Winter’s coming. I can feel it. I swear this morning it was a little cooler. Just by the slightest smidgeon.

Well, it is autumn after all. That makes me feel good because I am sick of walking around with big sweaty splotches on my shirt.

I was talking to a friend in Sydney the other day and he said his method of dealing with the heat was to stay in his jocks and singlet until well into the afternoon. I know that’s too much information for you and it was too much for me too. The mental picture it conjured haunted me for the rest of the day.

Luckily, he didn’t go out of the house like that or he would have found himself confined to an air-conditioned rubber room. Which would at least give him some relief.

I hope that the tiny twinge of coolness I felt this morning could be the beginning of cooler weather.

I actually like summer but this summer has just been a bit too much. I work from home and my study is not air conditioned so every now and then I retreat upstairs for a blast of aircon.

One of the main reasons I look forward to winter is that I prefer winter fashion.

I have a cupboard full of winter wear just begging to be donned. My brace of turtlenecks is twitching with anticipation. My winter uniform is corduroy trousers or chinos or jeans topped with a variety of merino wool turtleneck sweaters.

I fell in love with turtle necks when I was a boy watching The Man From U.N.C.L.E., if any of you are old enough to remember that show. David McCallum played a secret agent by the name of Illya Kuryakin (alongside Robert Vaughan as Napoleon Solo) and McCallum absolutely rocked a black turtleneck.

If you watch French films, literary types are usually wearing them and being a poet, the Beatnik look of a black turtleneck suits me.

The problem is I can only wear them around six months of the year.

Come mid to late April I start and I continue right through until October if I can.

I have six of various colours – two black ones – and I rotate them.

It’s not easy finding good turtle necks so I have bought some online but Uniqlo usually has some. A sports jacket over them is a good look and I have a couple of tweedy numbers that I will trot out when it gets cool enough.

They don’t have patches on the elbows, more’s the pity, but maybe I could get some sewn on? If I did that, I’d have to start smoking a pipe again though which is not acceptable nowadays I know.

Suede loafers underpin my winter ensemble.

I probably have a month or more before I can kit up properly for winter.

Bring it on.