Home News Columnists Philippa Tomson

Warm weather will cool heat debate

Mar 6 2011 by Peter Leathley, Sunday Sun

SPRING is officially almost upon us and I can’t wait. Not because the clocks go forward soon, not because we’re closer to a few Bank Holidays. No, it’s because we can finally stop bickering over the thermostat.

I don’t know what it’s like where you work, but it’s turned into a war over warmth in my workplace, and there’s a certain amount of twitching which goes on whenever the thermostat is altered.

I sit near it so am constantly tempted to fiddle until I remind myself that it’s not just me who sits in the newsroom. But there are some of us who take it upon themselves to switch without asking and then find themselves in battle with other temperature-sensitive employees.

And when I go home to stay with my parents it’s even worse.

Mum and I feel the cold, Dad doesn’t. Consequently, his opening words when he walks in the living room while we’re quietly watching the soaps are: “Blimey, it’s like an oven in here.” Then he walks out again. It doesn’t affect him, so I never understand why he bothers to comment.

But he’s got a point. We’ve all whacked up the heating considerably over the last few years, apparently – up from 12C in 1970 to about 17.5C today.

So, in a few week’s time, I aim to turn down the thermostat at home to 12C and keep the fingers off the thermostat at work. It will only happen, though, if I manage to forecast some better weather!

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