Winter Preparations

Well the long range weather forecast for the winter is that it will be similar to last year.  So we need to start preparing and have already commenced purchasing additional cold weather clothing to supplement those items we bought with us from Australia.

Whilst we are prepared to buy “High Street” brands, I see little point in purchasing an item solely based on the label.  Our current micro-fleece tops were purchased in Australia and whilst they are warm enough for an Australian winter I don’t think they will be good enough for the UK.  We checked all the local clothing and outdoor stores, eventually finding heavy weight micro-fleece jackets that had been discounted twice down to £50 each.  This still seemed a large sum so I decided to do some internet research on workwear clothing.  You know; the clothing a company purchases for it’s employees.  It’s normally unbranded and may even have a corporate logo.  Whilst it may not be “top of the range” the clothing is usually practical, hard wearing and very reasonably priced.

We found what we were looking for on the Cromwell Industrial Tools website under personal protective equipment.  There is a store in Plymouth which was most useful.  We are finding it is important to actually try the clothing for size as different manufacturers often produce apparel that is labelled the same size but can be physically different.

This photo shows the jackets we have purchased. 

They are lined with three pockets, shower proof and wind resistant.  Only two colours – black or navy.  Best of all was the price at £13.18 each.  At that price we can afford to purchase a number of replacements before reaching the cost of a designer fleece.  I also took the opportunity to purchase a boiler suit (overalls) for use when carrying out maintenance on Waiouru. They are made from poly-cotton and were also approximately £13.

Jan is now looking for thermal underwear!