One of the things that some Americans complain about when they visit the UK is the lack of air-conditioning. Now, for most of the year the UK never seems to get hot enough to warrant the wholesale use of air-conditioning (the average summer temperature reaches a maximum of 19°C/14°F in July) but every so often it does get hot, especially when the temperature exceeds the average by some margin.
For example, what has been described as a 'heat wave' hit our part of the UK last Friday, and by midday on Monday it was 30°C/85°F, By 2.00pm it was 33°C/91°F ... and the best thing that we could have done was to keep the curtains and blinds closed, switch on our tower fans, and do as little as possible. What made this more unusual that normal was the fact that last weekend was a Bank Holiday and this week is a school halft-term holiday ... both of which can usually be a guarantee of poor weather!
This would have normally resulted in most people – including Sue and I – just slowing down and trying to keep cool ... but we had already decided to redecorate our main bedroom and replace the furniture. Now, to do this, first we have to empty our spare bedroom (i.e. pack up all the clothes and pass the furniture onto Emmaus a charity that supports the homeless) so that we can then move everything from our main bedroom into it. In other words, the whole operation is a sort of 'Towers of Hanoi' puzzle.
Except for the furniture, everything that was in the spare bedroom has been crated up and moved upstairs to our former home office, with the inevitable overspill being stored in my toy/wargame room. The latter has therefore impacted on my ability to do any wargaming up there. Mind you, it's so hot in the room at present that I doubt that I could have done much in that room anyway! (The room is in our loft conversion and has both a black roof and enough insulation to keep it warm in cold weather ... which makes it very hot during the current 'heat wave'.)
The plan is to get everything back to normal by the middle of July, so until then, I'll probably be writing about the hobby rather than doing much actual wargaming ... unless – of course – I can come up with a cunning plan to bring my tabletop battles downstairs ...
Best of luck with the redecorating Bob.
ReplyDeleteDominion of... games use a very small footprint, or you could try Solo RPGs that can all be done on paper?
Maudlin Jack Tar,
DeleteWhat an excellent suggestion! I might have thought of it myself if I hadn't been physically - and mentally - overheating at present. As soon as it's cool enough to venture upstairs to my toy/wargame room, I'll collect everything that is necessary and bring it downstairs.
All the best,
Bob
We got together for a game last Sunday, it was a practice of the game we're putting on at Broadside in June. It was ridiculously hot in Posties shed, we must be mad, we spent around 8 hours playing the game and I can can honestly say I came out of the shed a lot lighter than when I went in!
ReplyDeleteRay Rousell,
DeleteNow that is dedication!
I’d probably have lasted five minutes before I’d had to go outside to cool down!
All the best,
Bob
BOB,
ReplyDeleteWe here in New South Wales look forward to when the temperature drops to 30deg C...we've had days of 38 to 40- very hot and it is hard to keep cool. Good luck with getting to the point of being able to have some games there. Cheers. KEV.
Kevin Robertson (Kev),
DeleteI suspect that your home is designed to cope with a wide temperature range. Ours is a brick-built, 1930s semi-detached that was insulated back in the day when a new ice age was predicted … back in the day before global warming came along. Once it gets warm/hot inside, it stays that way! Great in winter; less so during a heatwave.
All the best,
Bob
I, of course, second the suggestion to play one of the Dominion games!
ReplyDeleteSteve,
DeleteI would expect nothing less!
All the best,
Bob
I'm surprised 30/85+ slows you down. I guess it depends on what you are used to. I see this from a lot of UK posts. I hope you get relief soon and can get back to enjoying gaming. There is no AC when I'm outside painting in these temps.
ReplyDeleteWEK 3,
DeleteIn the UK, once the temperature begins to rise, our buildings and infrastructure - which are optimised for a temperate climate - cannot cope.
I live in Greater London, and even though we have an ultra-low emission zone, the level of air pollution can make the hot weather pretty unbearable. Currently, there is only a 7mph wind (coming from the southwest) to alleviate matters. It is also 33% humidity and the current air temperature outside is 34C/93F.
The weather is predicted to get cooler as the week progresses, and it should be 22C/72F by Sunday.
All the best,
Bob
I'm the sort of person who tends to burn when out in the sun for more than 15 minutes. I never really tan, just get freckles. And I've seen too many relatives who spent more time in the sun end up needing to be treated for skin cancer.
ReplyDeleteI sweat easily, too. I just don't do well in heat. If the temps get much above 70F/21C I won't be doing much activity outdoors, especially in the sun.
Fitz-Badger,
DeleteI also burn rather easily and have to wear the highest factor sunscreen if I ever spend much time in direct sunlight. My father had skin cancer towards the end of his life, and lost the top of one ear due to eat ... and I have no intention of following in his footsteps.
Keep safe ... and keep cool!
All the best,
Bob
Yeah, I'm almost a redhead/ginger. And even though I live in Oregon we do get hot weather and lots of sun in the summer. More so in recent years. A couple of years ago I had to have my HVAC unit replaced. This year I need to get my rook replaced. I'm thinking about the heat and climate change when I make my decisions.
DeleteI hope you can stay cool enough, too!
For what it’s worth Bob, I have a similar problem. When we first bought our current house, conscious of the need to keep heating bills down, we decided to insulate the loft. Surely a wise move?Subsequently, however, we (I probably just mean “I” as my wife is unwilling to climb up to the loft) decided to have the loft “boarded out”, adding floorboards etc. Space for a computer and some storage, maybe even a small gaming area? Well yes, but in Winter it is rather cold, as the insulation keeps the heat in the main house below, whereas in Summer the insulation traps the heat in the loft. So, the loft is either too hot or too cold - useful for storage, but not somewhere you’d want to spend much time. Luckily I was able to persuade my wife that we needed an extension (to include a library/games room). Thanks goodness - all’s well that ends well.
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Geoff
Elliesdad (Geoff),
DeleteI can well remember being told that we had to get the best loft insulation going because climatologists were predicting that the planet was cooling and we could expect colder weather for the foreseeable future ... and then they changed their mind and we are now told that we are experiencing global warming.
In retrospect, I would have preferred to have a toy/wargame annex, either a ground-floor extension or a large garden building. It would probably have cost about the same, although the latter might have been the most expensive option as our garden has a very steep slope (i.e. is is about a one-in-ten slope).
All the best,
Bob