Quote from: Techno II on 13 February 2021, 01:07:23 PM
How did our ancient ancestors manage to stop themselves freezing to death ?

Phil.

Multiple layers ... furs ... wool (oiled wool is surprisingly waterproof, if smelly) ... huge calorific intake ... and the fact they didn't always manage it!

Mike......Personally, I think I wouldn't have bothered..and just been happy to turn into a popsicle
.

Cheers - Phil

I spent 2 hours on the allotment this morning - I know, I know - mad impetuous fool!   But I had this crazy idea that i should be planting my broad beans.

However, the ground was like iron and it was "bleedin-'freezin" - so I spent the last 45 mins pottering about in the green-house - at least the soil in there was not solid - but I did find a frozen solid mouse (that went into the compost heap).

I managed (using an old entrenching tool - a present from my sadly no longer with us father-in-law - who had liberated it during his National Service days) to harvested the last of this years baby beetroot (now roasting in the oven) and the last of the curly kale, red stemmed kale and cavolo nero - all now cooked and in the freezer. I am contemplating what this years crops will be - last year was very odd, as despite having Covid lock-down induced time to work on the allotment, getting hold of seeds and plants had been a nightmare. But I am better prepared this time.

Glad to be back home and in the warm ... as it is now starting to lightly snow here in Brizzle ... so I can enjoy an afternoon of figure painting (as I came home to a small Pendraken order on the door mat - many thanks Leon). I'll also spend some more time this evening crafting Pendraken rules and assorted other Pendraken top-secret stuff TBC  

Quote from: Big Insect on 13 February 2021, 01:53:38 PM
... (as I came home to a small Pendraken order on the door mat - many thanks Leon). I'll also spend some more time this evening crafting Pendraken rules and assorted other Pendraken top-secret stuff TBC  

No worries, good to hear that it arrived safely!

Quote from: Ithoriel on 13 February 2021, 01:27:33 PM
Multiple layers ... furs ... wool (oiled wool is surprisingly waterproof, if smelly) ... huge calorific intake ... and the fact they didn't always manage it!

They had not got soft like we have with our fairly draught free houses, heating etc. They probably shared their beds with more than one person and did not go outside more than absolutely essential

My Dad worked outside all his life and never really felt the cold as he just got used to it. Growing up in unheated houses helped I'm sure. Apparently hearth stones are the best way to heat a house, so our ancestors would have been able to keep warm relatively easily and, as above, would have been used to the cold. The same is true in reverse with coping with heat as it's just what you're used to and you body has adapted to.

As a former VSO, we were never sent out in the Hot Season as it was too much of a shock to our bodies and we couldn't acclimatise quickly enough. So we were sent in the Wet Season which was humid but not too hot or in the 'Spring'. So after 6 months in country your body had adapted to the climate and could cope with the heat. Amazing what the body is capable of really.

4 hours car park duty at the the local vaccination hub was fun last Tuesday morning... Wind chill at  minus 7 degrees Celsius ...

Quote from: Ithoriel on 13 February 2021, 01:27:33 PM
Multiple layers ... furs ... wool (oiled wool is surprisingly waterproof, if smelly) ... huge calorific intake ... and the fact they didn't always manage it!

They also didn't have a daily commute or the big shop as time critical journeys.
If the weather turned really cold, you could hunker down indoors for a few days, and huddle up with the livestock.

Quote from: Ben Waterhouse on 14 February 2021, 09:21:31 AM
4 hours car park duty at the the local vaccination hub was fun last Tuesday morning... Wind chill at  minus 7 degrees Celsius ...

Thank you very much for volunteering.

Same from me, Ben.

Good man !

Cheers - Phil.

Likewise from me Ben

I've got a cold. I hate colds . They're so boring! Maybe the bike ride in the rather cold wind a few days ago was a mistake...  :-.

I think it was the Scandinavians who used to just get all the community to hunker down in a huge longhouse for the winter with enough food and fuel to see them through, then just let the snow build up around the hut to provide insulation. They'd even leave barrels of milder alcoholic beverages outside then when things started to thaw a bit they all came out of their (I suspect very smelly) house, then lift the frozen chunks of water out of the barrels leaving only the concentrated alcohol to warm them up again.

Quote from: Steve J on 15 February 2021, 03:02:53 PM
I've got a cold. I hate colds . They're so boring! Maybe the bike ride in the rather cold wind a few days ago was a mistake...  :-.

I hope it's just a cold 

Quote from: mmcv on 15 February 2021, 03:52:16 PM
I think it was the Scandinavians who used to just get all the community to hunker down in a huge longhouse for the winter with enough food and fuel to see them through, then just let the snow build up around the hut to provide insulation. They'd even leave barrels of milder alcoholic beverages outside then when things started to thaw a bit they all came out of their (I suspect very smelly) house, then lift the frozen chunks of water out of the barrels leaving only the concentrated alcohol to warm them up again.

I wouldn't mind "Hunkering down" for winter with Kathryn Winnick of Vikings, even if she did get a bit smelly 

With cold now gone and the weather mild, my bike ride today was a real pleasure, well as much as it can be with lockdown restrictions. No need to warm the muscles up from the start, no freezing head and my asthma didn't play up like it did in the sub-zero temperatures. Not quite spring like yet but nice nonetheless.

Oh and the daffodils are beginning to emerge, after being put on hold by the cold snap.