Brigid Delaney, a journalist and author, shares her harrowing and humorous experiences facing the brutal Canberra winter, from childhood electrocution by an electric blanket to the elaborate winter rituals of locals.
A Shocking Start
Delaney recalls one of her earliest memories: plugging in an old electric blanket for her grandmother as a child, only to be violently thrown across the room when it short-circuited. The sensation of being electrocuted was strange and horrible, leaving her shocked and bewildered, staring at soot on her hands and her ashen grandmother.
Decades later, she finds it strange that Australians in cold, poorly designed houses still rely on rubber bags filled with boiling water and electric blankets for night-time heating, despite technological breakthroughs. The combination of both seems wild to her, given the risks of scalding, electrocution, or fire.
Surviving Canberra's Cold
When Delaney started working at Parliament House in 2022, a veteran journalist gave her advice: 'Flannel. You need flannel.' The cold in Canberra, she was told, is not like other cities—it has teeth, making you feel alive, with brittle cold that could make toes, fingers, and ears fall off if exposed.
Everyone she met had developed elaborate winter rituals involving layering, thermal underwear, gloves, possum-fur socks and hats, specialty curtains that absorb cold, and ducted heating. In her two-star energy-rated apartment, flannel alone was not enough, so she relented and bought an electric blanket, having someone else plug it in to avoid another shock.
The Electric Blanket Experience
The electric blanket was heaven at first, leading to earlier bedtimes. Sliding into the level-three heat lodge felt like being placed in a searing hot sandwich press. However, the inevitable would happen: waking at 1am like a piece of lasagne burnt on one side and frozen on the other, unable to turn the blanket off because the cord was too far away, lying there in a malevolent, dangerous electric sleep. She would wake up groggy and unrefreshed.
Now, the electric blanket remains in its box. Delaney has discovered that the journalist's advice was correct: you can't go wrong with flannel.
Brigid Delaney is the author of five books, including The Seeker and the Sage, and can be found on Substack at the Chaos Era.
