A cold coming we had of it. How sport lifted our spirits

COMPLIMENTS of the season from festive Heathrow where the annual snow crisis has arrived a little earlier this year.

It’s difficult to convey the joy of being stuck at an airport at Christmas. The happy smiling faces of all the little cherubs playing with luggage trolleys after 10 hours of sleep deprivation. The cheerful banter of UK Border Agency staff in Father Christmas hats offering us wassail cups and acapella versions of Good Christian Men Rejoice to keep our spirits up. The bright and shiny foil blankets to make us warm.

All we need is TS Eliot’s “silken girls bringing sherbet” to complete the Yuletide experience.