I WAS grocery shopping at the Hyperdome in Tuggeranong and as I emerged from the warmth of the shops, the cold southerly blew straight into my face… and I loved it! 

It was the afternoon of April 18 and the first time this year I had worn a big jacket. The southerly change had blown through the night before and ended our long, long summer. The first snow of 2013 began falling that morning in the high country and you could feel it here.

For me, “winter” had started and, as I said, I love the winter in this town.

The theory goes that we all love the summer and wish we lived on the Gold Coast and could wear shorts and T-shirts and have suntans… but not for me.

Crazy, I know, but that fresh southerly on my face made me feel alive like no other moment in the last six months.

And I’m looking forward to the next five months for so many reasons – like riding the road bike on those mornings when the lake’s like a sheet of glass and the mist hangs over the water; and breaking out fave winter coats and scarfs and ratty old jumpers.

This winter, I want to sit in my lounge under a big blanket watching football and drinking a Coopers Ale or a glass of red, or stroll around the Old Bus Depot Markets sampling the winter fare.

I love the wood fires and gloves, winter stews, slow-cooked soups and casseroles; I love the way the jet streams hang in the sky over the Brindabellas at dusk and the ice over pretty much everything. To me, winter is about chopping wood, about warming hands around a steaming coffee cup and marvelling at how white the frost can be on those sub-zero mornings.

And those big blue Canberra winter skies! Aren’t they the best ?

The beauty of our winter is that the sun comes out most days and the wind tends to stay away. Visitors from Sydney and Brisbane are always surprised to learn that Canberra is the sunniest capital city in Australia.

Even if you’re a cold frog, don’t complain endlessly about the temperature – embrace it, meet it head on and smile because it may not be quite as bad as you think.

Mark Parton is the breakfast announcer on 2CC