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Original poster

The heat or heat statment.

120 replies

Heiionwheels · 17/04/2022 15:11

I am aware that ( totally apart from rising food and petrol costs and other general cost of living costs or any medical or age related need for heat) a few of my more elderly friends are actually agast at all the reactions about the 'need 'to be warm in the house.
They have sèen that younger family members have got used to / seem to feel it the norm/ entitled to being able to walk round indoors in shorts and t shirts.
Wereas when they were younger they only heated one room ,wore jumpers, used hot water bottles as normal life. There wasnt all this talk of hypothermia and i live in a old house.
They seem to think believimg that you need a hot / warm house is actually a quite spoilt entitled stance and refelective of a pampered generation in some ways ,one who cannot cope with putting on an extra jumper, watching the pennies,being frugal .
They think that the tears on tv, the talk of getting ill due to cold reflects todays attitides of unability to get on with things and expectation of what is actually luxery not really such a hardship( apart from above type ofgrounds as outlines) .
Many many people have managed without warm houses and they want to know why this is seen as a right amd essential when really its a modern day thing. Likewise people have lived thro many things and have had to live frugally.we can do it too .
I see their point in some ways.

OP posts:
BIWI · 17/04/2022 15:40

No , i admit i didnt kmow that some people cant afford to put the tv on

FFS. Have you been under a rock for the last few months?

Reports from food banks recently - to give you an example - that some claimants who are entitled to help from them are refusing food that needs to be cooked, as they can't afford the electricity/gas to do so.

JayAlfredPrufrock · 17/04/2022 15:41

I think we’ve had it good for decades, by and large, in the West and have begun to see that as the norm.

World events may take us down a different path.

BIWI · 17/04/2022 15:42

Here you go @Heiionwheels

Original poster
Heiionwheels · 17/04/2022 15:43

BIWI yes am aware of food poverty linked to food prep.
Tv costs 1 to 2 p and hour. I admit i didnt kmow that .

OP posts:
lemmein · 17/04/2022 15:43

I hope your 'elderly friends' give up their winter fuel payments if a warm home is so unnecessary for them.

Why are you writing your post from your 'elderly friends' perspective when it's clear it's actually yours? Weird.

Nidan2Sandan · 17/04/2022 15:44

You think it's not a right, and its unreasonable for people to want to be able to heat their homes and be able to feed their families and themselves at the same time Hmm really Confused

Sheesh, what massive low society has come to when people think THAT is unreasonable.

Why cant the "ice on the windows" generation want better for the following generations?

People on here who moan about folk wanting to walk around in tshirts and shorts havent got a clue. The people moaning are already those who wear jumpers and sit under duvets and they STILL wont be able to afford to eat and heat.

Original poster
Heiionwheels · 17/04/2022 15:45

lemmein because I am considering their perspective

OP posts:
ChiswickFlo · 17/04/2022 15:48

It's the 21st century ffs not victorian times...much as the likes of Jacob Rees Mogg would like to bring back workhouses.

These types of "well, we coped" comments are so insidious and disturbing...why shouldn't we want better for our young people?

Why should it be a race to the bottom?

grapewines · 17/04/2022 15:48

Yeah. My different perspective is that you're on a windup. Whatever. Your "out of the box" thinking kid is smarter than all of us trying to survive.

lemmein · 17/04/2022 15:49

@Heiionwheels

lemmein because I am considering their perspective
Yeah ok Hmm

Have the courage to at least own your shitty 'race to the bottom' views.

Original poster
Heiionwheels · 17/04/2022 15:49

In that we appear to have very different perspectives and e pectations.
I have also cleaned for a family who live in a large house. They heat one room . I got told not to leave doors open as they retain heat in that room .my own dcs are the opposite of that and say its cold and actually like to walk round in very ( to me ) hot university halls accomadation . So i see a point they make .

OP posts:
LadyGardenersQuestionTime · 17/04/2022 15:49

My mum was in the armed forces throughout WW2, lifted in a house with no loo when first married, and we all grew up in a house where the only heating was an open fire in the sitting room that sent all its heat up the chimney + two ancient and useless night storage heaters.

It was grim.

