The forecast is for a frosty start on Sunday (when the jog is to be held) and then a top of 18 degrees – which, in Parade’s opinion, is just about perfect.

That will be warm enough to get people outside, but not so warm that it will be uncomfortable for those who are about to embark on 7.5 kilometres of exercise around the streets of Bathurst.

The jog, which is a local institution, always attracts a good crowd – from walkers to very serious runners and everyone in between.

Parade hopes to see another healthy crowd for the event this year.

PARADE was appalled and fascinated in equal measures by a conversation on the radio this week about which of two Central Tablelands towns, Blayney or Oberon, is the coldest.

What fascinated Parade was the very specific evidence presented by some listeners to prove that one of the places was more freezing than the other.

What appalled Parade was that some of those who rang up seemed to be taking pride in the fact their town was actually worse than the other place.

And so which town is colder?

Parade remembered that former Doug Anthony All Star Tim Ferguson writes about his childhood in the Central Tablelands in his memoir Carry A Big Stick, so he dug out the book to see what the comedian had to say.

“Blayney is widely regarded as ‘Chill-Blayney’, the coldest place in Australia, though the residents will tell you, and I will attest, the nearby town of Oberon is colder,” Ferguson writes in the early chapters.

That’s not to say that Ferguson goes easy on Blayney’s weather.

“The face-slapping, tear-freezing Blayney wind can pierce any fabric, including brick walls,” he says a couple of lines later.

It’s not very often that Bathurst’s fearsome winter weather actually looks better in comparison, but this is one of those occasions.