After the two weeks of cold, wet and generally miserable weather we suffered through the question on everyone’s lips is, or ought to be: winter – what is it good for?
Some will reply, just like the famous rock song: absolutely nothing!
And who could argue with that right now.
But the truth is Mother’s Day lunches became an effort to stay dry going in and out of pubs, clubs and restaurants, adding to our negative frame of mind about the season that brings such awful weather.
And I know this will sound shocking to some people, but for those of us lucky enough to live in the Sydney basin, the weather generally leans towards cool rather than hot for most of the year.
Think about how the end of winter does not signal the end of crisp, cold morning and evenings over the next three months.
And some people with wood fires keep them going well into November some years.
And let’s face it, most years December is not that warm either, with real summer heat coming closer to the Australia Day weekend and in February, when it’s humid as hell.
But before you know it, early March the mornings are cooler, as are the evenings, which is why the footy starts then.
And here’s where the penny drops about winter’s redeeming qualities, at least five of them as far as we’re concerned.
So here goes our Top 5 good things about winter:
Number 1. Well, we mentioned the footy.
Number 2. When it gets freezing cold, you can bring out your winter woollies.
Number 3. If you go for walks or runs early in the morning, as we do, the cold air makes you feel alive, it really does.
Number 4. Wood fires. Yes, they should be outlawed, but there’s nothing like them. Warmth and ambience, you can’t get that from a reverse cycle air conditioner.
Number 5. Don’t let that wood fire ambience go to waste on a wet, cold miserable Sunday arvo: grab a good book, a nice glass of wine, and curl up on the lounge. How good!
