I’ve enjoyed your questions but the number of them has been declining. I take that as a signal I should give you a break:
1. Who said: “What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.” ?
2. Who wrote Cold Comfort Farm?
3. It’s hiver in French, inverno in Italian, invierno in Spanish and takura in Maori.
4. Where was New Zealand’s coldest temperature recorded? There’s a bonus point if you can say what it was.
5. What’s best for keeping a house warm in winter – electricity, gas or fire?
Homepaddock 
1. That would be John Steinbeck in “Travels with Charley”
2. Stella Gibbons
3. Winter
4. Ranfurly in Central Otago. NIWA discoverd this in 2011, a mere 108 years after the record was set. Apparently it was -25.6C. Before that it was considered to be Ophir at -21.6C
5. Personally I think the only way to go is electricity when it is running a heat pump. I’ve put one in this winter and it is wonderful. I fear that it wouldn’t work at Ranfurly type temperatures though.
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Well done Alwyn didn’t know one but sounds good to me.
2 Stella Gibbons
3 Cold or even bloody cold.
4 my answer is Ophir as Ranfurly is not as exotic. Anyway Ranfurly has Art Deco.
5 New house built to catch the Sun, good insulation, (interesting how the couple the other evening on the box had doubled the insulation with a batten outside the framing),double glazing, Merino Mink under garments and outer if required, A good Heatpump rated for outdoor likely low temperatures and a gas fire able to be lit manually. Never a fire log or open, we had a dwelling razed in 1990. (swmbo disagrees, she is willing to risk it).
BTW amazing how much heat we get from Solar radiation even when the Sun is on the Gold Coast as it seems to have been for much of winter so far.
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(1) John Steinbeck
(2) Stella Gibbons
(3) Winter
(4) Somewhere in Central Otago – around 15° C I’d guess
(5) Can’t beat an open log fire for cosyness but for rapid no fuss heating gas is the way to go
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1. Sounds very Shakespearean.. It is Steinbeck.
2. Pass.
3. Winter.
4. Pass.
5. To wide a question HP. will Pass.
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1 Jeremy Moon, founder of Icebreaker.. ( just a guess)
2 Stella Gibbons
3 winter
4 Ophir about -25° or -26 ° one of hose factoids you learn once and don’t forget and drag it out for quizzes like this!
5 Without insulation they are all inefficient, but without, probably gas… what about heat-pumps? Feathers?… works for me chooks..
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