Thank heavens Bobby has managed to get the heater in the girls' room working. It had got so cold in there that if one sat at the computer one's breath condensed on the monitor, and one's hands rapidly got too numb to type. Thing is, he doesn't know what he did to spur the heater into action, which makes me wonder if we'll ever be able to replicate his feat. Certainly he hasn't been able to work the same magic up in our icy attic room. I couldn't find any instructions for the heater online; in fact, even the manufacturer's website makes no reference to this model (a Dimplex XT18, if anyone's interested). I suspect that the dearth of information may be related to the age of the heaters; they certainly look like they've been around a while.

I am quite enjoying the cold weather, though. For the moment, anyway. When we lived in Durban, sometimes I used to get home tired and want to change into snuggly clothes, because they're so soothing and cosy. But it was almost never cold enough to be really comfortable in them. Here, however, there is a lot of scope for furry slippers and hot water bottles and big soft sweaters. Or, as they call them here, jumpers.

It is weird walking home from work at sunset, though. And, in a couple of weeks, the days will be so short that it'll actually be completely dark before I finish work. Last year we wondered why Sophie's school ends its hour-long after-school activities mid-November; now we realise it's because they don't want the children to have to walk home in the dark. Payback for the beautiful long summer evenings, I suppose...