14th September 2010

Ah, there you are.

Have you noticed how much cooler it is?
A week or two back as I was thinking of winter and not looking forward to it, a leaflet from our local council was pushed through the letterbox with the post. It said that if we had our loft insulated with special glass wool to a thickness of 10 inches, it would reduce our heating bill by 25%. It got me thinking. 25% would be a considerable amount in this household. What’s more, I had heard that in certain circumstances, this could be done free. Our local council was promoting the scheme so I thought I would look into it. I heard also that most power suppliers are offering a similar scheme to their customers. Although it isn’t means tested, I discovered that because we already had some existing insulation, we didn’t qualify for free (which I didn’t mind, though the logic is beyond my simple mind).

Anyway a young man came last week, humped the rolls of stuff upstairs, pushed it through the little loft hole and spread it to an even thickness of 10 inches, and it cost us £250.00.

I am fully expecting to have a holiday in the Maldives with the saving the experts say we will make this winter. Have you had any experience of this? A saving of 25% off a regular household heating bill is a very substantial claim.

On something else …
Have you heard the phrase ‘EXERCISE IS MEDICINE’? I don’t know what smart arse said it, but I am trying to get with it and stay healthy. I have got that exercise bug. I must be a late developer. I don’t mean serious running, and squash and all that sweaty Johnny Weissmuller stuff (Tarzan to you youngsters). Oh no. But I do believe that gentle exercise is necessary to counter the many hours I spend in my dressing gown and pyjamas in my little room tapping out on the computer.
In the summer I can take my exercise walking round the Park about seven days out of eight, but on the eighth it invariably rains and so I don’t go out. On those days –and there will be many more of them in the coming winter - I should take some other form of exercise indoors. I don’t know exactly what yet, but I have taken the first step in preparation. I have bought a walkman.

Must get back to writing my book. Thank you for looking in and reading the ramblings of this old writer.