The Little House is old-fashioned and almost devoid of new-fangled devices. It lacks double-glazing, central heating, an entrance lobby, and cavity wall insulation – my walls are solid, thank you very much. As a consequence it is, arguably, a little chilly.
When I first moved in there were two storage heaters, one upstairs and one downstairs. They stored heat at night when I was asleep and released it during the day when I was away. By the time I came home in the evening they were a spent force, so when they finally broke I did not miss them much and resolved not to replace them. Instead I opened them up, salvaged the firebricks and used them to build a little veranda.
Despite their general uselessness the heaters had made some sort of impact, and after their demise the house was even colder than before. Luckily the Little House is in the middle of a terrace, and my neighbours on both sides have central heating, so I managed for a year or two without any sort of heating except what the house managed to siphon off from my neighbours. The temperature rarely fell below 15° C, and I consoled myself that the Victorians had considered this to be the perfect temperature for the drawing room. When it got really cold I lit a fire in the parlour on the weekends when I was at home. As for upstairs, who ever heard of heating a bedroom?
Unfortunately my occasional house guests were united in their opposition to my old fashioned lifestyle. I can assure my readers that I am an excellent hostess, and offer every amenity to my weekend guests, including:
- A housecoat, which looks like a bathrobe made of wool, only more elegant; Sherlock Holmes, for example, can be seen of wearing one in some the illustrations of his adventures. However, my ungrateful guests tended to refuse to wear them and talked darkly about an aversion to ‘Slumber Parties’.
- An indoor bonnet, again made of a woolly material and amazingly warm, though somewhat destructive to hairdos of the upstanding variety.
- Woollen shawls and serapes of all shapes and sizes.
- Hot water bottles.
- A cup of early morning tea, complete with a biscuit.
- Hot water for showers and shaving.
I could go on, but I believe I have made my point. However, my guests refused all these winter-warmers and insisted on real heat. In the evening they would huddle provocatively close to the fire, and frequently refused to go to bed without at least two hot water bottles. In the morning they would emerge shivering from their beds, pointing accusingly to cold noses and casting aspersions on my moral status. But I refused to install central heating, bought additional blankets and put my faith in Global Warming. One by one my visitors stayed away, and even warned off others from staying with me in the colder months.
However, when the winters became colder and longer in the last few years even I had to admit that something had to be done. I bought two portable radiators, one for upstairs and one for downstairs, and set about insulating with a vengeance. There is quite a lot one can do, even without involving builders and piling up debts. I have evolved and perfected both new and already existing methods, and outline them below – may they prove useful!
(1) Astro-foil; about 1cm thick, looks like bubble wrap stuck between two layers of aluminium foil. I used it to line the attic, and it works a treat. One lightbulb warms the whole attic! With the leftovers I lined the walls behind some of my curtains and bookshelves.
(2) Insulating / black-out curtains; about £20 per window or door. I bought one for every window and the front door, and hung them up behind the regular curtains. Undetectable, and make a huge difference!
(3) Magnetic strips! I attached them to both the insulating curtains and the walls next to the windows/door. On cold nights I press the strips on the curtains to the strips on the wall and hey presto! I have a tight fit that lets no draughts in!
(4) Swinging curtain rod across front door; my front door opens into the parlour, so keeping heat in is essential. At first I had a normal curtain rod with a curtain (an old wool blanket) above the door. When I was inside, I pulled the curtain and this helped keep the heat in. But since I can’t pull the curtain from the outside, the curtain remained pushed to the side and cold got in through the gaps in the doorframe. Having considered the problem extensively, I bought a swinging curtain rod. It is attached on the same side as the door hinge, just above the door. The other, free-swing side, is attached to the door with a piece of string. As the door moves, the curtain does. As I pull the door close from the outside, the door curtain is also pulled against the door. And voila, less heat escapes!
