Judging by the current weather in Scotland, summer has definitely gone and we have seemingly skipped straight to winter, with autumn not even getting a look in. The winds are howling, the rain is battering and the mercury is barely registering above ten degrees. However, this is nothing unusual for a country which has in the past seen snow in the summer and had people skiing in the mountains in late May. Scotland's weather is frankly baffling to locals, tourists and weather forecasters alike, with no one really knowing what might be coming next. Who knows after this cold spell, maybe it will be 20 degrees and we can get our t-shirts out again? Doubtful. And very wishful thinking. You would think we would have got used to this by now. Rubbish summer, wet and windy autumn and either freezing or wet and windy winter. The general pattern is for it to remain cold for 12 months of the year and wet for 90% of them. In short, our weather is really quite bad. Yesterday saw 80mph winds and a month's worth of rain in 24 hours. Trees fell, buildings shook and bridges are still closed to high vehicles. With the ever shortening of the days as darkness slowly creeps further and further into the day - it was getting fairly dark after 6pm last night - it makes you wonder how we manage to stay cheerful in this country at all. There is nothing more depressing than seeing darkness as you get up in the morning, and then again when you get home at night. However, there are perks. This is the time of year when there is nothing better than snuggling up indoors and watching a bit of television, which is admittedly usually a little better at this time of year as there are plenty of dramas to get your teeth into. You can sit by the fire, or imagine there's a fire, crank the heating up and try not to think about the bills and wear those warm, comfy, thick jumpers you've been waiting all year to get out of the cupboard. Still cold? Not to worry, the tartan rug is completely and totally in vogue this season. They are so a la mode that Topshop are even selling them in their JW Anderson collection. The Scotland Kilt Company has a fabulous range of wool tartan rugs in various different tartans to suit every colour scheme or clan and are perfect for keeping cosy when the temperature starts to dip. Not only that, but when the weather heats up, they are the best companion for a picnic. What's not to love?