By Rupert Truscott-Hughes on October 11, 2010 in Other

Almost everyone around these parts seems to enjoy whingeing about winter. Even this year when the maximum daily temperature has hardly dropped below twenty degrees, people still seem to be forecasting the frosty few months ahead and complaining about it before it has arrived. But is winter in the Eastern Suburbs really that bad?

Personally, I’m a big fan of the frosty season, largely because it’s not really that frosty at all. In fact, I don’t remember ever seeing even the slightest frost on the sprawling expanse of cooch out my lounge room window.

Even though it’s not particularly cold, I like to embrace winter and enjoy it in the way that a wealthy New Yorker might. When you’ve got a big open wood fire surrounded by comfortable leather couches it’s hard not to get into the spirit. There’s nothing quite like the feeling of sliding on the lambs’ wool slippers, pouring yourself a neat scotch, sparking up a Cuban, listening to the sound of crackling embers and swimming in the heady smells of smouldering timber and torched tobacco leaves.

Trips down to the local shops, rugged up in layers of cashmere and shahtoosh, are rarely complete without the obligatory glass or two of mulled wine and a stomach full of hearty homemade soup or the roasts and casseroles that become customary in the cooler months.

Down on the beaches, the crowds thin, parking is no longer a problem and thanks to the purchase of a brand new Rip Curl H-Bomb (yep, a heated wetsuit thank you very much) the stand up paddleboard will be cutting a swathe through the Bondi breakers rather than gathering cobwebs in the garage next to the Porsche.

Speaking of the Porsche, its heated leather seats don’t get a lot of action for the most part of the year but they come into their own once June hits. A trip down to Thredbo or even further afield to Falls Creek (where the friendly guys from the Three Blue Ducks have set up shop to help subdue my homesickness) would be far less comfortable without them.

Of course, the snow itself is another of winter’s wonders. It may not be quite equivalent to slicing through three feet of powder beneath the Matterhorn in Zermatt but it’s a damned sight better than taking on the artificial downhill inside a shopping mall in Dubai.

Back to the beaches, one artificial attraction that I have developed an affection for is the ice rink down at Bondi. Sure, it’s a bit naff and it certainly doesn’t compare to the Rockerfeller Rink in New York, but good on the local council for trying something a bit different. When it comes to keeping the rink cold I can’t imagine it’s great on the carbon emissions but if I really cared about that I’d probably be driving a Prius instead of a Porsche.

So there you have it – a Sydney winter really can be wonderful. Obviously having plenty of money helps when it comes to enjoying it, but if you’ve got it, flaunt it I say. It certainly beat being cold and miserable!
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