Bless buskers. And spruikers, and the Diamond Company sandwich-board guys. They’re all islands of individuality standing motionless in the late-afternoon blur of people in the CBD. They’re brave: standing still against a tide of officeworkers rushing around them, like a post in a river. Braver for doing it in this late-autumn chill.

The roasted chestnut vendors, though, have it made. They get to delight passersby with the smell of roasting chestnut flesh, (and warm themselves over the grill). Roast chestnut stands are now a familiar cold-weather fixture - the equivalent of Mr Whippy vans on the other side of the year. A brown paper bag of chestnuts just of the grill is like having a little bag of mini-roast potatoes. They’re starchy – twice as starchy as a potato. Chestnuts have two skins: be sure to remove the obvious dark outer shell as well as the pithy white bit. They’re good for cooking too, used in sops and sauces. There are worse ways to spend $4.50 than buying a bag of chestnuts on a cold, busy Melbourne street.