The temperatures have dropped, the rain seems to be never-ending, the evenings are getting darker and the local hurling and football fixtures have reached their climax.
It means November is just around the corner and another winter is imminent.
November – the very mention of the word usually sends a slight shiver down my spine.
It’s a dark, dreary, depressing month.
This feeling has been consolidated by the unusually bleak November (even by our standards) which we endured last year.
The weather of the past weeks has perhaps acted as an ominous omen of the type of season which we can expect during winter 2011-2012.
Entering another winter is a harrowing thought for many following the difficulties we faced in late November/early December 2010.
Many estates across the city weren’t accessible; shops suffered a dramatic plummet in footfall; and almost all schools were forced to close.
