How is everyone dealing with rising prices?

[GillyBee]

I have a passing interest in historic clothing. There is a reason the Victorian women wore multiple petticoats and made them of flannel in winter. For the men, I can recall my 1890s born grandfather wearing longsleeved and legged "combinations" in the early 70s. His 1955 built bungalow had a coal boiler for hot water and an electric fire in the lounge but that was it. No pansy central heating or fan heaters for that generation.

[Yorkshire Andy]

I have a passing interest in historic clothing. There is a reason the Victorian women wore multiple petticoats and made them of flannel in winter. For the men, I can recall my 1890s born grandfather wearing longsleeved and legged "combinations" in the early 70s. His 1955 built bungalow had a coal boiler for hot water and an electric fire in the lounge but that was it. No pansy central heating or fan heaters for that generation.

Remember my grandad string vest in the winter long sleeve thick wool shirt. Tank top wooly jumper and a thick suit type jacket

My mum and dad both regale about waking up to ice on the windows I can vaguely remember the early 80"s and a bit of ice on the windows then my dad cutting very precisely perspex and some clip on trim half on the perspex the other half screwed to the window frames (secondary glazing) and my mum sewing up little Muslin "socks" with Velcro on the opening and the silica gell granules which went from dry in the oven blue to pink when they got damp put in the gap between the glass and perspex

[jansman]

A couple of years ago I had to work in my London office with no heating (air con failure) The little plug in radiators were provided but only helped if you actually tucked them under your desk and there were not enough for one each. A pair of thermal tights or leggings under my clothes made a huge difference to my comfort and now help on colder work from home days.
We also keep an assortment of blankets & quilts on the sofa to keep warm under and it is not unusua for one of us to request a short cuddle under a quilt to warm up if feeling cold.

Thermal underwear is an old fashioned game changer. It must be rough if you sit down for your work and there is no heating. In fact,if I remember the Factory Act ,if most of your work is done seated ,then the minimum working temperature is 16 degrees- someone correct me if I am wrong please. However,as usual,I digress

My own job is in an unheated environment,in fact much of the time ,we work inside fridges and freezers,so good,old school long johns and layered clothing are the order of the day. Maybe folks will realise they have to wear more clothes as time goes by?

Hswa say the temperature should be "reasonable" the 16°c for sedimentary work is a ACOP not a legal minimum or a set level enshrined in legislation.. as many people think when they spit their dummy out at work.

If the temperature can't be maintained at a reasonable level the employer should provide adequate PPE (read warm clothing like cold store boots jacket trousers ) and rewarming facilities remember working in a cold storage place walking outside on a Warming break to 6" of snow and it feeling like a summers day


My current work get up is Lidl ski base layers, wool socks army surplus softie type trousers and a pair of work trousers over them. . top half long sleeve base layer thick t shirt hoodie and a cotton high vis jacket .. if it gets really cold it's a thin wool jumper and a fleece jacket that does me most winters

And I'm outside 80% of the day...

We won't go onto the lad who was working with me that decided to tell me to close the fing door last week despite calling for me to help him I walked away before I belew a gasket

I knew I was on the right lines. Mind you,working in near Arctic conditions,what many call cold,I call warm.

[Yorkshire Andy]

I knew I was on the right lines. Mind you,working in near Arctic conditions,what many call cold,I call warm.

https://www.hse.gov.uk/temperature/law.htm

Had someone grumbling as I hadn't put the heating on in the factory on the first cold morning of autumn.. he didn't like the response I was working outside it was Warmer inside yet he's stood outside complaining... Had no intention of putting the heating on as the boiler room had been used as a dumping ground .. if you want the heating on go clean out the boiler room

I'm the one entrusted with the key to turn it on

[GillyBee]

When I was much younger I was in a flat share with a Ghanaian girl and a lad training to be a tree surgeon. Come the winter the arguments were priceless.
T gets home from his outdoors day "It's boiling in here" Heating off, windows open and he starts to feel comfortable. M then appears "It's freezing, who turned the heating off" and switches it back to 25C.
The only good thing was that heating was part of the rent so I did not have to pay the price.

The problem is that anyone who has never experienced life in winter in an old style British home has absolutely no idea what to do except turn the heating up. That applies both to people migrated here from warn climates and to modern youngsters raised in fully heated homes.
If the power goes out, the knowledge will have to spread pretty quick and that power company's advice will not look so ill judged.

[mbbaltic]

If you find normal thermals a bit too bulky, silk is the answer. It's really thin but very warm without making you overheated. Lands End often have sales which makes it (a bit) more affordable. It's still an investment buy but I have a couple which are 20 plus years old and still going strong

[shocker]

I can give a thumbs up to silk undersocks, they work a treat

[Ara]

Round here, in the middle of nowhere, a lot of people use wood to heat their houses, the alternatives being oil or LPG. No free wood for us then but we do manage to forage for our own kindling and firelighters (fallen twigs, remains of Mr A's projects and spruce cones) which means we aren't at the garage buying the stuff. We already keep our house cooler than most people think necessary nowadays so I don't think we'll be trying to save on heating. Until Mr A got his state pension, we were "officially" poor according to those who decide these things so it came at a good time for us with prices rising every time we go shopping. We actually wear clothes out! My neighbour was laughing at me because I was wearing a pair of leggings with a hole in the seam but I didn't get rid of them until they became more hole than material.
I grew up in the 60s so remember the fire in the living room only and ice patterns on the bedroom windows on a morning. Mr A laughed at me the other morning when my reply to his question "Why did you get up at 4 am?" was "because I was too hot". The temperature in the bedroom was 12°C.
Having said all that, our "next" house is going to be a modern, well insulated one rather than a rambling Victorian farmhouse.

[Smudge]

I have a passing interest in historic clothing. There is a reason the Victorian women wore multiple petticoats and made them of flannel in winter. For the men, I can recall my 1890s born grandfather wearing longsleeved and legged "combinations" in the early 70s. His 1955 built bungalow had a coal boiler for hot water and an electric fire in the lounge but that was it. No pansy central heating or fan heaters for that generation.

My dad is 76 and still without pansy central heating, getting (permanent) double glazing was a big thing for him.

The reason I say permanent double glazing, growing up in the 70's/80's we had metal window frames, every winter huge pieces of clear plastic were screwed in place to create temporary double glazing.

[diamond lil]

This is from a farmer up north on the Scots weather forum. He's very sane and well clue-ed up about things and he posted this yesterday:

*Re input prices in farming, having just had a conversation with an old college friend who is my main fertiliser contact where prices have risen by about 250% on the year due mostly to the Russians and Chinese playing silly so and sos with world markets.
Chemical sprays are the same along with machinery and to an extent fuel as well. Online shopping too shows food prices accelerating because of this but still have a way to go to match cost increases, so financial prudence is the side I have come down on rather than agronomic need. So our output will fall and if enough of us round the world do this then grain prices should rise to a level to cover this or the Chinese and Russians will release their stranglehold on costs of inputs if they can"t sell as much. This scenario played out in 2008 and lasted a year.Don"t think it will resolve itself so quickly this time.*