Winter Line

Today it rained in Perth after a long dry spell. It's very good to see it (and not be in it) and to feel the temperatures rise a little. Sometimes jokes are made about our tolerance of cold (or lack thereof) but I've heard some genuinely scary items lately - people not using their heaters because they're afraid they won't be able to pay the bill with the power costs going up - and elderly people, not even homeless, dying in the cold. As for what it must be like on the streets, my mind shies away from that one.

I'm technically on the poverty line or below it; that's been the case all my life and it doesn't much bother me that my income is fairly low, in the economic scheme of things. I've got enough blankets, I get to eat pretty much what I like and I can run my heater, though I'll no doubt yelp when I get my next power bill. Makes me wonder about the people who work out such stats as where "the poverty line" actually is. I even get to go on international holidays, which I do by not running a car and being careful the rest of the time! I don't think I'd be on this line anywhere but in the First World.

I've also got more books than a lot of people who are designated wealthy (g). To me that's wealth; the freedom to be able to buy and read any book I happen to want.