I woke up the other morning – and saw a few leaves falling from the tree in my back garden. It was also a tad chilly. Not cold – just chilly. A harbinger of things to come.
As George R R Martin wrote : Winter is Coming.
I was born and raised in a hot country. I live in a much colder one. I was totally fascinated the first time it snowed. I was totally p….ed off the first time snow interfered with my plans.
So here it is – an Aussie’s love/hate relationship with the English winter.
Five things I love about winter:
Snow
Seeing snow for the first time as an adult was amazing. I went down to Salisbury plain and visited Stonehenge. There was no one there. The stones looked amazing rising up out of the pristine whiteness, that was marred only by the tracks of a fox and a rabbit.
I still have never built a snowman – but I have had snowball fights.
Central heating
When I first came to the UK, central heating was a strange and wondrous thing to me. I’d never seen it before. We didn’t have much need for it I Australia. I love lying in bed and hearing the central heating ticking before I get up in the morning – knowing the house is warming up with every second that passes.
And I love coming inside after being out in the cold weather, and feeling the lovely warmth fold around me.
Knitting and bulky jumpers
I love to knit. Yes – you can knit in summer and I do, but I have to stick with thin cotton yarns. It’s too hot to be working heavy yarn. In winter, I get to play with the lovely thick wool – which is not only fun to knit, it also grows very quickly so it doesn’t take long to see some result from my hard work.
I love wearing big bulky jumpers too – they are so snuggly!
Stodgy food
Toad in the Hole! I had never eaten toad until I came to the UK. Never even heard of it. I love it. English sausages are SO GOOD! So much better than Aussie sausages.
I’d heard of Haggis but never eaten that either. Both are wonderful on cold winter night – perhaps with a glass of warm mulled wine (another delight I discovered in England).
Curling up with a book because it’s too cold to go outside.
I don’t have to explain that to you, do I? You’re reading an author’s blog. You know that a good book is the best way to spend a cold rainy afternoon.
To counter that – here are five things I hate about winter:
Snow
It’s cold and it’s wet. It’s also very inconvenient. I don’t like driving in the snow. I have little experience of it, and am not sure whether or not I’m a danger to myself and other road users.
Central heating
Being a bit of a hot-house flower (as it were) I tend to keep the central heating set very high. It’s expensive. And it make the air very dry. I hate it even more when it fails.
But most of all, I hate that I have wet clothes draped around near the heaters to dry. I love my husband, but his socks are not a decorative feature.
Knitting and bulky jumpers
Bulky jumpers make me look like the Michelin man!
Stodgey food
It’s fattening – (see Michelin man comment above)
Curling up with a book because it’s too cold to go outside.
Much as I love reading, the really short days, with little sunshine do get me down. In Australia, in winter, the days are longer and the sun still shines. I have been known to get a bit of cabin fever in the long dull evenings.
But sometimes – I do enjoy a walk in the cold -just as long as there is warmth waiting when I get home.
It’s like so many other things – if you look for the bad things – you’ll find them. But if you look for the good things…..
