-6°C ? I don't think so !
The little weather gizmo thing this morning said that it is -6°C in Pessac but Pat and I don't believe it because if it was really that cold the house would be a lot colder than it is.
Last night after the prayer-meeting there was a general 'Oh, it's so COLD' session. Because the winter here is short and not generally VERY cold, houses often don't have very good heating and insulation. Today a record peak in the consumption of electricity is expected, and people in some parts of France have been warned to turn off, turn down or face possible power cuts. Many houses are heated just with electric convector heaters.
Fiona and Liz live in attic flats (you know, like when I was a student in Aberystwyth and I used to scrape the ice off the inside of the window in my room...) Dik lives in a big upstairs flat with a badly fitting front door through which the draughts blow. They have this reversible air-con heating which works well for cooling in summer but doesn't make a lot of difference in the winter. We have our woodstove which is great when heated seven times, but which doesn't do a lot for our bedrooms or for my study. And our living-room is very large and has a very high ceiling. Lovely in summer. Nippy in winter.
Of course, the real problem is that we all go so soft. Some of us are from Holland , where the polders and guilders freeze over and everyone skates to school from August to May. The last time I had a cosy, draught-free house was in 1991 in Cardiff ! ( I had this brilliant balanced-flue gas fire that was so efficient you could have cooked a turkey in the living-room !) But a couple of years in the South of France is enough to turn any ice-skater into a hot-house flower.
However a fortnight ago we had 18°C in Pessac, this cold snap is predicted to finish around next Tuesday and in February sometimes we can start barbecueing again !
So stop moaning, you lot, hand me my hat, scarf and gloves and I'll pop into the kitchen and make some hot chocolate !
Last night after the prayer-meeting there was a general 'Oh, it's so COLD' session. Because the winter here is short and not generally VERY cold, houses often don't have very good heating and insulation. Today a record peak in the consumption of electricity is expected, and people in some parts of France have been warned to turn off, turn down or face possible power cuts. Many houses are heated just with electric convector heaters.
Fiona and Liz live in attic flats (you know, like when I was a student in Aberystwyth and I used to scrape the ice off the inside of the window in my room...) Dik lives in a big upstairs flat with a badly fitting front door through which the draughts blow. They have this reversible air-con heating which works well for cooling in summer but doesn't make a lot of difference in the winter. We have our woodstove which is great when heated seven times, but which doesn't do a lot for our bedrooms or for my study. And our living-room is very large and has a very high ceiling. Lovely in summer. Nippy in winter.
Of course, the real problem is that we all go so soft. Some of us are from Holland , where the polders and guilders freeze over and everyone skates to school from August to May. The last time I had a cosy, draught-free house was in 1991 in Cardiff ! ( I had this brilliant balanced-flue gas fire that was so efficient you could have cooked a turkey in the living-room !) But a couple of years in the South of France is enough to turn any ice-skater into a hot-house flower.
However a fortnight ago we had 18°C in Pessac, this cold snap is predicted to finish around next Tuesday and in February sometimes we can start barbecueing again !
So stop moaning, you lot, hand me my hat, scarf and gloves and I'll pop into the kitchen and make some hot chocolate !
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