is it too early.....

[Slarti]

Ice on the inside of the bedroom window was common

Certainly was.

Indeed. Wasn't that the norm for everyone until at least 1980s-affluence?

I don't think so.

Most of my relatives lived in council houses and all had reasonably warm bathrooms by at least the 60s, even if not directly heated.
Though some of my grandparent's generation had outside loos and no bathroom at all.

Slarti

[scotia]

I can't resist joining in and telling the youngsters here how terrible it was when we were youngsters - ice inside windows and months of snow and ice. However I must confess that, being from a coal mining family, we had cheap coal. We had no central heating, but we had fireplaces in all of the rooms, so dad used to set a coal fire alight in our bedroom on cold winter nights.
An interesting comment from Max Born (in 1953 from Edinburgh University) on one of his letters to Albert Einstein, where he comments on the lack of central heating in Scotland:- "which does not exist here, because the Scots are such hardy fellows that they do not worry about chilblains and arthritis" (from the Born - Einstein Letters - which can be downloaded from a number of sources).

[kiloran]

I can't resist joining in and telling the youngsters here how terrible it was when we were youngsters - ice inside windows and months of snow and ice. However I must confess that, being from a coal mining family, we had cheap coal. We had no central heating, but we had fireplaces in all of the rooms, so dad used to set a coal fire alight in our bedroom on cold winter nights.
An interesting comment from Max Born (in 1953 from Edinburgh University) on one of his letters to Albert Einstein, where he comments on the lack of central heating in Scotland:- "which does not exist here, because the Scots are such hardy fellows that they do not worry about chilblains and arthritis" (from the Born - Einstein Letters - which can be downloaded from a number of sources).

Fireplaces in all the rooms? Sheer luxury. All we had was a single coal fire in the living room. A bit parky in the rest of the house (probably because we couldn't afford glass for the windows. At least that stopped ice forming on the windows )

--kiloran

[Rhyd6]

I too remember the icy cold bathrooms, it was my father's job to light the oil stove in the bathroom in the winter so by the time it was my turn the temperature had crept up to about freezing. Our bathroom was a cavernous affair with high ceilings and one of the first things I did when the house became mine was to have the ceiling lowered, extractor fan , heated towel rail and wall heater fitted. When we moved to the barn we made sure that the bathrooms were toasty warm. Funnily enough though, I can't stand a warm bedroom. It's pleasantly sunny and warm today, around 62deg which as far as I'm concerned is perfect. I found the weather in June and July far too hot.

R6

[tjh290633]

Our bathroom had the benefit of being above the kitchen, with its coal fired range and back boiler. The airing cupboard was in the corner and the hot water tank was a cubic galvanized iron object, long before insulation became common, so that helped. However the fire in the kitchen was not kept in overnight. We also had an immersion heater for use in the summer.

My own bedroom had no heating, being above the hall and staircase, with the open porch underneath my bed head. The cat was a welcome companion at times.

For some reason, my father put a gas fire in the guest bedroom, the main bedroom having a coal fire which I can only recall being lit once in 20 plus years. That room was above the front room, which only had a fire on Sundays most of the year, but there was a one bar electric fire for use in emergencies.

Our first house had a Dunsley back boiler and four radiators, which added considerably to the comfort level. I ran it on coke from horizontal ovens, which could be kept going for two nights and three days before the ash box had to be emptied. Gas coke was softer and might last the night if you were lucky. No roof insulation, which meant that in the winters of 1961-3 ours was the only house not to have a covering of snow on the roof.

TJH

[robbelg]

At lunchtime I saw one of Itsallaguess's relatives:

A 20 something woman wearing a sheepskin jacket !

I was uncomfortably warm in a T shirt.


Rob

[Itsallaguess]

At lunchtime I saw one of Itsallaguess's relatives:

A 20 something woman wearing a sheepskin jacket !

I was uncomfortably warm in a T shirt.

I do need to report in and say that on the way back to my car after work tonight, I removed both my jacket AND my jumper before getting into the car....

I may live to see the spring...

Itsallaguess

[Clitheroekid]

Immediately put on 25ug Levothyrox medication

I'd never heard of this drug, so out of curiosity I Googled it.

I was surprised, to put it mildly, to discover that "Levothyroxine is the third most prescribed drug in the UK and the most prescribed in the US" - http://www.british-thyroid-association. ... othyroxine

Sounds like some very good salesmanship by the drug companies!

You do indeed learn something new every day.

[gryffron]

A taste of our weather for the next few days.

Wow. It describes 30degC as "nice". Over here that would be a "critical weather warning!".

[Rhyd6]

Still not tempted to put on the heating but have dug out a cardigan as it's somewhat breezy with a definite wind chill.

R6

[PinkDalek]

Still not tempted to put on the heating but have dug out a cardigan as it's somewhat breezy with a definite wind chill.

Is the cardigan made in Cardigan?

[Watis]

Still not tempted to put on the heating but have dug out a cardigan as it's somewhat breezy with a definite wind chill.

Is the cardigan made in Cardigan?

Are boots made in Boot?

Watis

[PinkDalek]

Are boots made in Boot?

Watis

Some might be.

Maybe one can ask The Keswick Boot Company if of interest.

[Itsallaguess]

UK frost warning -

Falling temperatures could bring frost to parts of the UK over the bank holiday weekend before warmer weather returns in the autumn.

Chilly mornings as well as heavy rain, strong winds and even hail are forecast as a cold front brings fresher air from the Atlantic.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/h ... 06041.html

I think I may be some sort of biological early-warning system.....I don't expect the X-Men to be too interested, mind.....

Itsallaguess