Keeping warm

In regards to freezing pipes. Normally they freeze at the point where they come into the house, or if you have an uninsulated space under your house where the pipes run.
Generally pipes only freeze when it drops quite a bit below freezing, perhaps -8c or beyond. A trick is to keep the cold water running slowly if you are unmetered. for water we do not have water meters). Running water does not freeze as readily as still water.

Granmarderby10

I remember a tv commercial from the 70s for central heating: “it’ll be like Bali in the bathroom; Bermuda in the bedroom” ….they have a lot to answer for

I remember the central heating ads about ‘Mrs 1970’ - this would have been in the early 60s - showing a woman in a bikini in a room with big plate glass windows, showing that it was pitch dark and snowing outside!

I much prefer winter clothes to summer ones anyway.But my go to items if I feel a bit chilly are my cashmere slipper socks and one of my fleecy gilets.Not the most stylish but I prefer them to a bulky jumper inside and find if my feet and body are warmed up I can cope with the heating set lower.Plus a lovely snuggly throw on the sofa.

I had my teenage grandson extolling the virtues of his wonderful very expensive electric blanket last week and giving me chapter and verse about why “people of our age” ought to rush out and buy one (he’d make a wonderful salesman). He asked if we had electric blankets when we were young. I said no, if we were cold we just piled all our coats on the bed! He said “Oh”, and that ended the conversation!

CH is a luxury I had no experience of before buying my third home in the late 80s. As a child we had an open fire in the living room and I had a small electric fire in the bedroom when undressing until my nightie caught fire on it. Open fire and electric radiators in first home, only got warm towards bedtime. Open fire and storage heaters in next home ditto. I really appreciate having proper CH. My thermostat is totally up the creek since the menopause, 20 odd years ago, sometimes hot, sometimes cold. My nose is the deciding factor as to whether I’m cold. I like a throw to warm me up, and socks and jumper are a must now. Would love flannelette sheets again but hardy husband not keen. The weather ladies and newsreaders in their short sleeves always make me feel freezing!

We wear warmer clothes in the winter but wearing layers isn't for me or sitting under a blanket. I like our home to be warm so like you Bluesky we have the heating on when we need too.

Regarding the possibility of burst pipes in winter.. Now is the time to check that you can access your stopcock and particularly that you are able to turn it off! When DH drilled through a pipe on the landing I discovered I could barely reach ours behind the water softener and that it wouldn't turn anyway through lack of use. We discovered a gadget called Surestop which was fitted under the kitchen sink so that we can turn the mains off at the flick of a switch without having to crawl into the cupboard.

I must say I don't miss the painful chilblains. No more standing in the bathroom balancing my foot on the toilet seat at 3 am applying more Snowfire! When my Grandma used to complain I hadn't realised how very itchy and painful they were.

Same here Galaxy! Been there, done that, bought the T shirt. Now in our retirement years we enjoy the small luxury of central heating on if and when needed. Had enough of living in unheated houses to last me a life time! We don’t do much else so we want to enjoy our home.

Blossoming

The ‘Liberty’ was the freedom of not wearing a corset, apparently. Didn’t they have rubber buttons that were really hard to do up?

Thanks for the explanation, Blossoming and Yammy
I'd never really thought about it before now.

I also invested in one of those heated fleece throw thingies - very economical to run and lovely to cuddle up to, watching the telly on cold winter evenings.

Last winter I decided not to put my heating back onto the Hive schedule. It’s connected up to the Alexa app, so we just asked Alexa to boost the heating for an hour or so each day when it got to feeling cold. The difference in the winter bill was noticeable.

I remember the cold winters. Born in the 40s we had no central heating and my bedroom window would have icicles on the inside. Freezing lino on the floor didn't help. It would take the coal fire a while to heat the living room and
I would get dressed very quickly.

I still wear warm clothing in the house and see my heating as a luxury.

I wonder how folks today would have coped way back in years when we had NO central heating and was queuing for coke or a bag of coal in the 1940s to keep one room warm and having to boil a kettle on the fire for a cup of "Rosie Lee" to keep us going.
How they would have to cuddle up together to keep warm to get through a bad winter while spending Christmas down an Anderson shelter being bombed day and night.

