Picket line

It's cold here. We knew it would be cold. But not quite how cold. When we're here we generally live outdoors all the time - lunch and dinner on the terrace, and general lounging when the kids are in bed is also usually on the terrace.

We could see from last night's brief foray outside with a warming malt in hand, that urgent steps were needed. We did consider a patio heater, but put that aside on eco grounds (the fact that the heater would cost Euros 185 was another small factor...) Instead, we bought this rather fabulous incinerator. Stood on a concrete block, with rocks inside to stop it toppling over, we filled it with some of the wood lying around the garden and kept warm as toast outside.

It also gave endless opportunity for 1980's style standing around the brazier on the picket line.

We bought this and an oil-filled radiator (not for the terrace) in the DIY store. The man in front of us had four oil-filled radiators in his trolley. It is unseasonally cool down here. The frost this morning was so hard it didn't melt until early afternoon. Brrrr. Central heating is a wonderful, wonderful thing. A handful of oil-filled radiators.... not so great.