Immediately there’s a noticeable difference in the colours of the blanket. Orange eliminated, pink put firmly in its place and yellow and light green dominating. There was a week when the temperature hardly changed between night and morning, 11 to 15 degrees and, the week after Christmas, the temperature dropped over twenty degrees in a couple of days. Orange has made one appearance but a cold spell with – would you believe it? – frost warnings for the highest “mountains” in HK has made the temperature dip into the sea foam shade of darker green.
I never thought I’d be saying this but after the brutal six months plus of heat and humidity, this cold is lovely. The aircon is no longer on night and morning, and bread rises nicely without it. I’m sleeping far better and not having to throw the duvet off in the middle of the night.
I’m still craving cooler climates and poring longingly over Instagram pictures of the Faroe Isles and Norway. I’ve even worn jumpers and a coat a few times. I never thought I’d be saying this, either, but December here is one of the nicest months.
I can’t remember when it last rained, though, and the grass near the Plaza is as parched as if it were July in the UK. It’s clear that I’m more suited to a temperate climate.
So my blanket is now three quarters done and absolutely VAST. I spend almost as much time untangling the different yarns as I do knitting it. I was worrying about having to dedicate a suitcase and several KGs of luggage allowance to it on my planned trip back to the UK but the Covid situation and banning of flights from there means that I’m now extremely unlikely to have to face the choice between taking the heavy blanket to knit at home and leaving it here and having to catch up with six or seven weeks of rows on my return. It truly is an ill wind.