Saturday 23 July 2022

That Was The Week That Was

 The two hot days have been and gone it was up to just over 40℃ in places in the South East which is a couple of degrees over 100℉. Don't think it got that hot here - I don't have a thermometer outside so no way of knowing but it must have been in the high 30's/ 90s.

 I know these temperatures are nothing compared to some countries have in their summers, and people are probably wondering why we are feeling the heat so much but we are not really set up for it here as it's such a rare occurrence (the same as we are never prepared for heavy snow as that doesn't happen often either). Houses are built to cope with what we have - not extremes that we've never had before!

Apart from unusual heat we've also had virtually no rain for months in Suffolk and everywhere is tinder dry. I'm watering the edibles but some of the perennials under the two magnolia trees have faded away, although losing a few plants is nothing compared to the people in various places in the country, including not so far away in Norfolk, who've lost their homes to wild fires. One started in a compost heap and others spread so quickly from  field fires (sometimes caused by hot farm machinery and dust) - frightening to see something we've seen on TV from Australia and the US happening in this country.

Anyway on Monday and most of Tuesday I just stayed in but then Tuesday evening I got stupidly hot and sweaty by going to WI. There was a short email debate in the morning about cancelling but one woman said we are all grown up enough to cope and that meant the President couldn't cancel without looking silly.
I couldn't really Not go because had been volunteered to take the secretary's seat as it was Members Topsy-turvy evening (when the committee take a night off and "volunteers" take the meeting). In all the WI's and meetings I've been to it's never been taken quite so seriously!
The speaker was willing to turn out in the heat and he did a presentation about a beginners guide to Astronomy which I'd seen in 2019 at Stonham Aspal WI! It was just as interesting second time round despite many of us melting, drinking lots of water and fanning ourselves with anything handy.
Heat must affect people in different ways as some members came wearing trousers and not looking hot or sweating at all..........how?
But the worst thing about going to WI was having to shut up the bungalow at 7pm. Came home to a building still like an oven at 9.45pm.I took two ice packs wrapped in tea-towels and a wet flannel to bed with me!...................I don't have a fan - can't afford more electric.

I shopped early Wednesday when the temps were down to a more reasonable 25℃, did a bit of Nanna duty on Thursday morning with middle Grandson.........how does someone 2 years and 5 months old know the names of so many dinosaurs? Then on Friday morning I went to see Youngest Granddaughter at her pre-school leaving thing - she starts proper school in September.That's 3 out of 5 grandchildren who will be at school - growing up fast.

Mentioning not using a fan and generally trying to use less electric will be even more important from October onwards when prices are set to rise yet again. Dc at Frugal in Norfolk put a link to Martin Lewis' youtube speech telling the new prime minister that they need to do something - fat chance there! I'm not worried for me - I've got savings and have lived simply and on less all my life  but  with food prices rising - pushed up by the rising fuel prices and heating costs going crazy it may well be a bad winter. I've tried to tell family about the years when inflation went crazy and then the rolling power cuts and strikes and back then mortgages were tiny compared to now.

The 1970s are a decade remembered for industrial strife, particularly the Three-Day-Week of 1974 and 1979’s Winter of Discontent.

The pattern of dispute and disruption was set at the start of the decade, when in the run up to Christmas 1970 the country was crippled by power cuts as the result of industrial action.

As the lights went out, folk had to carry on with their daily lives as best they could.

I can't imagine how power cuts would work now when practically every part of our lives involves electric- imagine a hospital without power for 3 hours every day. This winter countries will all be vying to buy oil and gas, with Russia cutting off most of Europe and prices will go up yet again.

All we can do is to look after our families, prepare for the worst and hope for the best and have faith in ourselves.


This week I have been grateful for

  • Being able to stay in and do nothing much during the hot days
  • Good fresh cold water from the tap
  • More food from the garden

Have a good weekend wherever you are and I shall return with something (no idea what!) on Monday.

