Looking ahead to winter...

Today it was 26 degrees! One of the hottest days of the summer!

But I popped into a charity shop anyway and tried on a chunky beige cardigan... which didn't look too good, so I didn't buy it.

But the fact is, my thoughts have begun to turn to winter, and in particular, how to stay warm this winter... Because I am determined not to be cold this winter, whatever it takes.

Several things have informed the realisation that it is all about the clothes. One is Alex's school which runs something called Forest School, an outdoor education programme where once a week they play around in a kind of swamp, making things, even in the wettest coldest winter weather. One of the mottoes of Forest School is, "There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing." Hmm.

Another thing is, that I have been googling around the question, "How long does it take to adjust to a colder climate?" And all I can find is a raft of people's comments giving other people advice about adjusting, and it is ALL about the clothing.

From my experience last winter, this would be my advice to someone moving back to a cold winter after living in a hot place:

You need a good warm hat - we all know that heat goes out through the head.

You definitely need a good warm windproof coat - heat seeps out through all other clothing.

You need seriously good warm boots - heat goes out like anything through the soles of the feet.

You need leg warmers or longjohns because heat escapes like crazy through the ankles.

You need a woolly scarf, not a cotton one, because heat really does escape from the neck no matter what else you are wearing.

Oh, and gloves.

All these things are available in charity shops and are starting to appear there already- but wool does get moggy and pillated, so I plan to be choosy, and may splash out on some new things. In any case, this winter apparently I am just going to look like a heap of wool and blankets.

This mental preparation was partly triggered by a couple we recently met, who have returned from living abroad, and were cold even though it was a pretty warm sunny August day. So we talked about how long it actually takes the body to acclimatise to a cooler or hotter climate. They had read somewhere that it takes roughly three months for a new climate to feel "OK" as in, I can manage this, and it takes three years for a new climate to feel normal. Which means, I have a few more years to go...
(And we aren't even in Minnesota - this is temperate England!)

This was me last winter with Dan and a friend Pauline, who used to live and work in Tanzania. I was very cold that day... but still smiling I guess.