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Richard: It's now the middle of December and so for this week's podcastsinenglish.com we're talking about the winter.
Jackie: I think, Richard, that sometimes there's a romantic idea about winter.
Richard: Yes
Jackie: The image of the blue skies, the snow on the trees, it looks very attractive, but it's not really the case, is it? Winter is difficult.
Richard: I don't like winter. To me, it's cold, it's grey, it's wet. It's not nice.
Jackie: Yes. And we don't have very much snow but often you wake up in the morning and there's a frost. Now the frost can look nice but that's cold.
Richard: Mmm. And if you have a pond in the garden, that's frozen.
Jackie: Mmm. A difficult time and of course it is the coldest time of the year.
Richard: Short days and less sun.
Jackie: Mmm. The important thing about winter though, Richard, is when you go outside to wrap up warm.
Richard: Yes. First thing I put on is a nice, thick jumper.
Jackie: Yes and... and always now I don't leave the house without a hat, a scarf and gloves. It's just what I wear.
Richard: I never used to wear a hat but now I do. I wear a... I can wear a flat cap or even a woolly... a woolly hat.
Jackie: A woolly hat, yes. I think it's important. So it's not really, it's not really a season for doing lots of outdoor things, is it?
Richard: However, when I was younger, very sporty, winter was always... we always used to play football or rugby at the weekend and a lot of people go to watch matches and play.
Jackie: Mmm. And going back to the romantic idea of winter people always think about the snow. There are lots of nice things to do if it does snow.
Richard: It's always fun isn't it? Making a snowman, or tobogganing down a hill or something like that, it is a lot of fun.
Jackie: And... and snowball fights.
Richard: Exactly, yes.
Jackie: But in reality there isn't really very much snow in the UK, so I think most people just stay inside, maybe go to the cinema more often, inside entertainment.
Richard: Yes, exactly. Or even go shopping.
Jackie: In... inside shopping malls.
Richard: True. Very true, yes.
Jackie: Yes. So a bit of a gloomy podcast, Richard. [both laugh] Is there anything positive about the wintertime?
Richard: The best thing about winter is either planning your summer holidays or even going away in the winter to somewhere warm.
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