In her 80s she moved to a new build, I showed her the thermostat on the wall, she turned to to 25 and there it stayed. She was SOOOO happy.

walksen · 17/04/2022 15:50

"Many many people have managed without warm houses and they want to know why this is seen as a right amd essential when really its a modern day thing. Likewise people have lived thro many things and have had to live frugally.we can do it too .
I see their point in some ways"

"People used to live in caves, drink water from rivers and shit in the woods too. "

Lots of people are told to work harder, longer, both partners working but that isn't happening really is it? Back in the days when people heated only one room ceo's did not earn 1000x the average worker either. It seems like the last twenty years government policy favours big business under the wealth trickles down model which we can all see is not working. Much was made of we can cut vat on bills but when it comes to it we are not cutting vat or using windfall taxes to protect the low paid.

Gizacluethen · 17/04/2022 15:50

In this day and age we shouldn't be cold and hungry after working a full day.

Lady0racle · 17/04/2022 15:51

Being cold is awful. Miserable and relentless. I was often cold this winter. When the DCs were at their Dad’s, I saved money by not having the heating on or using the boiler for hot water. It was frequently 8 degrees in my bedroom.

I’m a single parent but I work full time.

Having a warm home should absolutely be a right. Being cold is fucking awful. I hate the thought of my children - anybody’s children- being cold because their parents can’t afford heating.

ChiswickFlo · 17/04/2022 15:52

@Heiionwheels

lemmein because I am considering their perspective
No, you really aren't.

People like you make me want to Puke.

These young people you are so happy to throw under a bus are the ones who will be working to pay taxes to pay your pension/nhs and social care (rber the post war consensus? Quaint whilst it lasted eh?).

Tbh they may decide they don't want to..
And who would blame them? I forsee a huge brain drain/diaspora of the next generation.

Goodness...who will be blamed for the evils of the world then?

Nomoreusernames1244 · 17/04/2022 15:55

Having a warm home should absolutely be a right

There’s difference between thinking that means the whole house being warm enough to sit in a t-shirt at all times and taking sensible measures like turning the thermostat down a degree, turning off rads in unused rooms, at night etc.

I have some work colleagues complaining about their heating costs- they think “warm” is a constant 20-22 degrees in all rooms.

slashlover · 17/04/2022 15:57

@Heiionwheels

In that we appear to have very different perspectives and e pectations. I have also cleaned for a family who live in a large house. They heat one room . I got told not to leave doors open as they retain heat in that room .my own dcs are the opposite of that and say its cold and actually like to walk round in very ( to me ) hot university halls accomadation . So i see a point they make .
They can afford to heat a room and pay for a cleaner? They don't know anything about not being able to afford things. I know people who won't even put the heating on for 15 minutes.
Original poster
Heiionwheels · 17/04/2022 15:57

I see that mostly people dont agree. The poll shows at the moment 34% feeling in agreement tho. Therefore some do agree and I would also like to hear the views that go alongside that vote

I do wonder if the expressed anger means a reluctance to verbalise their views.

OP posts:
Original poster
Heiionwheels · 17/04/2022 15:59

Nomoreusernames1244
Exactly my point. If.people are used to that! Its hot.

OP posts:
Manekinek0 · 17/04/2022 15:59

The truth lies somewhere in the middle. Some people do heat their home to an unnecessary level. But thinking that living as people have in the past is a realistic option or that unheated homes are healthy is nonsense. Most homes don't have a fireplace anymore. Life wasn't great in the past, child mortality rates amongst other indicators show us that.

Alightjacket · 17/04/2022 15:59

Oh look another goady thread on this topic...

Original poster
Heiionwheels · 17/04/2022 16:01

slashlover they can afford heat one room
They ate both in 80.s . The son normally does the cleaning so they dont pay a cleaner normally. He was ill..it was.a one off.

OP posts:
PenguinIce · 17/04/2022 16:02

@Heiionwheels

Our ds has listened to family members. Instead of fearing being cold amd bills he is trying to think outside the box. He is using solar lights at night , hot water bottles and duvet for tv . He feels ok . He is warm. He says he feels that tho he would much prefer heat ,it is developing some resorcefulness in him .
It’s April. Let’s see how resourceful he is with his hot water bottle if we have a harsh winter!
lemmein · 17/04/2022 16:02

@Heiionwheels

I see that mostly people dont agree. The poll shows at the moment 34% feeling in agreement tho. Therefore some do agree and I would also like to hear the views that go alongside that vote

I do wonder if the expressed anger means a reluctance to verbalise their views.

I access via the app, as I'm sure many do, so can't vote. I'd take the voting stats with a pinch of salt - 34% of those who can vote agree with you your elderly friends.