The Highland Big Freeze
The BBC reports that Aviemore saw temperatures drop to -18 C, and Aberdeen cool to -12 C.
Driving the kids to school this morning, the car’s thermometer declared it to be -6 C, but a neighbour informed that when they arose earlier, it was as low as -9 C.
Luckily for us, we managed to “enjoy” some of the cold – I put the central heating on timer, thinking the weather was warming, and then at 5:30am the fire alarm in the house went off inexplicably, allowing much contemplation on how cold inside felt.
It’s possibly lukcy, actually – we got insulation set up between the rafters in the loft last week, just before the snow arrived, so hopefully that’s helped to keep some of the heat in.
In the meantime, a few days ago I told my partner I had replacing the boiler down on the to-do list for this year. She argued that despite the many times we’ve had to call Scottish Gas out, the fact that the boiler has already been replaced should mean it’s fine.
Then it locked out (luckily a few days before the cold really hit), and now it’s making that extra rattling noise that suggests one of the valves has gone screwy again.
Will definitely be investing more in ways to keep the house warmer this year, and possibly will include new double glazing – as the Jeld Wen glazing Barratt’s put in across the estate is complete pants – as most people on the development can attest. Hm, maybe should consider looking at triple glazing, just in case, though not if too expensive.
While the current weather is being billed as “Britain’s worst Winter for 18 years”, to be honest, it’s just a winter as we remember having all the time as kids. Perhaps the milder winters of more recent years has just softened us up. After all, how else could a couple of inches of snow bring London to a halt?
In the meantime, it’s worth considering that Global Warming will not make the UK warmer – in fact, if the Greenland Ice Sheets melt, there’s a danger the cold melt water will deflect the Gulf Stream away from our shores – which would make the current freezing spell somewhat mild by comparison to what could be coming.
In the meantime, at least it’s not raining. 
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