A good book, a log fire, jazz and mulled wine

Winter has arrived. After a mild autumn, some of us will be scrambling to cope with the cold. We all have different ways of doing this.

I like the good book, log fire, quiet jazz and mulled wine approach. The good book and jazz are easy, but it’s a pity I don’t have a log fire: the heat pump doesn’t provide quite the same ambience.

The mulled wine will be made from a recipe in a book I discovered recently: Hot Toddies: mulled wine, buttered rum, spiced cider and other soul-warming drinks. Mmmmmm!

One of my friends has just bought 15 pumpkins to store in her garage to help her with her winter survival necessity: pumpkin soup. Looking for soup ideas? Think library.

Another friend has just whisked out her knitting needles to knit a stripe hoodie for … wait for it … her dog! If you are more worried about your dog’s wellbeing than yours, try Knits for dogs and cats.

Then there’s the friend whom I really can’t identify with, who is getting excited about his way of keeping his body warm: running in the SBS Marathon on 6 June.

What’s your winter-warming plan?

Remembering Great Uncle Tom

For a long time, Anzac Day just meant to me another public holiday and yummy Anzac biscuits for morning tea, until our family discovered a personal connection. Delving into our family history, we discovered that my grandmother’s favourite brother, my Great-Uncle Tom, had fought and died at Gallipoli on Anzac Day, which was poignant for me and fascinating for my sons!

We checked out some of the military history books in the library, in particular Bloody Gallipoli: the New Zealander’s Story and Gallipoli : the New Zealand Story, and amazingly discovered a couple of references to Great-Uncle Tom in the descriptions of what happened at Gallipoli. The description of his death was particularly moving.

Corporal Gillanders, modest and brave, was shot through the head whilst passing an order.

We also found more information about him on the Cenotaph database. Now on Anzac Day we always set up a photo of Great-Uncle Tom, with a poppy next to it. We will remember him.

Many New Zealanders have a relative who fought, and possibly died at Gallipoli or in other World War One battles. Christchurch City Libraries’ New Zealand At War and Anzac Day resources have an amazing amount of information for people interested in the wars that New Zealand has been involved in and researching the personal stories of soldiers.

Has anyone else researched their relatives who fought at Gallipoli? How do you mark Anzac Day? Is it more than just Anzac biscuits for you?