Avoid using GAS and ELECTRIC !

[Deleted User]

the weather people are sticking their necks out and saying at least 2 weeks of this chilling cold. Horrible today with a spooky mist

cw18

We've got a foggy layer outside today too -- which isn't nice as I'd planned to take the car out for a few "essentials"...... and petrol 'cos I'm babysitting tonight !!!!

MRSTITTLEMOUSE

It's freezing here too.I think I'll be using up some of my credit I've accumulated on my gas/electric these next few weeks.
I'm realy pleased to say that despite being bullied by the power company to up my direct debit I'm still £239 in credit.I was so determined not to be forced to pay more when I was'nt going to use it.If I'd upped my monthly debit they would have had hold of nearly £500 of my money by now.They wanted to double my payment despite the fact I always have a credit cheque payed back to me each year.Those power companies must be raking it in with all the interest on peoples credits.
One thing that has been great is the heated throw I bought,it's realy cosy and means that once the heating goes off I don't need the gas fire(which uses as much gas,almost)as a top up.
I've used the throw for a few weeks now and I can't see more than a unit a week extra in my electric usage.So that's me a happy bunny.
Just think another few months and things can only get better,unless we have a summer like last year of course.

joanie

Aww... LALALADYBIRD you've got me reminiscing now.....

i grew up in a house with no heating other than a coal fire in the back room downstairs.... we used to get dressed in front of it on a morning in the winter as it was so cold upstairs... my gran used to get up early and set the fire so that it was really strong by the time it was school time or she used to bank it down for the night so that it stayed with embers for the next morning. She always prided herself that we always had coal in the bunker - some families were not so lucky and had no heating until the coal man came if they ran out! Upstairs the blankets were so heavy that once I was tucked in i couldn't even turn over! Beds were warmed with pot hot water bottles before we got in and we always had fleecy pj's and bed socks . I also remember being told NEVER pull the net curtains off the ice on the INSIDE of the bedroom window or they will rip! Ahhh the good old days!
We always wore layers - vest / t shirt / jumper and always wore wellies a size too big so that you could have more than one pair of socks on.... Wellies were always cold on the feet and no-one had fleecy boots like nowadays.!

ahhh... i'm all sentimental now at how easy I have it by comparison!

alice-mary

Has everybody gone to another link? I keep on searching to see how everyone else is getting on in this nasty cold period but can't find any entries on this thread since New Years Eve... or am I just being dumb???

MRSTITTLEMOUSE

No we're all still here alice.I think we're just all resigned to being cold.
Still it's a much better day today so let's hope it stays that way for a while.
Happy New Year by the way.

troglodyte

I grew up in a 1930s house with no central heating or double glazing or insulation, although we did have an Aga in the kitchen/living room but that was it. There was always ice, and sometimes little snowdrifts, on the inside of the bedroom windows on winter mornings. As a child my mother used to dress me in a cotton vest, then a wool vest, then tights, a flannel petticoat, woolen skirt or trousers, several jumpers. All tucked in carefully - going to the toilet was a bit of a palaver (not to mention the shock of sitting on the cold toilet seat!) In bed we had warm flannel pyjamas and hot water bottles, and the beds were warmed with electric bed-warmers which were circular dome-shaped things with a light-bulb inside (which my parents still have - can you still buy these?) Then of course to go out we added coats, scarves (wrapped around our chests as well as our necks), two pairs of socks. I don't remember being cold once dressed though - and we still played outside and were plenty warm enough running around! Inside we all stayed in the living room all the time, and got dressed there in the morning. When I was older (secondary school) I remember getting dressed under the bedcovers (which were heavy as there were so many blankets). I thought this was normal - and later still, riding a motorbike in winter, I did pretty much the same, and now in this cold spell I've dug out all my old things again! I hardly ever throw usable stuff away, so even though I'm over 40, in this cold weather (and with our heating system at work on the blink) I'm now wearing my woolly tights which have been in the back of the drawer since 6th form, trousers, a cotton vest, a woollen vest (which my Mum must have bought for me years ago), a T-shirt and a wool jumper I knitted myself a few years ago, and I'm tosaty warm!

alice-mary

Thankyou Mrstittlemouse, I was beginning to think that everybody had decided to keep their hands in mittens and were unable to type or had frozen up completely! I'm glad that people are still here as I love to read how they are getting on, even though I don't post many entries myself!!

Yategirl

Today I am on enforced no gas... we are having the hallway skimmed (plastered) so the front door is wide open and no heating on to stop the plaster drying out too quickly... brrrrrrrr!!! With the cold icy weather we have had the heating on more.. I would have had it switched off today as it is less icy here (and we have a warm house) but having the front door open is a 'killer' :rolleyes: lol!!

Primrose

I'm still here too and like everybody else, am muffled up indoors with extra layers and by both of us doing this, we've managed to get through our days until the sun goes down (except 2 bitterly cold days recently) without the central heating going back on after the breakfast switch-off. We really notice the difference in the heat level in our living room on sunny days when it seems to retain the heat much longer. On grey cloudy days the room feels much chillier and we try to keep some curtains closed to retain what little heat there is. I've certainly rediscovered the childhood benefits of a nice warm vest!