In-car ski wear

 

Now I may not have professor levels of intelligence, but I'm pretty certain about two things. Firstly, the south west of England isn't listed among the world's greatest ski resorts. Secondly, most modern cars have a heater of some kind. Indeed, some modern cars have sophisticated climate control units and heated seats. OK, so the heaters in my Land Rover are next-to-useless and the heater in my AX GT is broken, but you take my point.

So based on my two assumptions, why have I seen so many people driving in full ski-wear this year? OK, so we have experienced sub-zero temperatures and the occasional dumping of snow, but nothing that a little fiddle with the heater knob couldn't handle. But no, I recently spotted a lady driving a BMW X5 and she just happened to be wearing a ski jacket, snowflake earflap hat and ski goggles. I'm not kidding - I half expected her to be driving in moon boots too. A quick search of the BMW website reveals that the X5 does come with climate control and heated seats, so I can only assume that the lady in question just didn't have time to change clothes in between tackling the slopes of Kitzbuhel and picking up her children from school in Tavistock.

A day later I spotted a similarly adorned chap in a Hyundai Accent. He looked every bit the European gentleman of leisure as he cruised the outskirts of Plymouth with his Oakley Flak Jacket shades, knitted bobble hat, scarf and waterproof jacket. I can only assume that he was off for a little aprés ski action in the Duke of Wellington.

Perhaps this is a localised issue affecting my little corner of Dartmoor, but I suspect not. Take a little advice from me. When in your car, you're not skiing, you're not tobogganing and you're not snowboarding. You're unlikely to be diverted via the Cresta Run or forced to enter the Hahnenkamm race. So do yourself a favour, remove the ski wear and turn up the heater. Better for you and better for everyone who is forced to look at you. Cheers.