Winter
 

This is the period I hate most in NZ, the period between Queen's birthday and labour day, winter:thumbdown:

For me there's nothing in it to break it up, unlike winter back home. There's no Christmas, no Bonfire night, No Haloween - it's just a long, dark, cold, slog:thumbdown:

Oh well, heads down, wrap up and see you in spring:yield:

Re: Winter
 

this is the time when we have lots of house parties and get drunk

Re: Winter
 

you have the mid winter solstice, which my husband convinced the kids is Maori Christmas, so kids are convinced they get two a year now. Shame we are going to be in the UK for it.
Think a number of people celebrate it

Re: Winter
 

yeah, I usually don't complain NZ winter.

but this time, I feel its horrible. especially last a couple of days.

hate winter - without a boy friend.

now I must go and see a doc - long travel. but see the cr@p weather outside?.. :thumbdown:

Re: Winter
 

I totally agree, it sucks, im going home for 6 weeks next month, yay!! :)

Re: Winter
 

We usually have mid-winter Christmas in late June or July but we are having a break from it this year as we are going to Rarotonga & Aitutaki for our Silver Wedding Anniversary :cool:.

Winter has arrived here this morning but it's still quite warm at 19 degrees C. It was a gorgeous day here yesterday, so got quite a bit of gardening done.

I hate winter wherever I live though. I've always thought that humans should be allowed to hibernate through it too :nod:

Re: Winter
 

True, but as any good Wiccan will tell you these festivals are based on a northern hemisphere calendar. That's not to say there isn't a winter solstice here, it's just the sky is all wrong:blink:

To add to my list we also used to celebrate Nos Galan Gaeaf (the feast of the dead); Gŵyl Galan Gaeaf (winter solstice); Gŵyl y Canhwyllau, (the beginning of spring) and Gŵyl Ganol y Gwanwyn (the spring equinox)

Re: Winter
 

Queen's b-day to Labour weekend is about 4 months, right? Four months after NYE in Britain it's still only just May and there's no Christmas, Bonfire night or Halloween in that 4 months either- and that's on the back of crap weather since October. NZ winter is crap, but it's short. We have a solstice supper thing to break it up a bit, we get in tons of wood and up the rental arrangement with Fatso. We also go to Polynesian Spa once or twice in winter to help us get through, and those so inclined try and get to the slopes once or twice, albeit in crap-o gear with pockets full of sarnies, but it's still something we could never do in Britain.

Also, I spend a significant portion of winter daydreaming about Queensland (sans bogans, humidity, Gold Coast, creepy crawlies and critters, of course) :D

Re: Winter
 

totally agree with that - give me 4 months of crappy weather in the winter here over 7 months of grey, dreary, soggy miserableness in england. Had this conversation the other day with a friend who was complaining that when it rains here - it REALLY rains as opposed to the constant drizzle in the UK that you can do stuff in. I pointed out - who really does stuff in the constant drizzle? Its very unpleasant, goes on and on and on and is just horrible all the time. At least in NZ in between the downpours you get beautiful bright sunny days. Winter is a good time to hibernate and save some money!

Re: Winter
 

I'm still waiting for winter 2011 to end:D

Re: Winter
 

True enough, but once Feb had passed, lambs would be born, hedgerows full snowdrops followed by daffs - in fact I've had many a nice, as in warm, Easter and that's in March or April

Re: Winter
 

well me:thumbsup: I love a nice Welsh drizzle, nothing wrong with a rolling mist coming down off the hills.:o

Re: Winter
 

True enough, and I've gone to the Coromandel in August and my kids have paddled in the sea under clear blue skies. Similarly in Hawkes Bay we could still sit out in t-shirts at lunch time in the holiday between term 2 and 3 and I have photos of the kids in vests splashing in waves in August. That would NEVER happen mid winter in the UK unless by pure freakery.

Lambs will be in the fields from August here; I'm not saying winter isn't crap or that NZ is a better place to live, just that if you're pissed off with being far from family or missing Britain or your house is cold and damp, it's better to be honest about what you're missing or down about rather than start making things up like the winter here's as bad as UK. It's not, not on any scale, though if you live in a crap house here it'll feel very miserable and I have nothing but sympathy for that cos I've done time in crap rentals in winter and I don't think I'd wish that on anyone nicer than Hitler.

Re: Winter
 

Oh I agree- it's so nice and atmospheric to think about and remember fondly ... but only for a day or two. Sadly you get it for months.

Re: Winter
 

:rofl:

nice one