It's STILL tough and not getting better - so how are we coping?

mardatha

Annie, Ginny & I are EVERYWHERE ! I have to report that I cant find a pink or purple sheep anywhere to spin. They are all boringly white.

The_Thrilla

ceridwen wrote: »

..but then you might find the neighbours are using YOUR heating in a house that ISNT detached......a fact I never realised until I started being more careful about when I switched mine on....:cool::mad:. At that point I realised the only way my house had achieved a background of not being that cold was because of my OWN heating and remembered that the neighbours' heating isnt up to much.....(I could understand why they hadnt dealt with that - even though they have the money to do so at that point...):cool:

Last winter was the first time I had noticed the neighbours using their sitting room fire much (glow showing through the window/my wall getting "warmer" at the back of it). I think it took them some weeks to realise that I wasnt paying towards their fuel bills anymore before they started using it...

I can help you here, Ceridwen. The Laws of Thermodynamics dictate that heat transfer can only go in one direction: from the hotter to the cooler. Never the other way. Therefore, if you do not have your heating on at all, or at the absolute minimum, then you will be getting the neighbour's warmth. It also means that as more of their heat is escaping into your house, they will have to use more energy to maintain the temperature in their own house. And, best of all, the greater the temperature difference, the greater the heat lost from their point of view, and heat gained from your point of view. So if you can sit in your sleeping bag like a student for an hour or so before turning on your own heater, then the more money you will save, and the more free heat you will get from next door. I live in a mid-terraced house. The neighbour on one side of me has just had his cavities done, and I am not talking about his teeth. So this winter I shall be spending more of my time on his side of my house.

ubamother

What are you talking about mardatha - pink sheep are everywhere - and this is how you find them.
start with several gin and tonics .....

mardatha

Ah drat - I knew there was a secret !! Will Ouzo do ? It's all I've got !

penelopedee_2

Last winter was the first one for a while that families were living either side of us in the terrace again. I could really tell the difference with the heating as they had theirs on all day. Previously we'd had a empty house one side and a single male the other and it was always freezing even on milder days.

ubamother

mardatha wrote: »

Ah drat - I knew there was a secret !! Will Ouzo do ? It's all I've got !

Ouzo's the best pink sheep divining fluid you can get!

jackieglasgow

Mardatha, it might be a bit of a drive for you, but on the M8 between Glasgow and Edinburgh, somewhere around Bellshill or Livingston, there is an Office / IndustrialEstate called the Pyramids, and there are four or five grass hills which are pyramids. The elusive pink sheep live there! (Might need to go sheep rustling during the night though, given how busy that particular stretch of road is) I will try and get some pics next time we pass by, ir you like! :rotfl:

northwest1965

I have just got back from Morrisons, I couldnt believe the price of their sugar 98p:eek: or 2 for £1.50 (that still makes it more expensive than Farmfoods and others.
Also called into Home Bargains, as I mentioned earlier I was impressed with the Nicky loo roll 99p for 4 at FF. I just bought 9 for £1.99 in Home Bargains.

Did you see in the Daily Mail it looks like food prices will go up 10%

ceridwen

The_Thrilla wrote: »

I can help you here, Ceridwen. The Laws of Thermodynamics dictate that heat transfer can only go in one direction: from the hotter to the cooler. Never the other way. Therefore, if you do not have your heating on at all, or at the absolute minimum, then you will be getting the neighbour's warmth. It also means that as more of their heat is escaping into your house, they will have to use more energy to maintain the temperature in their own house. And, best of all, the greater the temperature difference, the greater the heat lost from their point of view, and heat gained from your point of view. So if you can sit in your sleeping bag like a student for an hour or so before turning on your own heater, then the more money you will save, and the more free heat you will get from next door. I live in a mid-terraced house. The neighbour on one side of me has just had his cavities done, and I am not talking about his teeth. So this winter I shall be spending more of my time on his side of my house.

Thanks for that - I'm no scientist - so I didnae know that. I just thought that it must be the case that I was keeping my home warmer than theirs and some of that heat was going straight through my wall (thus causing me to have to put mine up even higher to compensate). I had the feeling that our houses needed to be at the same temperature or theirs to be higher - to ensure I wasnt paying for someone else's heating, as well as my own.

Now if I could just have replacement neighbours who really feel the cold.....so they keep their place at "hothouse" level...:rotfl::rotfl:.

I think its perfectly fair for me to pay for my own heating - but it was MSE that alerted me to the fact that the next door neighbours might be receiving a "helping hand" from me with their bills at my expense....:cool:. I wouldnae mind so much if they needed it (ie unemployed and trying hard to find a job - but....errrrr <cough> that is far from the case.

Primrose

lambbanana - I'd really recommend getting a house with two toilets if you possibly can. It's nothing to do with status but has many advantages for sheer practicability, especially if one of them is downstairs. It's a saving of time and convenience if you don't have to run upstairs every time you want to wee, plus the fact that if you have people staying overnight, or there are older or slightly disabled people in the house, even if they're visiting, the obstacle of having to climb a flight a stairs when you're not fit, or slightly disabled, is a real problem for some people. You really learn the advantages of having two toilets on the day that both of you are struck down with food poisoning !