holidays are over.

Corrina Thomson is on Facebook and Twitter @corrinathomson