Current temperature in London:

Warm Bodies Cold Homes

An illustrated comic strip. Panel 1: A hot water bottle - it looks warm. The text reads “I use a hot water bottom to help me keep warm”. Panel 2: The hot water bottle is now wrapped in a crocheted cover. The text reads: “I’m lucky to have this beautiful crocheted cover made for me”. Panel 3: A comic-style POP! The text reads: “But I worry that it will burst and cover me with hot water!”.
An illustration of a hot water bottle - it looks warm. The text reads “I use a hot water bottom to help me keep warm”.An illustration of a hot water bottle wrapped in a crocheted cover. The text reads: “I’m lucky to have this beautiful crocheted cover made for me”.An illustration of a comic-style POP! The text reads: “But I worry that it will burst and cover me with hot water!”.

Testimonies from the Heat Workshop

person Participants: 10 Londoners with Jamaican, Italian, Colombian and Nigerian ancestry.
distance Location: Brent
apartment Housing type: Flat
receipt_long Heating costs: Various

These are insights from multiple participants who joined in for a heat-workshop at St Lukes Kilburn.

Practices to stay warm

  • Boiler and Lidl oil heaters.
  • Socks and fleece sheets.
  • Electric blanket but this has the fear of sleeping without turning it off, and it is bad with menopause.
  • Slanket – blanket with sleeves
  • Gloves in the house
  • Bed warmer from Amazon
  • Spicy food and warm porridge in the morning
  • Glass of sherry or white rum
  • Hot shower
  • Methanol rub (Aboniki – Nigerian rub) – rub on wrists, back of ears, throat, and knees. 
  • Eucalyptus oils.
  • Salt lamp.
  • Putting hands in cold water to shock the body into producing warmth.
  • Hot water bottles help but YOU HAVE TO BE CAREFUL WITH THEM BECAUSE THEY COULD EXPLODE WHEN YOU ARE SLEEPING:

Some of the tips shared in the workshop to prevent this pop:

  • Crochet them with a beautiful cover
  • Do not fill them fully, and always get the air out before shutting the lid.
  • Replace them every 2 years because the rubber can deteriorate.
  • Do not put them near your feet if you have the habit of kicking in sleep.

Childhood memories of warmth

“Warmest in the womb”

Warmest memory was recalled as Christmas with mum.

Memories of Jamaica as she moved to the UK at the age of 15 and now she is 70 but cannot afford to travel there, so last time she went to Jamaica was in 1990. But she does remember how there was no winter there.

Memories of Paraffin heaters with wicks, and the constant fear of falling into them as a child.

Everybody started remembering this strange object:

A small metal covered paraffin heater. The lid is hinged to give access to a glass bottle. On the front a ring sits behind a wire shield with a reflective concave metal plate behind. Remnants of gold paint survive, one foot is missing (image from the National Trust Collections)

Remember being warm only in the living room and freezing in the bedrooms – so wanting to undress in the living room but being told off by her mum.

Duvets came into the UK in the 1970s but until then there were these thick (striped) sheets and heavy blankets that trapped you in your bed. Bedding used to be uncomfortable as the coil/spring would pop out and stab you in your sleep.

Growing up in Colombia, you never felt cold – the British indoor heating spoiled her as now she is cold when she visits Bogota.

Growing up in Northern Italy was nice and warm even in the winter because the houses were better made in comparison to the UK.

Shared childhood memory of mums stuffing old stockings to close gaps in doors.

(See drawings of homes made by participants here)