Spare a thought...

So we all knew summer wouldn't last forever and the cold would return, but that doesn't make it any easier.

The frost is back, the de-icing trucks are being used again and everyone is walking about the ramp looking like they are smoking as the breath escapes their mouth. It's bitterly cold, but I like it, almost.

The cold brings with it a crisp clearness that gives great visibility. From the ramp I can see out for miles towards hills and mountains I haven't seen all summer with the hazy air and cloudy skies. Where I am we see more of the sun in winter with the cloudless blue skies on frosty days, than in summer. Wearing sunglasses for driving is a fashion statement in summer, but a necessity for winter here.

So as I stumble about the ramp with multiple layers on, looking remarkably like a Michelin man figurine wearing a high visibility vest, I'm in a slight mood of awe. Contrails criss-cross the skies above me, I can see the aircraft lined up for miles one after the other on approach, and friendly crews look down from the flight deck at me and grin as they watch me stand involuntarily shaking in the cold. With the light passenger loads at the end of the season, aircraft are far from full. Couple these low take-off weights and the cold air jet engines love, they blast off the runway and climb towards the sky like rockets.

I'd much rather have the frosty cold days with blue skies and no wind than any rainy wet day with gales blowing. The bitter cold makes me slightly uncomfortable, but wind and rain make my job painful and messy. Try completing paperwork as the rain lashes down turning it into paper maché, and any dry bits remaining have a strong desire to go flying on their own across the ramp in the wind. I take pride in my appearance, but there's no way to look diginfied walking into a flight deck to talk to the crew with water dripping from your face or your hair pointing skyward, and handing them a piece of paper that once was a load sheet but now vaguely resembles a box of tissues that have been plucked from a puddle.

So as you step outside on your way to work in the cold these mornings, spare a thought for those of us who have to work it, and and I'll think of those even more unfortunate than me who are stuck in it all day or work somewhere colder than my airport. Still, I love my job...most of the time.