Spring moans, ramps, chat and banter

[Interitus]

21 hours ago, Nick L said:

Many people believe that gritters are only out during severe cold weather, but in many areas they can be out on half the nights in winter.

Yeah, but never on the few occasions that they are really needed 

[Nick L]

Just now, Interitus said:

Yeah, but never on the few occasions that they are really needed 

I think councils and gritters get an unfair rap at times (like forecasters  ). When it comes to snowfall, grit can only do so much. Plus it's a vicious circle, any snow that starts to settle causes traffic to grind to a halt, the gritters/ploughs can't get to where they're needed, further snow settles etc. etc. 

[knocker]

Looking good for the barby outside the woodshed for Easter.

[Snipper]

Not sure why there is now the hunt for cold grotty weather. Surely it would be be nice to see some nice warm weather?  Costing me a fortune to propagate plants to enjoy over the coming summer months .

I am happy with cold weather at the appropriate time but I am not such a sado that needs a wet snowflake now. 

Surely anything now would be so brief that you might blink and miss it. The rest of ithe winter has been like that for most. 

Yes try and plot what is coming but the models have been more than anything rather misleading 

S

[I remember Atlantic 252]

FI, I'll believe this when I see it, was showing at same stage 16C in the south for monday 14th, now we'll be lucky to get 9°

[reef]

Here's a suggestion. Perhaps those who can't understand why those who want cold are still looking or want to discuss spring warmth perhaps go over to the spring thread?

Then perhaps we can avoid partisan rubbish which seems to appear every couple of days at this time of the year.

Thanks

[I remember Atlantic 252]

ECM trended a bit towards GFS, sadly, not as bad, but this still looks raw for Stafford and the rest of the South, warm and sunny oop norf though

[cornish snow]

49 minutes ago, knocker said:

Looking good for the barby outside the woodshed for Easter.

We are having a barbi on sat lunchtime,before the Eng v Wales game.

Could have had one this lunchtime,sat outside after work,would actually call it warm in shelter from the breeze.

Looking like winds going Easterly for next week.Good news is that it will dry the ground out.Bad news,will be chilly in the breeze.

On your side now Knocker until November when i become a Coldy again.

Here's hoping next winter will see a run on blue crayon sales at tesco.

[markyo]

Here's hoping for a nice and cold Easter,winters last fling before the boredom of summer is upon us. There will be plenty of time in the up coming months for those sleepless nights of heat to torment me so one last goodbye to the good times would be nice!

[stainesbloke]

18 minutes ago, markyo said:

Here's hoping for a nice and cold Easter,winters last fling before the boredom of summer is upon us. There will be plenty of time in the up coming months for those sleepless nights of heat to torment me so one last goodbye to the good times would be nice!

It'll be quite a while before any 'sleepless nights of heat', looks like quite a cool March bar next weekend (possibly) with cold nights aplenty. Why not get yourself a nice mobile aircon unit for the summer? Under £100 from Argos and they really do work.

[markyo]

11 minutes ago, stainesbloke said:

It'll be quite a while before any 'sleepless nights of heat', looks like quite a cool March bar next weekend (possibly) with cold nights aplenty. Why not get yourself a nice mobile aircon unit for the summer? Under £100 from Argos and they really do work.

Got one recently! Thanks for the tip. I live on a busy main road so the choice is either heat no noise or windows open and less heat and noise and fumes! Hopefully the heat will stay off till high summer,don't mind that to much,its where the warmth should be and people who enjoy that type of weather can have their fill!

[Wildswimmer Pete]

57 minutes ago, markyo said:

Here's hoping for a nice and cold Easter,winters last fling before the boredom of summer is upon us. There will be plenty of time in the up coming months for those sleepless nights of heat to torment me so one last goodbye to the good times would be nice!

But not for us who have to pay through the nose for heating.  Roll on those hot days and nights I can sleep on the top of the duvet.  For those winter lovers, bear in mind the British winter's annual cull of over 40,000, mostly pensioners.  It's much cheaper to cool off than heating one's home.  Suggestion: swimming pool (cheap), local river or lake (free).

Edited March 11, 2016 by Wildswimmer Pete
Added a bit

[stainesbloke]

36 minutes ago, markyo said:

Got one recently! Thanks for the tip. I live on a busy main road so the choice is either heat no noise or windows open and less heat and noise and fumes! Hopefully the heat will stay off till high summer,don't mind that to much,its where the warmth should be and people who enjoy that type of weather can have their fill!

