Why do Brits live in darkness except for December?

[Swedegirl48]

I am Swedish and at home if you walk down a street, most houses will have lamps in some of the windows, outside lights and usually people don’t draw curtains so you can see the lights from within the houses. I was asking British DH today why Brits tend to light up their houses so enthusiastically in December, but the rest of the year people draw their curtains and no one seems to put lamps in the windows (at least not where we live which is London). I am the only person in my street who has a lamp in every window of my house and leave some on overnight too. I think I am trying to overcompensate for my very dark street.

@Swedegirl48 That's a MASSIVE fire risk! You need to stop doing that unless you don't have any curtains

We do have windowsills?! Every window has a windowsill

I think maybe Swedish homes are built with better double-glazing whereas some British homes have single-glazed windows so shutting curtains to help keep heat in is necessary?

The council light the streets, I prefer dark

The shallow windowsills in my Victorian house cannot support a lamp, sadly.

I think the idea of lights in the window are lovely.

In general I think people are just very insular and a bit miserable.
Try saying "Hello or Good Morning' people look at you in disbelief and think you are an axe murder or something

I’m with the previous poster on this. Rare weather phenomena are worth stopping and enjoying: life isn’t all about expediency and doing what we need to do as quickly as possible. That’s so depressing. Where do we find any wonder and joy living like that?

Our 3 hour journey turned into 5 because of the fog. It was still special to see the blanket of mist below my parents’ house on the 28th before coming home - a complete one-off.

Yes it was cool. Whitby looked amazing

Ok sorry, I meant in general in Sweden. Don’t know anyone who draws their curtains, or have curtains that you even can draw.

How big are they, in general?

Some houses leave fairy lights up during winter. I close my curtains to keep warmth in and provide privacy . Inside I have lamps and candles for my benefit, not the the rest of the street.

I want to move to Sweden now. Merton in the gloom is way overrated.

Are their bills sky high? Or do they have special windows?

They like to be cold and dark as a badge of demented honor.

Sadly, you are right @Happyhappyday. There are a significant number of mumsnetters who get hysterical when the thermometer creeps above 20 degrees, who hate the lovely long light evenings in summer and basically, just hate summer.

Every time we get a warm spell we get loads of threads complaining about the "heatwave". These same posters then usually go on to say that they hate wearing summer clothes, so they sit there sweltering in their huge jumpers instead of being sensible and wearing weather appropriate clothes.

I am definitely in the love summer camp though.

@MurderousFrieda and @SensitivePetal I was driving in the dark. It was not an enjoyable drive.

I did, however, get a fabulous photo the other day where the fog was in the valley with the sun above and you could see Emley Moor mast rising up out of the fog into the sunshine. Several people posted images on the local Facebook pages of this.

I don't close my curtains, but my living room is upstairs and not overlooked. I'm also lazy

I absolutely detest this time of year. If I could hibernate, I would. The dark, early nights are the worst. Let there be light, I say.

Do you stand in front of a window when you get dressed/undressed @Swedegirl48

Robbing people of their darkness

I've heard it all now.

I light my house, I have lamps or fairy lights or candles in most rooms/window spaces. It costs very little to run them, especially if they're rechargeable/LED etc.

Some of the replies on here are mental 😂

Oh wow. That’s so interesting, I always think Sweden is very cold in winter so I would expect thick curtains or shutters. In Spain people have blackout blinds to keep out the sun, but also curtains to keep out the winter cold, so it’s not exclusively a British thing. How do you prevent heat loss through the glass, and drafts around doors and windows in older properties?

No, I'm very short sighted and struggle to see in dim light.

Here we are with less than 25 years to save the earth, burning lights all evening like the last days of Rome.

Not sky high. Heating always on wheter we are at home or not. Just insulated houses, I guess.

That sounds quite nice actually. I've never been to Sweden.. but basically I'd hate people to see in my window while I'm half asleep on the sofa 🤣

Haven’t been able to buy the energy wasting light bulbs you are talking about for many, many years. UK should really step up if this is even a choice.

The idea of leaving a little light in a front window to guide people home is lovely but we don’t do it and don’t have a window sill we can do it from. We close our curtains for warmth and privacy.