Thursday 9 December 2010

The Big Chill

I feel the cold, my default temperature setting is "a bit chilly", I blame it on being born in the summer. I like it hot. No sniggering at the back please. I can sunbathe in 45 degree heat, you will never hear me say I'm too warm. Never. It's a shame I live in a cold place, I am more suited to somewhere like Hades, climatically speaking.

Readers, my central heating has broken down. I have no heat and no hot water. I have no fires or other means of heating my house. There is a teeny tiny electric wall heater in my winter fridge, you may call it a conservatory? This means if I had a barometer it would read "Fecking Freezing"

This is my own personal doom. I am not good in the cold. Not good at all. I am tetchy, significantly more tetchy than normal. I am writing this in bed, attired in jammies, tracky bottoms, a rugby thermal top, a fleece, thermal socks and a cardigan awaiting someone who I will love for evermore coming to fix it. I am practising being a poor pensioner, I feel I've nailed it.

Please feel free to drop by and hug me to warm me up. Or to point and laugh at my attire, your choice.

Update 3pm

My boiler was indeed repaired and it stayed on for an hour, it's gone off again now. I will get another engineer after 6pm tomorrow to try and refix it. I am a very chilly auntie again.

Update 6pm

The company I pay stupid amounts of money to every month to fix these problems have called to reschedule the engineer due to sheer volume of central heating breakdowns. The first available slot is next Wednesday. They did apologize profusely and tell me I could buy electric heaters up to a limit of £50 and they would refund the money. They also offered to reimburse me if I found someone else to fix my boiler whilst at the same time telling me that they have taken on every local engineer they could find. As a last resort they have said I can check into a local hotel.

Not a very happy auntie this night.

33 comments:

AGuidingLife said...

Pop over to mine? Or meet you at Sainsburys for coffee? or get a good run in? Permanent standing in the shower? Oven! Oven is warm. Bake lots. eek ran out of ideas. Poor poor you, at least you know that you will be comfortable in your final resting place xx

Sueann said...

Oh my!! How awful! I hope by now it is fixed or they are in the process!!
Keep warm hun!!
Hugs
SueAnn

auntiegwen said...

S - I have a lovely lady called Claire who is ordering me the part and will come back and fit it this afternoon. Please feel free to pop round, I have hot coffee and mince pies, you have to bring your own bobble hat but you're a guider, you'll be prepared ! xx

auntiegwen said...

SueAnn - you popped up when I was answering Kellogsville ! it is in the process of being fixed, keep fingers crossed for me, it was minus 5 this morning

indigo16 said...

Had the same problem 2 weeks ago, it was colder in the house than outside! We bought a third duvet for the bed so we can barely breathe!

Gigi said...

Here's hoping you are warm and toasty by now!

The Return of the Native ... sort of. said...

We have heating but you wouldn't know it! Sun outside is lovely and warm though. I'm too mean to push up the Aga so spend my time walking round like the Michelin man.

Nota Bene said...

Oh I would've offered, but clearly the spare part is prefered to the man!

Also have spare heaters you can have...!

auntiegwen said...

Alison - 3 duvets sound like heaven!

Gigi - still fairly frozen :(

ROTN - ooh an aga, posh kitchen porn on my blog, love it !

NB - thanks all help welcomed

katyboo1 said...

Oh dear god in heaven. I would invite you here, but it is not much warmer. Still, we could huddle together, and I have cake. Poor, poor you.x

guineapigmum said...

Horrible, horrible - this happened to us a few years ago and when the chap came out he condemned our nearly new but just out of guarantee boiler so we were without heat for most of the winter (Didn't notice a reduction in our bills though. So here's lots of sympathy and a really big metaphorical, constantly warm hot water bottle.

Anonymous said...

Whiskey for internal warmth?

auntiegwen said...

Mrs Boo - when this happened I immediately thought of you in your MOD, fortunately the nice lady called Claire has fixed it. Huzzah ! I am slowly thawing out

GPM - That sounds awful, I have been horrible and it's only been 24 hours. My children would have packed up and built an igloo to get away from me if it'd lasted much longer! I can't imagine how you managed most of the winter

Mud - sounds like a plan, my dear

Autumn Mist said...

Poor you, I can't stand being cold, and our heating is pathetic. I go outside to warm up too, and have been wearing a hat indoors for weeks (one day I'll probably wear it in the shower!) Glad to hear you're thawing a bit.

auntiegwen said...

Am - I spoke too soon, it's gone off again :(

Nota Bene said...

Oh poor you....if you need a warm place let me know...though it's not local to you!

auntiegwen said...

NB - thank you, you are the 3rd person to offer tonight, much appreciated :) x

Anonymous said...

