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The Sun
a day ago
- Climate
- The Sun
Our ultimate guide to keeping cool as temperatures soar – from the cost of running a fan and air con to wet floor hack
BARBECUES are sizzling, pub gardens are packed and ice cream vans are out in force - but how do you keep cool for less this summer? Here's our ultimate guide to keeping cool on a budget as the mercury is set to reach the high 20s and low 30s this weekend. 7 Plenty of us will be enjoying the 28C heat today — and more sunshine is on its way. Households are in for hot weather this weekend, with temperatures set to soar to a whopping 34C by Monday. An official heatwave is declared when an area hits specific temperature thresholds for three days in a row . That threshold is 25°C for the north and west of the UK, and 28°C for Greater London and the Home Counties. While the Met Office has issued no weather warnings, experts have urged households to keep cool and check in on friends, family and neighbours, especially if they are vulnerable. So how can you cool off for less? We explain how much it costs to run the most popular gadgets to keep you cool - and other ways to ward off high temperatures. Running fan - up to 84p a week Fans are a great way of keeping cool for less. They're cheaper alternatives to pricier methods like air con. How much they cost to run depends on various factors like the model, how much energy they use, and how long you have it on for. A 60W pedestal fan costs 1.5p an hour to run. If you ran it for eight hours overnight, that would cost 12p, which racks up to 84p for a week. A 35W desktop fan costs 0.9p an hour to run. Running it overnight would cost 7.2p, which would cost 50.4p for a week. Want to keep cool on the move? A handheld fan costs 0.08p to run an hour, so having it switched on for six hours over the day would cost 0.48p. Cost of air con - £14.42 a week 7 It may be tempting to reach for your air conditioning unit during balmy weather. But it could be more expensive to run than you think. A portable air con unit which runs on 1kW of power costs 25.73p to run per hour. If you used it for eight hours overnight, that costs £2.06, which totals £14.42 a week. If you're looking for an alternative that won't cost a penny, why not try a cold hot water bottle? Instead of filling your hot water bottle up with boiling water, fill it up with cold water instead. This will help you keep cool during the evening. You could even stick it in the freezer to get it even colder. Paddling pool - £14 7 Paddling pools usually fly off the shelves as temperatures sizzle, and are a fun way for the family to keep cool. Some pools on the high street are selling for under £10, but while that seems a bargain, costs can rack up when you come to filling it up. It costs £14 each time to fill up a 6ft wide paddling pool, according to estimates from the comparison site Uswitch. If you filled up your paddling pool with new water every weekend in July and August, which are the remaining summer months, that would cost you a whopping £126. To cut down on the number of times you're filling up your pool, buy sterilising fluid or use a filter. Sterilising fluid can be picked up for as little as £4.20 for a litre, from Sainsbury's and will help stop the growth of bacteria and algae. Or you could get a filter that you place into your pool - when we checked prices online at Amazon, we found the cheapest ones would cost around £13.00. Cover the pool - you could use bin bags - to protect the water when you're not using it. Other ways to keep cool for free Want to keep cool without breaking the bank? Try out these free hacks Mop the floor 7 Clean the house and keep cool at the same time by mopping the floor. The hack boils down to simple science. The water will absorb heat from the floor when it evaporates - and hey presto, your floor is cooler. It's just like you sweat when it's hot - it's your body's way of keeping your skin cool. TV presenter Kevin McCloud is reportedly a fan of this little-known hack. He told the Radio Times in 2022 that he learned the tip from "little old Italian men" who mopped their stone floors during hot temperatures. Defrost the freezer 7 It may not be top of your list of fun things to do this weekend, but defrosting the freezer is a great way of cooling down. The cold air from the freezer will be a welcome relief, and will circulate around the room, helping to bring down the temperature. Experts estimate that not defrosting your freezer regularly could be costing households as much as £150 a year. So it's a win for your temperature and a win for your wallet too. Little-known new build home rule 7 If you live in a new build home, the good news is that it may have been designed to keep below a certain temperature. Building regulations state that bedrooms in new build homes must not exceed temperatures above 26C overnight. That means window and door openings will be designed to close if temperatures start to soar. Unfortunately, you won't benefit if you're not in one of these new builds - but there are other ways to keep cool. For example, you can close the curtains during the day, which will help to keep your home cool into the night.
