DON'T FEEL COLD

IF you live outside South Devon, you won't have seen my November-December 2014 "Pensioners Platform" column in the Torbay Times. With the weather forecast predicting chillier times in the coming days, you may find the following information of help...

DON’T FEEL COLD

ANOTHER silly season is upon us! No, I’m not talking about all the dressing-up and antics associated with Halloween and Children in Need, or the excesses of the pre-Christmas and Yuletide holidays season. On the contrary, I’m referring to yet another badly thought-through and ill-timed government-backed announcement.

Winter 2014-15 hadn’t even started in October, yet somebody in the corridors of power had the bright idea of trying to encourage UK pensioners to turn our heating down during the daytime this winter to save money and help combat climate change.

Government scientists have apparently claimed that last year’s guidance to heat living rooms to 70F (21C) during daytime hours and 64.5F (18C) at night was based on thirty-year-old evidence. However, their analysis of more recent studies showed the minimum room temperature for households this winter should be 64.5F (18C), both day and night.

According to Public Health England, households could adjust their thermostats to stop spending money unnecessarily, as well as lowering carbon emissions, and thereby help to ease climate change problems. Dr Angie Bone, the head of extreme events and health protection said, “We know cold weather is bad for health, so knowing the threshold* at which coldness becomes a danger is very valuable. Our previous guidance was based on international research published in the Eighties, so we carried out a reassessment. Everything points to 64.5F (18C). There is very little evidence to support a higher level.” (* the “threshold” is 64.5F (18C) as mentioned above).

However, Dr Bone then added one of those catch-all afterthoughts so favoured by public servants. She said, “We are not saying don’t heat your house at 70F (21C) if that suits you, as this is only a guideline. People who are very active or who can easily adjust clothing, for example, might want to have the thermostat at slightly lower levels.”

So, for the umpteenth time this year, we’re bombarded with official statistics and Nanny State advice. And all this, despite the fact the vast majority of us are quite capable of knowing when we’re feeling cold indoors in the winter, and adjusting our heating and/or clothing accordingly. When, I wonder, will those in power accept the fact we’re ALL different? You simply cannot standardise the human species because we come in a multitude of shapes and sizes. Moreover, our bodies react differently to the conditions around us.  It’s not rocket science.

So, if you feel cold indoors this winter, don’t rely on the reassessment mentioned above, because 64.5F (18C) is … as that same reassessment stated … the very point at which coldness becomes a danger!

Instead, adjust your heating and/or clothing accordingly, and within your budget of course. And if that isn’t sufficient to keep you warm, then wrap yourself in a duvet or blanket, or do as many UK pensioners do during cold spells … tuck yourself up in bed with a hot drink. You are not a statistic, you’re a unique human being, and you have every right to keep yourself warm in a way that suits you.