Siberia would be safer.

Spook went to Queenstown today (after poo duty) to pick up the snowboard he bought on Kiwi e-bay equivalent, Trade Me. He thinks this might be up there as one of the most picturesque Industrial shopping schemes in the world, stepping out of The Warehouse, to a view of The Remarkables.

It was an English girl who sold him the board. After almost a year here, she and her partner are selling all their things and leaving. There is no work this season and life is too expensive in Queenstown (it's still cheaper than Wanaka!). She was sitting in the coldest flat Spook has been in. Fully dressed in padded jacket and wooly hat and big slippers, she was heading north for warmer climates. I borrowed the best 'easy reading, middle of the road' magazine from the library I have found, called North and South. There is an article in it this month about Kiwi houses. It says that a New Zealander has a greater chance of dying from the cold than someone in Siberia! It talks about studies finding that some people have bedrooms as cold as 3 degrees - as cold as sleeping in a fridge. I am taking the thermostat to bed as the living room has been 3 degrees in the morning and that room is heated with the sun during the day and with the stove all evening, whereas the bedroom has open windows 24/7 and NEVER any sun or heat. Finn has said he feels cold at night, so is sleeping with his blanket on no.1. This is really no different than student life 25 years ago - except that we didn't have firewood. (or electirc blankets.) I remember keeping the kitchen warm with the gas hob. As soon as I saw the meter racing round, I turned off the electric heater. They say Kiwis dont set the same priorities heating-wise as Europeans, as the houses are so badly insulated that it's not worth spending much on heating them. My neighbour has built a brand new house and is burning wood all day and night. He only installed a wood burner as a heating system, has no door between upstairs and downstairs, and has a plasma TV in the bathroom, a huge one in the living room, and a very fancy sound system. Different priorities indeed! My friends Maggie and Mike have solar powered underfloor heating and the roastiest toastiest house in NZ. They dont' have a fancy sound system though, but do have quite a lot of books.

grateful for:

a few life experiences to draw from,

a few relationships in NZ to draw from,

and for the chance to enhance the childrens life experience outwith a centrally heated system.