Telegraph
2 days ago
- General
- Telegraph
Join the fray: embrace country home decor
In smarter pockets of the Home Counties, an arcane protocol used to dictate how you did – and didn't – do up your country home. Marble floors were for Mayfair. Ditto glass coffee tables – and Jacuzzis. No longer. In more meritocratic times, such conventions have been hurled on the scrapheap of history. A hot tub overlooking the ha-ha? A home cinema in the old ballroom? Why not? It's your home. Do what you want. But the fact persists. Rural homes are different from their urban counterparts. It isn't just the materials (honeyed Cotswolds stone, Norfolk flint and brick) but the scale – be it a beam-strewn cottage or Palladian villa – that sets them apart. Then there's the light. Filtered through a canopy of green, it brings the outside inside. All of these elements suggest a more nuanced, gentler approach to interiors. As the US decorator Elsie de Wolfe declared, it's all about 'suitability'. So if you're eyeing up a rural bolthole, or plotting a full-time escape from the city what are some of the essential 'dos' of modern-country decorating? Kitchens First: kitchens. If yours is the size of an apartment in Bow, resist the temptation to go open plan. Instead, think like the Edwardians and put the square footage to work as functional but decorative ancillary rooms. Larders with marble shelves, flower rooms heady with blooms, a scullery with charming plate racks. You won't have a tweenie to do the behind-the-scenes drudgery for you. But at least you can do it in style. In his Somerset kitchen, designer and furniture maker Patrick Williams of Berdoulat installed the 'wibbly' glazed screen which divides the pantry from the rest of the room. 'It masks the clutter without closing off the space,' says Patrick. 'By housing appliances in separate rooms, you can make the kitchen feel less kitcheny – more like a collection of furniture.' Other devices include tables instead of islands, wooden worktops, Welsh slate, or zinc beaten into sinks and worktops for 'a beautiful patina of time'. Designer Emma Hutton 's country-kitchen staples include: terracotta flooring, flatweave rugs (try Home & Found or Edit58) and open shelves with ceramics and plants jostling for space. The layers bring 'comfort and softness: a refuge from city life.' Bathrooms Country bathrooms are invariably bigger, so you won't have to fret about splashes and spills. 'You can be practical and aesthetic,' says designer Octavia Dickinson. Fabric is key: for frilled panels on baths or under vanities to conceal storage. And yes, you can use carpet on the floor although you may want to fling a washable rug (try Jennifer Manners or Weaver Green) on top. Steven Rodel of Guy Goodfellow agrees, citing a recent project where every bathroom was different. A roll-top bath, positioned in front of a window framed by floor-grazing curtains. The walk-in (Drummond's) shower next to a Regency bookcase; the antique chest of drawers converted to a vanity on 'warm, worn' wooden floors. Rooms 'where you can find solace in a bubble bath,' he says. Atmosphere The well-designed country home is comfortable and convivial. Take the sitting room. Tamsyn Mason likes to include perching points: a club fender (try Jamb); a card table and chairs tucked beneath a bay window. Swap coffee tables for a squashy ottoman (Trove, Balmain & Balmain, Max Rollitt) and opt for fabrics with a darker background (Bennison, Robert Kime or Jean Monro are good starting points). 'White can look surprisingly stark in the country,' she says. 'In the country you're always aware of the landscape. That's what inspires me,' says designer Speronella Marsh whose eponymous firm specialises in block-printed furnishings. She reconfigured her Shropshire kitchen to capitalise on the views, installing glazed doors that open on the walled garden. The dresser, painted a punchy tomato red, nods to her vegetable plot. Its glazing bars reference nearby Ironbridge, crucible of the Industrial Revolution. 'Whether you're surrounded by fields or in a village, there's always something to draw on.' But another caveat. A paint shade that sings in London can look dowdy in the country. It's the light of course. For older houses, Kate Guinness favours Atelier Ellis 's natural paints in muted but luminescent tones. Fellow designer Henriette von Stockhausen of VSP Interiors advises clients to be chromatically adventurous. 