Sue

37 comments:

  1. I remember those days so well. Worked in a bank via candle light several hours a day. Luckily had a gas cooker so could then eat a meal .

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    1. Oh for the days when there was a bank to walk into and everyone knew what cash was!

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  2. I can remember being a barmaid, and having to serve pints by candlelight - and it gave the randy old landlord great opportunity to "brush past" us barmaids just too close!

    Sorry you came back to a melting house after the WI meeting - it's so difficult to sleep when hot.

    Those power bills are going to be something else - Government surely just can't ignore them.

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    1. Surprisingly I didn't have bad nights from the heat - two cold packs and a wet flannel work well. No clothes and only a sheet are also needed

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  3. I live between South Africa and Scotland, in SA we have scheduled power cuts which affected everything but now years on they are just a nuisance. All shops have back up generators when the power goes off you stand still in the dark for a few seconds until the generator kicks in. At home I have backup batteries and a camping stove lots of people have changed to gas. The main problem is the WiFi that goes down after an hour.

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    1. Everywhere I've lived has had some alternative to electric until moving here - now I'm really stuck without it

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  4. I remember those dark days of the 1970s very well but were fortunate to have a gas stove and fire, and lots of candles.
    In our previous house we had a gas stove and an open fire so coped quite well when we lost our power during a heavy snowstorm. I am not sure how well we would get on here as everything is electric. We may have to buy a small primus for emergencies.


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    1. I thought about changing to a LPG hob which I've used for years elsewhere , but it would mean quite a lot of alterations in the kitchen s not sure

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    2. That’s really interesting Sue, I’ve just had my gas engineer in to give me a quote to change to an LPG hob, as we are very rural, with more than average power cuts. I suppose the next concern is availability of the gas tanks, it never ends! JC

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  5. We were married in 1971 and lived in an all electric house in an all electric village. I can remember the power cuts so well and trying to heat soup on our camping stove by candlelight. The seventies also had the 1976 heatwave and then the 15% mortgage rates too. Like many people who have managed a house for so long, I will be back to squeezing the budget as tightly as I can in an effort to keep us warm and fed in what may prove to be the hardest winter yet. Catriona

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    1. There are things I still want to do despite rising prices so will have to cut back elsewhere. Hope I'm wrong about thr problems ahead

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  6. Thank you for that 'pep talk' Sue - it wants saying loud and clear,

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    1. Oh dear, it wasn't meant to be a pep talk, just talking about what happened in the past and will it happen again

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  7. Sorry you have suffered in the heat, I am one of those strange souls who wandered around thinking "oh, this is pleasant, I wish I could move to Portugal!" during the entire heatwave ☀️

    I remember the 1970's - particularly the rolling power cuts when you looked in the newspaper to see what three-hour period you were at "high risk" (ie: dead certainty) of being cut off. I recall being heartbroken one Saturday because Dr Who started at 5.50pm and our power cut commenced at 6.00pm (I am a bit younger than you which is my defence for caring so much about a TV show).

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    1. I'm OK when it's in the 70s -love it but high 90s was a bit too much!

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  8. I live in the northern end of New England in the US the heat has just found us the past 2 days and we have 2 more days to go. We too have no air conditioning, but we have lots of fans. Our Electric is due to go up 50% on Aug 1 we are being extremely careful with making sure lights are off and nothing running that does not need to run. We have pretty cold winters, so I am anxious about the heating situation, but we also have a wood stove and wood that was cut from our property. We have had rain so that is good, but my biggest concern is the food supply worldwide it does not look good.
    Well that is my happy thoughts for today. Glad you are over your heat wave.
    Cathy

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    1. I miss my woodburning stove after 32 years of having one

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  9. Noticed a few have mentioned "saving" their fans for the worst of the heat. This is not the way to think about it. A well-placed fan can make a huge difference in comfort and does not use a great deal of power. The longer you are overheated, the higher the danger. By the time you
    give in and plug in the fan it may be too late. Consider in future heat waves that it may be a matter of survival and don't try to tough it out so long. First rule to surviving heat extremes is to do whatever you need to do to stay cool. Lynn Marie

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    1. Thank you - I don't possess a fan at the moment

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    2. Totally agree, it is time to get a fan. We get temps up to 90s but the fan and open windows keep us cool enough.

