A robin has suddenly started appearing on my garden fence every evening. We live in an area where town merges into country but you still don’t see many of these pretty little birds and you forget what a delightful song they sing. They will, of course, soon be popping through the letter box, emblazoned across the front of bulk-bought Christmas cards which is a reminder that the Christian Festive season is just around the corner again.
The weather is never far from a conversation in the UK and we’ve had more to talk about than usual this summer. Economists tell us that more people than ever are taking holidays at home but, unless your first name is Donald and you have webbed feet, you will have had a miserable few months. If the scientists are correct, global warming is already affecting the British climate and floods will be commonplace in years ahead. Some are even claiming that the gulf stream has changed direction and, from now on, it’s going to get a lot colder in winter. So the burning question is – how can bookmakers make money from our misery?
Snowfall hopes raised following prediction that winter could be colder than average
Snowing on Christmas Day is an old favourite. When the frosts come and the white stuff starts to fall on Scottish mountains, there’s always a few punters who will be tempted to put the turkey money on. Edinburgh and Glasgow are usually among the favourites to get a Yuletide covering and are 4/1 again this year with William Hill. But Paddy Power are widening their scope and have gone worldwide. You can back Chicago at 5/6 with the Dublin firm to have a White Christmas while Berlin is 11/8 and New York 2/1. Paddy Power also have a market in which they are asking you to predict the maximum temperature on Christmas Day in the UK. It’s 9/4 that it reaches between 8C and 11C and 10/1 that the thermometer doesn’t reach 5C. I think I’d read the small print very carefully on that one – is that just the mainland or would the Channel Islands and Scilly Isles be taken into account? I’ll be watching very carefully through the pub window to see how it all works out.
