An Irishman's Diary

THE WEATHER of late has been a steep learning curve for many – and I’m not just talking about Dublin Airport Authority.

That said, a reader sent me mobile phone footage of an avalanche from the roof of the new Terminal 2 last weekend, and it’s quite something. I suspect the DAA may have had mixed emotions about the incident: on the one hand, relief that there was nobody underneath; and on the other, perhaps, the feeling of a lost opportunity involving Michael O’Leary.

Either way, the problem can hardly have been foreseen three weeks ago, when the building opened. Then, the architects were promising us such delights as “the spatial drama of Terminal 2’s toroid”. And not having had a chance to visit it yet, I still have no idea what that means.

But it is now clear that T2 offers drama inside and out. In the meantime, all those headlines about its “sweeping curves” look prophetic. If we get more snow like the past week’s, the curves may indeed have to be swept, and regularly.

In the imminent thaw, this could become a more general problem. I remember visiting Copenhagen some years ago as that city emerged from the worst winter in a decade. And walking the streets, every so often, you would hear a dull scraping sound overhead. Moments after which, a clump of snow or ice would crash onto the footpath beside you.

Like a reporter in a war zone, one quickly became adept at judging the size and location of the incoming missile in time to step off the footpath (and into one of the ubiquitous bicycle lanes, where you could be mown down by a cyclist instead). But I think the roofs of Copenhagen are more precipitous than ours. So perhaps our learning curve about the urban avalanche problem will be gentler too.

FOR THEmoment, the dangers are still mostly underfoot and people are coping as they can. I had lunch this week with a friend who, as usual, was wearing a sharp suit, which made me feel scruffy by comparison. Then I noticed he was also wearing runners, which were somewhat at odds with his overall look (and with the restaurant's dress code). So at least my ensemble had the virtue of consistency.

By contrast with my friend, however, there are some people for whom sensible footwear is always too high a price to pay. Even in the Arctic conditions of recent weekends, I saw young women heading out for the night in high-heels. Which I suppose offered the same level of pavement grip as ice-picks would; but then, you wouldn’t walk on ice picks.

In any case, had you been their parents, you might have worried less about them spraining an ankle than catching pneumonia, which is what the rest of their outfits threatened.

It’s well known that we Irish are a displaced Mediterranean people who have never reconciled ourselves to local weather conditions. Even so, some of these women had less clothes than those beer-bellied Newcastle supporters who watch games with their shirts off, in all weathers. And in fairness to those lads, they do at least have a lot of natural insulation.

Getting back to footwear – and I’m not sure whether this falls under the heading of “sensible” or not. But another thing I saw last weekend was a couple exercising their dog in the local park. And – yes – you guessed it – the dog was wearing shoes.

No doubt this is a common spectacle in New York and elsewhere. But it was the first time I had ever seen a fully-shod dog. And my inclination was to feel embarrassed on the poor animal’s behalf, as one does with those show poodles clipped to look like pieces of shrubbery.

The shoes didn’t even match the dog’s coat (which, mercifully, was his own). Not that he looked in any way discomfited. So maybe there is justification, in this weather, for keeping a pooch’s paws warm.

But you’d worry where this trend is going. I note that some of the websites selling these things speak not only of the shoes’ warmth, but also of their superior “traction”. How long will it be, I wonder, before we see greyhounds at Shelbourne Park, wearing the latest range of running shoes from Nike, at 200 quid a double pair?

WE AREsurely now, if ever, "In the Bleak Mid-Winter". So there can be no better time to hear the famous poem by Christina Rossetti (born 180 years ago last Sunday), set to music by Harold Darke. And, as luck would have it, you can hear it this very night at the National Concert Hall, when the Dublin Choral Foundation presents a programme of Yuletide music.

The “Great Christmas Concert”, as it’s modestly titled, features the Lassus Scholars, mezzo-soprano Imelda Drumm, and the Orlando Chamber Orchestra, among others. The music will also include Barber’s Adagio, Mozart’s Laudate Dominum, and much else: more details at www.nch.ie. Concert goers are advised to wear sensible shoes and, where possible, avoid avalanches.