I grew up in a house with a gas fire in the sitting room and no other heating. Married, I’ve always had central heating and here we also have a gas log burner. We find that the log burner keeps the house warm downstairs without the need for the central heating to be switched on just yet. Upstairs we use an old Dimplex plug in oil filled radiator which takes the chill off. We layer up and I feel the cold more than my DH so layering up is a necessity in our house.

I too, grew up in a very cold house, just a fire in the living room, ice on bedroom windows, we learnt very quickly, to dress warmly. Get a blanket for your knees when sitting around, I have a few nice ones in the sofa ready. Hot drinks, get out for walks get the circulation going. I don’t look forward to it but I think we will all have to turn down the thermostats.

Just looked Liberty bodices were meant to free young girls from corsets.
I hated mine and looking back for school wore a vest, liberty bodice underskirt/petty coat to the rest of the world, long-sleeved blouse and handknitted twin set, so did my mum plus a bra, we must have looked two sizes bigger than we were but we were warm.
No heating upstairs and winceyette nightie or PJ's, a hot water bottle plus a cardigan for bed, mum had quilted bed jackets and we all had bed socks if it was really cold.
I squirm when I see tee shirts and shorts and people complaining about heating bills

I'm ten years older than my husband and he just didn't get it when I started to feel the cold more, but now he's aging nicely and I notice him layering up and commenting on the cold more often himself.

We have always worn extra layers to combat the cold and every sofa has a blanket across the back that's not just for show. When we FaceTime our children and grandchildren we're always pleased to see they're usually snuggled up together under a throw too. But I do worry about our youngest son who lives in a rented flat in a very exposed area (on a cliff top) and gets his energy via a meter card/key. His flat 'passed' its EPC Inspection, but our son is fully aware that it was fiddled and should not have done so. His energy bills have already skyrocketed and I fear he faces a very cold winter.

The ‘Liberty’ was the freedom of not wearing a corset, apparently. Didn’t they have rubber buttons that were really hard to do up?

Bodices not bodies

Autocorrect

rockgran

I do seem to feel the cold more these days and an extra cardigan doesn't always do the trick. However, a good thermal vest does make a difference. Maybe we should also bring back the liberty bodice!

Oh, those liberty bodies!

How did they get the name?
Liberty = freedom and they were anything but.

I feel the cold really badly and it brings on all sorts of aches and pains. It affects my mobility and increases the risk of falls. Mr. B is the opposite and is always too warm. I wrap up like the Michelin Man ?

I just got some Anyday thermal leggings and tops from John Lewis, they’re lovely but obviously made for very tall people!

Luckygirl

I am interested in those who do not want to put warm clothes on in the cold weather but would rather turn the heating up. Clearly their choice - and not illegal - yet!

I am interested in the rationale that says that this is the best way to go when we all know that we need to conserve our precious resources.

If I have the CH on it's always on the very lowest setting, just to give background heat - I live in a small flat and it's enough to keep me comfortable.

As for the rationale that this is the best way to go - as I said earlier I don't like to be bundled up at home and I consider that my resources footprint is low. I haven't owned a car for 16 years and walk most places or use public transport.

I know you live rurally Luckygirl - do you have a car? If so, I suppose you could ditch the car and rely on taxis for when you need to be out and about; would probably be cheaper overall, bearing in mind initial purchase, insurance, and petrol, But it likely suits you to jump in the car, if you have one, just as it suits me to have some background heat on at times, rather than be swaddled in throws, beanie hats, and 4 layers of clothes!

Not being hostile here, but you did ask!

When I am cold i put a fleece on, I have a pair of fleecy PJs and would like to buy another pair, am hoping to get some for DH, too, then we will be snug as a bug as well!

BTW I don't own a cardigan either- and use the layer method- much more comfortable and flexible. And a fleece on top if it gets really cold.

Lucky to have a massive woodburner, made with alpine stone that acts like a storage heater- and an old house with 90cm thick walls (oh dear, I should have used Imperial!)