Winter in Perth

Well, it's that time of year again — winter is finally back with a vengeance. I hate the cold with a passion and just want to curl up, scupper away, and hibernate. Of course, the winter in Perth is a little different to that in the UK, but it still chills me to the bone.

Yesterday was cold, wet, and blustery. The wind in Perth can be quite unpleasant at times. As we drove to Coles to do our weekly shop, there were felled trees in the road and debris from the stormy weather everywhere you looked. This isn't unusual at this time of year, and even though the temperatures were still up in the low twenties, it somehow felt colder. On the plus side, I discovered that Coles is now stocking Marks and Spencer food. This made me one happy bunny, and relegated my thoughts of winter to the back seat for a while.

This will be my fourth winter in Australia, and it never gets any easier. As I get older, I find the warmer temperatures far more agreeable. This is in stark contrast to my younger years when I preferred colder climes. I remember as a student, staggering back from this nightclub or that, in the depths of a British winter and coping remarkably well. Generally, wearing a thin crop top, T-shirt, or occasionally nothing on my top half at all, I took the freezing temperatures in my stride. Here down under, anything below 25, and I'm sporting a jacket, hat and gloves — how times change. 

Truthfully, there isn't much I can do about the change in temperature at this time of year, but I do take measures to help me cope a little bit better.

Winter in Perth - not my favourite time of year.

Layers - lots and lots of layers!

This is where I sound like my late Mother, God bless her. The secret to survival is layers, and lots of them. When I was a youngster, Mum always made me wear a vest, or rather a singlet as they call them in Australia, under my shirts. Come rain or shine, I always had a vest on. When I left home for university, that was one of the first things I ditched. As a dishevelled uni student, it was an effort to get up every morning, after a night on the lash, let alone make sure I had a clean vest to wear. So for many years I never even thought about putting one on again — not until I came to Australia, of course.

Vests are great in the summer and winter. I never believed it myself until I googled 'how to stay cool in summer' — but a cotton vest actually does make one feel cooler on a hot December day. Equally, in the winter, they make you feel warm and toastie. So this good old-fashioned undergarment is now a wardrobe staple and part of my morning routine as I dress for work.

These days, I don't have to be suited and booted at work. A T-shirt, pullover and a hoodie, followed by a gilet, and I am good to go for the day. Together with my fleece trackies and Hoka trainers, I am ready for another day in the office — or rather, the shop, where I work.

My biggest essential is a bumper pack of hand warmers, purchased for $8.99 from Chemist Warehouse, a place I have become more familiar with the older I have gotten. You place these small bags in your jacket pocket, and on particularly cold days they banish cold hands for up to 12 hours — they are a lifesaver. They do, however, dry your hands out, so a tube of hand cream is necessary to stop your hands from cracking, as mine often do.

Hand Warmers!

Electric Fires/Blankets

We have two electric fires that we rely on during the winter. There is no central heating in our house, since no homes are built with it. We could, of course, get it installed using natural gas, but the cost would be astronomical. The fires do the job well enough, and when it's really cold, especially first thing in the morning when I get up, the oven goes on.

This is also the time of year I rely on an electric blanket. This is crucial and is an essential item during the harsh winters in Perth. I normally only put it on before bed and don't leave it on overnight. Only the other day, there was a story on the news highlighting the dangers of leaving electric blankets on while sleeping, after a house fire destroyed a property not too far from where we live.

Once again, this is rather like stepping back in time. Today, while writing this blog, I am surgically attached to a hot water bottle — another winter staple — but, like today, I was fortunate to have an electric blanket as a youngster, when living at home with my parents. Back then, living in a house built in the 1940s, we had no central heating and relied solely on a coal fire in the lounge to warm the whole house. Living in Australia conjures up many old memories of equally difficult winters in the UK — albeit far colder than here.

Changing Habits

When we moved to Gran Alacant in Spain in 2018, during the depths of winter in Alicante, we were shocked at how cold it was. Our house on the top of 'Heart Attack Hill' overlooking Carabassi and Alicante was idyllic. But it was also unlike anywhere we had lived before. Like Australia, there was no heating or double glazing, and due to our proximity to the sea, unlike here in Australia, there was mould growing up the walls. Then, like now, we had to change our habits. Gran Alacant was rather like a stepping stone towards our new life in Western Australia.

From frugal living to frequenting warm bars in Sierra Mar, we forged a new life on the Mediterranean. Navigating the same difficulties every ex-pat endures, we began a new life in the sun, away from the pressures of life in the UK. Australia reminds me of Spain in so many ways — at least in part. Many of the problems I faced there, I struggle with here, but I have learnt to deal with the worst aspects of my new life in a patient, measured and often innovative way.

New lives, like new experiences, teach you much about your character, and without the life I led in Spain, moving to WA would have been all the harder. Indeed, I don't enjoy this time of year, but then I never did in Spain — in fact, I don't enjoy the winter wherever I am. For that reason alone, I just have to get on with it and adjust my way of thinking. I am frequently referred to as a winging POM, as Aussies love to call us pasty Brits, but that is part of who I am and is not a harsh reflection on the country I now call home. This place has given me more over the last four years than anywhere I have ever lived before. For that reason, I remain optimistic for the future but forever mindful of the past!

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