It’s cold outside…
This question is on my mind because I’m shivering in my office under a blanket and a quilt, and I’m writing about a massive snowstorm, while listening to blizzard soundtrack (yes, you can find anything on YouTube!).
Here are 10 ways my characters survive whatever weather I place them in. Please let me know what you think in the comments box below!
- They’re used to living outdoors, and they can cope with temperatures that would kill an average 21st century office worker.
- ‘No bad weather, just bad clothing.’ They dress for the occasion with layers of materials known for their heat-conserving properties: silk underclothes, wool tunics, leather trousers, and sheepskins coats.
- They keep their core warm by wearing ‘haramaki’ type clothing.
Haramaki is japanese for ‘bellyband’, knitted tubes covering the torso from the navel to the sternum. When you preserve bodywarmth where the main organs are, the body is free to redistribute heat to the extremities. Try it, it makes you feel much warmer, (and fatter round the middle, unfortunately!) check this out here. - They wear extra warm clothes while riding their giant birds. Must be cold up there! (I haven’t tried it…)
- They are very active while they’re outside, farming, hunting, foraging.
- They retreat indoors when the sun goes down, and insulate their log cabins with dry moss on the outside and animal hides on the inside. They use furs as rugs and as bedding.
- They take hot baths. How? By heating stones in a fire before dropping them into a tub full of water. You can even bring water to the boil using this method!
- They protect their exposed skin with homemade lanolin cream, remember they have sheep!
- They live in tiny houses that are easier to heat, and share beds and body heat.
- They eat a rich diet of grains, meat and vegetables with oily fish and ewe’s cheese as sources of good fat.
What do you think? Do you fancy spending the winter like a Skyrider?
With love,
Florence