Current temperature in London:

Warm Bodies Cold Homes

An illustrated comic strip. Panel 1: A plate of Methi Pak. The text reads: “There are three of us, and the baby”. In the winter, we eat methi pak. It is so warming!”. Panel 2: A street scene in India. The text reads “My most comfortable memory is being in Bombay and Ahmedabad. No winter!” Panel 3: A 1960s routemaster bus in London in the UK in winter. The text reads: “We moved to the UK in 1975-6. My body was not used to the cold…and the 1970s had some extremely cold winters!”
An illustration of a plate of Methi Pak. The text reads: “There are three of us, and the baby”. In the winter, we eat methi pak. It is so warming!”.An illustration of a street scene in India. The text reads “My most comfortable memory is being in Bombay and Ahmedabad. No winter!”An illustration of a 1960s Routemaster bus in London in the UK in winter. The text reads: “We moved to the UK in 1975-6. My body was not used to the cold…and the 1970s had some extremely cold winters!”

Interview 20

person Participants: 3 adults and 1 baby
distance Location: Crystal Palace
receipt_long Heating costs: £82-£100 per month

Ways of staying warm?

Boiler, electric heater (when you don’t want to heat the whole house), sweaters and socks, and dressing gown on top of clothes. 

Warming foods to eat include methi (fenugreek) which is heat-producing, as well as Methi pak which is a winter delicacy.

When did you turn your boiler on?

In early October but kept it on a timer – the heating stops when the house becomes warm – but we need to keep it warm for the baby.

Warmest winter?

Most comfortable winter spent in Bombay and Ahmedabad where there is no real winter, and we often still travel there during British winter. 

Coldest Winter?

Back in the 1970s, it used to be extremely cold and winter started in September. We moved to UK in 1975/6 so our bodies were not used to the winter. We were not even used to having a shower in such cold temperatures. We had a fireplace in the shared house in mota bhai’s (older brother) house which housed almost 10 people (only for 2 years) in Tooting. Then everyone moved to their own homes. We moved to the Wandsworth council flat where there was 24/7 heating operated by the council. Then we bought a shop in Sutton and then we moved to live in Croydon where we have to control the temperature of the house ourselves, carefully calculating how much to spend on heating and how much to just manage by dressing and eating well.