Good winter weather = Good winter health

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I believe very strongly that good weather plays a major role in achieving good health, and as the winter roars on here in Italy, and the nights get shorter and the days get longer I feel healthier and healthier.

The pandemic is still a concern for me but as I enjoy the nice climate accompanied by high quality food, somehow it forces the pandemic far back into the background of my mind and thrusts the many opportunities of outdoor life (such as cycling, outdoor gyms, photography, looking out to sea) into sharp focus.

Like this, the pandemic then becomes one of the many things to be aware of, whilst I fit in preventative measures against it, around my outdoor life and exercise, as opposed to seeing the pandemic as an out of control evil which imprisons me in my house.

Also, I feel secure in the fact that there is health care available if I need it and most importantly I can afford medicines. I can afford public transport and there are plenty of decent train networks so I can travel to another place within the region 3 days a week. Above all, I can cycle on decent and secure cycle paths, I can afford food of a high enough quality to write about, and in short, I feel cared for in Italy.

These are basic rights that I've never managed to achieve in the UK despite having a UK passport, for one reason or another. Here, the winter weather (apart from October when it rains torrentially almost everyday) is the icing on the cake that is well and truly cared for.

It's not always necessary to go out in the sun to enjoy it. In the 4 days if the week when I'm working or studying in a room with a big window it's wonderful to have the sun stream through into the bedroom. It promotes energy. At 8am I jump out of bed on a sunny day and I'm ready to start work immediately, and already I'm invigorated even before having my morning coffee.

Then especially in Liguria I can enjoy the beauty of the Italian Riviera without crowds of people. In summer, the coasts and beaches are a necessity to escape from the city heat, but in winter it's possible to enjoy the sun, just by wrapping up warm. A person just needs to find a non-rainy, non-windy, sunny day to go to the sea.

There are many days which fall between November and April in Italy, which are similar days weather-wise to a sunny day in May, June, July or August, in the UK.

We just get those days earlier here and we can look forward to the sunny days repeating themselves in a hotter, more aggressive season : the Italian Summer where 40 degree heatwaves which stop you leaving the house, take central stage of daily routines and unfortunately are becoming more and more common..

That's definitely the time to hide in Scandinavia, where the never-ending daylight in summer can turn ordinary people into crazy folk-story tellers who laugh from sunrise to almost non-existent sunset.

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