With the aircon unit, you use it with the bedroom (or whatever room you're using it in) window and door closed. Therefore a win-win for you, no noise/fumes from outside and a nice cold room. One of my mates got one last year and I was surprised at just how chilly it made the air go in his room. Too cold for me, I love warm nights and even living near London there are few nights that bother me warmth-wise; am hoping for a very warm summer this year.

[MP-R]

Looks like a fairly lengthy settled spell now starting, though varying levels of 'springlike' sensation depending on cloud/fog etc. I can remember even in March 2012, the settled spells before mid-month struggled with mist/fog and surpressed temperatures. It wasn't until after mid month that the sun really shone. FI continues to show a return to more mobility from the Atlantic, but possibly offering convective opportunities which would be most welcome from me at least.

[markyo]

1 hour ago, Wildswimmer Pete said:

But not for us who have to pay through the nose for heating.  Roll on those hot days and nights I can sleep on the top of the duvet.  For those winter lovers, bear in mind the British winter's annual cull of over 40,000, mostly pensioners.  It's much cheaper to cool off than heating one's home.  Suggestion: swimming pool (cheap), local river or lake (free).

Each to their own,but i really hate the summer hot days and nights,totally knackers me out not sleeping and with my work being over 90f plus all year round the relief of winter is heaven. As for the annual cull,i think you'll find that a heatwave will cause so much more distress and fatalities.As for swimming pools,very expensive and local lakes none so not a option!

[markyo]

1 hour ago, stainesbloke said:

With the aircon unit, you use it with the bedroom (or whatever room you're using it in) window and door closed. Therefore a win-win for you, no noise/fumes from outside and a nice cold room. One of my mates got one last year and I was surprised at just how chilly it made the air go in his room. Too cold for me, I love warm nights and even living near London there are few nights that bother me warmth-wise; am hoping for a very warm summer this year.

The air con needs venting,so either a drilled large hole or a window open with the vent pipe put through are the two options.Think you may be thinking of a air cooler,not the same thing. 

[Wildswimmer Pete]

57 minutes ago, markyo said:

Each to their own,but i really hate the summer hot days and nights,totally knackers me out not sleeping and with my work being over 90f plus all year round the relief of winter is heaven. As for the annual cull,i think you'll find that a heatwave will cause so much more distress and fatalities.As for swimming pools,very expensive and local lakes none so not a option!

In hot weather vulnerable people are advised to stay indoors with the windows closed and have cold drinks, even a cool bath or shower.  Much easier and cheaper than the stark "heat or eat" option for many pensioners, hence the annual winter cull.  Do you have the figures for heat-related deaths amongst the over-65s?   I'm 65 but because of my bare-skin winter swimmer's cold-hardening I'm not so badly affected by the cold - what you see me holding in my avatar is a 1" thick slab of ice.

Although I swim outdoors (hence my forum name) I also swim in pools.  I pay £21/month for my subscription and given my current use each swim effectively costs me £1 which is hardly expensive even for a pensioner.  Many pools issue "season tickets" which are much cheaper than paying each time.

Edited March 11, 2016 by Wildswimmer Pete
Added a bit

[markyo]

12 minutes ago, Wildswimmer Pete said:

In hot weather vulnerable people are advised to stay indoors with the windows closed and have cold drinks.  Much easier and cheaper than the stark "heat or eat" option for many pensioners, hence the annual winter cull.  Do you have the figures for heat-related deaths amongst the over-65s?   I'm 65 but because of my bare-skin winter swimmer's cold-hardening I'm not so badly affected by the cold - what you see me holding in my avatar is a 1" thick slab of ice.

Although I swim outdoors (hence my forum name) I also swim in pools.  I pay £21/month for my subscription and given my current use each swim effectively costs me £1 which is hardly expensive even for a pensioner.  Many pools issue "season tickets" which are much cheaper than paying each time.

Totally agree with your costings for the over 65's,just wish in my area more people like your good self could make use of them!, as 'i am under 65 my local council swimming pool is so expensive i wouldn't dream of going. I know 2003  was a extreme but just wanted to make a point that heat will be of just a problem as cold,its a lot lot easier to warm up than cool down. Sorry that is just a plain fact. 2003 was a killer and i think may be repeated very soon sadly.

