Chill out

It happened quickly. Daylight saving had ended a week or two earlier. It was a Monday night. My area at work is enclosed with no natural light. As I drove out of the underground carpark at 6pm, it hit me. The darkness. Suddenly, when I finished work, it was pitch black.

And in that moment, I realised summer was over and the months ahead would be very different to the months behind. When I got out of the car outside our terrace house I could faintly smell burning wood. The fires were going inside some houses. I hadn’t smelt it in six months and it awakened the senses. 

The dog sat in the kitchen staring at me, looking for a walk. I looked at her as if to say: “But it's dark and cold.” She didn’t care, of course. A dog would go for a walk at midnight and zero degrees.

It’s amazing how quickly you change your habits. I found my pyjama pants in the bottom of a drawer. A bit musty but even that smell was OK. The next weekend we got out the Le Creuset casserole dish and meticulously prepared our favourite beef curry. 

We went for a drink at The Paddo Inn and didn’t even glance at the seats by the window on Oxford St. The ones people pursue like the Hunger Games during summer so they can people watch while sipping on an Aperol spritz. Instead, we dashed for a booth in the far corner for a pinot noir. And it was fantastic.

After three decades growing up and living in Brisbane, it took a fair while during our two decades in Paddington to work the Sydney winter out. Brisbane is cold in winter — make no mistake. But the bitterness lasts only about six weeks. In Sydney, at times, it seems like it will never end.

And the only way to deal with it is to embrace it. Get the heaters going — once the old terrace heats up, she stays warm. Enjoy the slow-cooked meals, the glasses of red. Rug up for the morning walks through Centennial Park with the dog. Find the cosy booths in the pubs. The seats under the heaters in cafés.

Disappear into a pair of seats at the Verona for a French film you never even read the preview for. Hell, we've even been to dark and depressing Swedish ones and come out saying, “that was great”. You wouldn’t catch us dead seeing one of those in summer. Top Gun anyone?

Try to avoid night football matches at the Stadium and SCG — pick the afternoon ones instead and get the kids home for the chicken soup you made earlier before they start complaining about the cold. And try to convince one of them to walk the dog before you get home in the dark. 

And that, I can tell you, is an impossible task ...