What a bugger, I am so sorry for you. Just keep piling on all your warm clothes and I hope you get it fixed properly very soon. I am fortunate enough to live next door but one to my plumber/heating person - it is one way of guaranteeing excellent service.

Sandi said...

Oh, feck that, I am also a summer girl, however you won't get me out in the sun in 43deg. I am one big ball of grumpy if I am cold.
You are being frost/snowed out and we are being washed out with flooding, our drought is becoming a thing of the past.
Keep warm, think of the color orange it may help, sending big fat warm hugs xx Sandi

Taz said...

Oh dear lord I feel your pain, my boiler died a few years back, middle of winter, snow on the ground and it was actualy warmer outside. :(
Now I have 2 newly fitted radiators neither of which work and a hole where my extractor fan should be in the bathroom stuffed with newspaper so the back of my house is freezing and the numpty that fitted them still hasn't come back to sort it. Let's just say he needn't bother or he will find part of his personal equipment stuffed in the wall!

Anonymous said...

The same thing happened to my mom two years ago at Christmas time during the worst snowfall we'd had in many, many years. She had to wait about TEN DAYS before her heating system was finally properly fixed (they ended up having to replace the whole thing). The whole time she refused to leave her house and come to mine. She insisted that she'd be just fine with her two electric heaters and gas fireplace. In the end, she decided that she never wanted to deal with a situation like that again, so she sold the house and bought a lovely apartment with hot water heat.
Hope you stay warm now!

Ayak said...

Just catching up and really sympathise. You'd be better off getting cheap flight out here...it's still surprisingly warm..sorry that's no consolation of course. Hope it gets sorted soon xx

PurestGreen said...

I love the cold but only in doses, like a walk through the crisp cold winter wonderland. Being consistently cold in the house is awful. I hope everything gets fixed soon!

auntiegwen said...

Alienne - oh that's so useful, what a great thing to bear in mind when you move house, have you got useful neighbours! mind you, no one would want to live next door to me then !

Sandi - oh no flooding! I hope you haven't been affected xx

Taz - oh yes, I am familiar with the make do and mend school of home repairs! I would absolutely put his equipment there but I doubt it would fill the hole!

Pinklea - I think my mum would be the same, no place like home is there? even if it is freezing

Ayak - I am actually considering a quick trip over in the holidays, I have to pay so much money in bank charges to transfer money to my Turkish agents - I have had a 1400 YTL electric bill !!!! I think the whole village have been in charging ipods, watching dvds and left all the lights and aircon on since I left

auntiegwen said...

PG - thank you. Everyone one keeps marvelling that me a hardy Scot feels the cold, they think Jordanhill is like a suburb of Siberia!!!

Ayak said...

1400 ytl?!!!!! That's ridiculous! I wish we lived closer to your house then we could maybe be of some help...a visit in person to the electric company is essential..but it's too far for Mr A to go. Do you have anyone else there who can investigate?

Kitty said...

I can deal with no heat, here in our flat we have just one (1) oil-filled electric radiator. I cannot afford to shell out for heating oil so that has to do us. But no hot water? No, that would be a bridge too far.
Sending warm regards and thoughts and hopes that it's all sorted already. If not yet, then bloody soon!
Bisouxxx

Muddling Along said...

Oh no! I hope they get it sorted

Our bedroom is in the old part of the house so no central heating... I may have been sleeping recently wearing gloves and a warm hat... not sexy but certainly warm

auntiegwen said...

Ayak - apparently it's for 4 months Aug to Dec and we had guests all of Aug, most of Sep and we were there for half of October, the aircon is in every room and guests usually need it most of the day in Aug and even into Sep, not mentioning pool lights etc etc etc it is usually a fairly hefty bill :( I rarely have anything from Nov to May so it usually evens out. ps still reading but still can't comment at your place xx

Kitty - I am off somewhere else for the weekend, somewhere that has heating and hot water, bliss!

MaM - oh yes sexy can go right out the window in winter, mind you I'm not sexy in the summer!!

Looking for Blue Sky said...

Oh no, I hate being cold too. Hope you are being pampered somewhere warm by now xx

Alex said...

I feel your pain Auntie.I live out in the sticks and if a few mm of snow falls our power lines go down.Happened on Monday and it was bloody freezing.went to bed at 7pm with a hot water bottle.A pink fluffy one if you must know :)
On the plus side,as soon as it was restored,I was so pissed off I went onto the Ryanair website and got meself a £20 inc.tax return to Malaga for mid January :)

auntiegwen said...

LFBS - indeed went to a warm house for the weekend, back in my chilly house now !

Alex - I love the thought of you with a pink fluffy hot water bottle!!! and just a wee tiny teeny bit envious of your cheap flight, have you got room for your auntie? :)

Alex said...

I`m afraid Bob is first in the queue but if he breaks a leg I`ll let you know.!
More snow forecast from Thursday onwards now...