Incidentally, I know one Norwegian who would throw something at anyone who says that. She is a big tall strapping person - and hates snow with a vengeance. Me, I can easily live with cold as such; I was brought up in the north, with many mountain holidays (I much prefer the mountains to the seaside), and statistics say, and my memories confirm, that winter is colder in Milan than in London. Plus, I did my military service in L'Aquila, in the mountains of central Italy, and let me tell you that winter up there is the real thing. No, my problem is purely financial. Energy prices seem to have doubled since last winter, or else I have forgotten how to run things to save. Either way, I don't like it.