Re: Personal Note. OT.

the wrote on Thu, 20 Nov 2008 19:40:43 GMT:

tony cooper wrote:
On Wed, 19 Nov 2008 09:49:41 -0000, "Alan Jones"
<atj@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

"Mike Barnes" <mikebarnes@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:8qOZ4+H5BnIJFwLX@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
In alt.usage.english, Don Aitken wrote:
On Mon, 17 Nov 2008 23:10:00 +0000, Robin Bignall
<docrobin@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

All of this leads me to ask the obvious question: how many Brits in the group have any form of air conditioning in their
houses?
I'm fairly sure that I have never even been in an
air-conditioned house. Offices and other commercial
premises yes, but never a house.
Ditto (in the UK). And as far as I know I've ever only been
in one house with warm-air heating, which was regarded by
the owners as very poor. Generally speaking British houses are well heated and appallingly insulated.
My (UK) bungalow is of Swedish wood-frame construction,
almost stiflingly well insulated (triple glazing etc), and
when the plans were being discussed I was offered
air-conditioning as an option. I turned it down partly
because of expense but also because I like open windows and doors in summer, which is just when the air-conditioning
would be most effectively used. There is a ceiling
extraction system fitted to some areas, to remove smells and
steam.

Bugs have not been discussed in this thread, and they deserve
mention. There are certain times of the year when we, too,
open the windows instead of turning on the AC. Not without
screens, though. Screens are vital to Florida living.

I seem to remember, when being in the UK, that not only were the windows open, but there were no screens on the windows. Perhaps I just didn't pay attention, though.

I've never seen screens on a UK house window or door. One of those confusing US lyrics only made sense to me when I first visited:
"Late last night I heard the screen door slam". We did,
however, have them on our caravan, which was designed for
being dragged to southern Europe in August where they were
invaluable, as it was essential to keep the windows open
overnight.

We used to spend a few weeks most years at Cape Hatteras in North Carolina. During the day, there was usually a breeze and the screens did not seem very necessary. At night, the wind dropped and the mosquitoes appeared and good screens were essential as were electric house fans. After a few years we rented places with air conditioning.
--

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

Email, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

.

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