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  10. I've experienced power outages only during two different snow blizzards. We lost all power for 14 days. The propane gas grill on the patio was used for cooking. Candles and flashlights provided light. The wood stove in one fireplace provided limited heat; just enough to keep the pipes from freezing. I moved all the contents of my fridge/freezer in to coolers and placed them outside. We dressed in layers 24 x7. At the end of one storm, we had to bring in a backhoe in to remove snow from our 320 ft. long driveway. I did not mind living in isolation and roughing it was not that bad. Everything covered in deep white snow was quite beautiful. When the sun finally came out, the birds did too and it was all a welcome and happy sight. Personally, I think we are a hardy lot and we'll be okay.

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    1. I've lived without electric for a week twice but both homes had alternatives - now I need electric for everything

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  11. Sue, please reconsider buying a fan. I live in Florida where 32-33 C. days are constant throughout the summer. I have air conditioning but when it goes on the blink, a fan is a lifesaver. I do not think they use much electric.

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  12. I live in Texas, and the heat has been excruciating for us. We are used to 105F and such in the summer, but this year, we have had hardly any rain and got to 118 F the other day (47 C). It's just too much. We have air conditioning in the house but still use our fans as well when it gets too much.

    I completely understand what you're saying though, drastic temperature changes are hard when we're not set up for them.

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    1. Some shops and offices etc have air conditioning but it's never been needed in homes before . Thankfully temps are back to a more normal now

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  13. I really feel for you suffering through these temperatures. I know that the UK is not used to this or set up to combat those types of heat. I do hope things are cooling off for you now.

    God bless.

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    1. Much better now - back to normal for summer - thankfully

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  14. My house has a/c now, though in 1988 it did not and those were the temps here. We had fans everywhere and slept spread eagle on our beds.

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  15. I live in Florida in a tiny condo…air cond plus several fans…would be sick without it…good luck…enjoy your blog…I have written on one of the the U K blogs…I had two trips to England for Shakespeare…we teachers were settling in London on our rooms…although we were on government grants, I paid extra for my own room…I went to the lobby to tell them my air cond was broken…the room was stifling…they chuckled at this American…that first trip I was on the second floor over the kitchen and going through Menopause for the third time…lol. I threw Open the windows and said…anyone out there come and get me but it is too hot to have windows closed with no air and no fan…the next trip was also in the summer…they put a fan in my room…

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    1. Being in a bungalow it's difficult to have windows open at night but a through draught is a must

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  16. In this heat there is nothing to do but endure.my poor pregnant dil is miserable.

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    1. Oh no! Hot weather and being pregnant is hard work

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  17. I don't have a fan either, I'm sure Alan has two!! I almost killed my mouse-mat using it to fan myself while I watched television with my feet in a bowl of cold water ... but it worked!

    I can only imagine how hot and stuffy your house must have felt after being closed up completely for a couple of hours. :-(

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  18. I remember the power cuts of the 1970's. Mum would light candles...allowing a few drips of wax to fall into a bowl or cup before standing the candle upright. Luckily she cooked on a solid fuel Rayburn which kept us warm and heated the water also so apart from lighting we were ok in the main.

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  19. It was really hot while I was over. My sister said I brought the heat with me! I was hoping for cooler, though I couldn't complain that the days were lovely so we were able to get out and walk. Everywhere was so dry though, the grass just like straw and so dry and stubby. It reminded of the other year (before Covid) when I went and everywhere was so dry, though there did seem more water in the rivers.

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