Melbourne - Philip Island

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Melbourne MNs - is this a day trip? My DCs are desperate to go but we are staying in the city.

It's the shite heating systems.

At work today. No heating. An Aussie said it wasn't as important because Melbourne was a temperate zone. Pointed out that London was, too. There I could dress as a professional every day. I'd never had to wear a coat, hat and gloves to do my job in the UK, but in Melbourne I do.

There are no lower temperature limits to protect workers, unlike the 1926 Act in the UK.

Very pissed off and just warming up.:o

OMG - I am so depressed now. I can't believe I have to pack all the winter woolies :(((( Moreover that I am plannign to move across the world to get the same temperatures you get here.

When you are house-hunting, don't be seduced by the lovely old houses unless you are hardy. My parents have one and it's basically a five-bedroom meat freezer for three months of the year.

On the plus side, winter is usually sunny and dry (by UK standards) and a lot shorter. The mild and hot weather lasts long enough for me to forget every single year where I have packed away the winter clothes, and the first cold snap (this week, as it happens) sends me scuttling off to Target to buy a new fleece.

I saw there was hail in Melbourne last night - argh!

It wasn't MASSIVE hail though that dents your car and breaks the windows. It was just tiny hail.

It is indeed the inside cold that is the problem. I was telling somebody yesterday Echt about the 1926 act as her heating had broken down at work.

I don't mind at all being cold outside. But it is 11 degrees in our house in the morning when I wake up. People are always saying 'you shouldn't be cold' but I am cold inside.

savoy - am trying to get my packing ready. How cold would you say it was in the day. Do I have to bring proper winter coats for kids or will fleeces and a hat do it?

It has been on the chilly side this week. At my school I would say 80% of the children don't wear coats, they wear like you say fleeces or a couple of jumpers. Some have got thin raincoats that they have over the top. Kagooles would probably be useful. They don't seem to have those here. When it rains it RAINS. You could probably get away with fleeces and hats. You can always get them some Ugg boots when you get here!

My two have got boden fleece lined anoraks and they wear them pretty much every day. When I came I also had thicker winter coats than these and they never wore those at all.

Some of the children wear shorts all year round, but that's the same for home as well.

Thanks Savoy. Is it glove weather?

No, not for English people.

Feeling better now the boiler's fixed at work. No longer Ms Grumpypants, in fact the students were nodding off in the unaccustomed warmth, or was it my teaching? :o

One very good thing in Oz is the very reasonably-priced merino underwear at Target, and it looks pretty, too.

Had to laugh at ninedragon's parents' meat freezer house. We've just bought a house here, and one of the first things I looked for was the heating. Amazingly it has ducted heating upstairs as well as down.

Our first purchase will be proper insulating blinds and curtains. Out with the dentist's surgery vertical blinds (why DO so many houses have these ugly and ineffective furnishings?).

ooh am v excited, only 7 days to go before we set off for Australia . Please let it stay warm.

It was 18 yesterday. Jeans and t-shirt weather.