As easy as the emigration case is to make, I forced myself this morning to think about why people reside in London over the winter
The day has arrived. Rain, wind, cold – it’s time to reintroduce yourself to your overcoats.
For me, the act is a hammer-blow. Having cherished the Indian summer, I feel suddenly confronted with eight months of winter gloom.
Truth be told, we all enjoy the passing season most. Sunlight from 6.30am pumps serotonin through the body which scientists at the Environmental Illness Resource promise ‘wakes us up, brings emotional stability and allows us to see the sunny side of life’.
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What’s more, there’s so much more to do with that energy. From April to August, the British season offers everything from Ascot and Henley to Glyndebourne and the Proms.
Yet as easy as the emigration case is to make, I forced myself this morning to think about why people reside in London over the winter.
At first, it was tough. On the way into Spear’s Farringdon office, I was surrounded by sullen faces, unanimous in their belief that the seasonal shift will yield little more than negative temperatures and misery.
But my mind soon skirted to the commercial reasons. HNWs love London because of networks of contacts already established, security concerns in other countries and the weak pound.
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Yet, for me, that wasn’t enough to explain why London is the capital of capitals and home to the world elite. After all, when you’ve made it financially, your focus is on life’s pleasure dividends – preserving wealth rather than accumulating it.
And then it dawned on me. Winter in London is so good because the remarkable quality of conversation available combines with a season that forces us to make the most of it.
To explain: in the summer, your friendship circle expands at an unusual speed on the back of passing introductions at an array of outdoor – and therefore larger – events.
It’s when winter falls that those new bonds start, ironically, to bear fruit. Meeting indoors – to avoid the chill – means smaller and more intimate occasions and therefore cementing relationships with some of the finest and funniest minds that the world has to offer.
Now that’s a true treat. So bring on the cold I say…