[Wildswimmer Pete]

55 minutes ago, markyo said:

Totally agree with your costings for the over 65's,just wish in my area more people like your good self could make use of them!, as 'i am under 65 my local council swimming pool is so expensive i wouldn't dream of going. I know 2003  was a extreme but just wanted to make a point that heat will be of just a problem as cold,its a lot lot easier to warm up than cool down. Sorry that is just a plain fact. 2003 was a killer and i think may be repeated very soon sadly.

The over 65s in my area have their individual swims discounted however despite being 65 I still pay full whack for my subscription - no discount.  Still cheaper than paying each time with OAP discount.  The time I spend in the pool I'm in the warm and not using power to heat my home.  I'm already dreading the electricity bill for the past winter - I'm on quarterly.  However I fear for those on State pension (like me) who have pre-payment meters and have to try keep the heat and light on.  Hence "Heat or eat".  In addition the energy companies are screwing over pre-payment customers however I understand that particular scam is being shortly stopped.  Extra charges used to be justified for pre-payment because someone had to visit properties to collect the cash from meters, but not now as keys are replenished electronically in a local shop.

Edited March 11, 2016 by Wildswimmer Pete

[stainesbloke]

2 hours ago, markyo said:

The air con needs venting,so either a drilled large hole or a window open with the vent pipe put through are the two options.Think you may be thinking of a air cooler,not the same thing. 

It was a unit that could be moved about, you may be right, probably an air cooler rather than an aircon unit. Regardless, it got the (large) bedroom nice and cold without having to have the window open or any holes drilled in the walls, etc. No idea about cost to run though...but a long time til we get any hot nights I would have thought. Looks quite nice over the next couple of weeks, if cloud amounts stay low.

Edited March 11, 2016 by stainesbloke

[jethro]

Funnily enough there was a big study done recently about the impact of weather on death rates and whether or not hot or cold weather caused the most harm. The overwhelming evidence is that cold is worse than hot, but rather than the extremes of cold weather being the primary cause, it found moderately cold weather was by far the worse. I wonder if in this country at least, those findings and outcomes are related to the cold weather payment scheme for pensioners? Severe weather prompts an added payment in recognition of heating costs, but chilly, damp days of 2-3c receive no recognition but require just as much heating to warm the house to an acceptable level. Anyway, for anyone interested here's the report and access to the study:

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/may/21/moderately-cold-weather-more-deadly-than-heatwaves-or-extreme-cold

http://www.nhs.uk/news/2015/05May/Pages/Mild-cold-more-deadly-than-heat-waves-or-very-cold-snaps.aspx

[markyo]

2 hours ago, Wildswimmer Pete said:

The over 65s in my area have their individual swims discounted however despite being 65 I still pay full whack for my subscription - no discount.  Still cheaper than paying each time with OAP discount.  The time I spend in the pool I'm in the warm and not using power to heat my home.  I'm already dreading the electricity bill for the past winter - I'm on quarterly.  However I fear for those on State pension (like me) who have pre-payment meters and have to try keep the heat and light on.  Hence "Heat or eat".  In addition the energy companies are screwing over pre-payment customers however I understand that particular scam is being shortly stopped.  Extra charges used to be justified for pre-payment because someone had to visit properties to collect the cash from meters, but not now as keys are replenished electronically in a local shop.

Completley agree with you regarding the pre-payment scandal,should have been put a stop to long before now. It is disgusting how the energy companies have been acting regarding this. It is just corporate greed to satisfy shareholders that has led to this. Really hope your bill isn't as bad as you fear!

[markyo]

1 hour ago, stainesbloke said:

It was a unit that could be moved about, you may be right, probably an air cooler rather than an aircon unit. Regardless, it got the (large) bedroom nice and cold without having to have the window open or any holes drilled in the walls, etc. No idea about cost to run though...but a long time til we get any hot nights I would have thought. Looks quite nice over the next couple of weeks, if cloud amounts stay low.

Aircon is not cheap to run,the BTU unit of 12000 which i have will make my meter spin rather a lot me thinks!

[Milhouse]

Temps now up to the March average for the time of year, the sun gaining strength and the predictions of a white Easter have gone t*ts up. I think its time to rename the discussion.

[knocker]