Snow! We had a huge dump on Thursday night, so Friday was Snowday! Up in the Blue Mountains that means everything grinds to a halt and we all go a bit crazy. Me? When I woke up at 7:00am I had no power and no heat, but luckily a gas cooktop. This meant I could at least make a cup of tea. So I went back to bed and tried to stay warm. Swathed in woollen shawls and scarves with sweaters and track suit pants, ski socks and gloves, I had the company of Tana French’s latest The Secret Place.

When the power came back on at 10:30am that first hot shower was absolute bliss. The thermostat on my heater said it was only 3C inside. Brr. So cold I couldn’t hold a pen to write. Even now, the next day, there’s still a lot of snow around and the highway is closed again. But it’s a glorious winter day here, the sun is out, glittering on the snow and my heater works. All is good.