'Blues, greens or pinks that can be tricky in town take on a different life in the country.' Her rural picks include Edward Bulmer 's Cinnamon, Celadon or Lute for its 'warm glow'. Scale Scale is all. The sofa that swaggers in London can look Lilliputian in a Wiltshire parsonage. This also applies to four-posters sought out by townies chasing the arcadian dream. Antiques can be too small, so Henriette designs her own. 'The mattress has to be in proportion to the posts. Otherwise, it looks strange.' It's the same for panelling. 'It looks charming. We do lots of it. But the scale has to be right.' Above all, putting down rural roots involves a change of mindset. 'When I arrive in the country, I inwardly exhale. And relax,' says Steven. Apply the same outlook to your décor. 'I call it permission to fray.' Speronella concurs. Friends will visit 'leaving a trail of mud and spilt wine.' Dogs will leap onto sofas jeopardising upholstery. 'That's fine. You throw on another blanket,' she says. In the country, there are (almost) no rules.
Telegraph
15-06-2025
- General
- Telegraph
Marriage Diaries: I've moved on from my wife... but my manhood hasn't
Last year, I left my wife after 20 years of marriage. Our younger child had finished her first year of university and I felt it was a suitable time to end things. I wasn't happy in the relationship, I felt trapped by responsibility, that my life was a constant circuit of providing for people, doing errands, driving miles and having nothing left for myself. My wife was very upset – she liked things the way they were, but I simply couldn't see a future with her – I wanted more from life. Sex with my wife was great, and unlike a lot of married couples in our early 50s, we made love regularly. But that wasn't enough to keep me in the marriage, so I left and moved from the Home Counties into a friend's flat in east London, a vibrant neighbourhood that I love. Early on in our marriage, I had an affair which lasted about a year. The sex was great with that woman too. I never had trouble 'performing', either with her or with my wife. I will freely admit that I am not the most well-endowed man, but I always thought the positive of that was it is easier to get and maintain an erection than it is for a man with more generously sized genitals. I have never had any complaints from the women I have slept with. Recently I decided it was time to get back in the sexual saddle. I was invited to a big party in central London and treated myself to a hotel room, with the intention of picking someone up and losing my 'divorce virginity'. I met a 50-year-old woman I had known vaguely during the early years of my marriage. There was a strong attraction there, so I brought her back to my room. We undressed and kissed passionately – I was really enjoying the fact she was physically quite different to my wife, it felt exciting. But my penis refused to cooperate, despite the anticipation and excitement of discovering a new body, it remained lifeless and limp. We tried everything, the woman was very attentive, but nothing seemed to work. It was so frustrating. I told her it was entirely my problem, which was true, and that I found her attractive. She was sympathetic, but I worry that she might think it was actually her fault. This has never happened to me before. I was even careful to limit alcohol as I wanted my first sexual encounter as a free man to be impressive. Instead, it was a disaster. Since the separation, I have had sex with my wife a few times, and it has been, if anything, better than when we were together, so I know that I can have sex, I just wasn't able to perform this time. I don't want to take Viagra, as it feels like failing. I know a lot of men do take it – I mean, erectile dysfunction is a billion-dollar industry, I get it – but it's just not me. I have never struggled with this before. I don't understand it. I have always been extremely confident around women, I am in the best shape of my life, and I don't have all the constraints and worries I had with a young family.
Yahoo
15-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Marriage Diaries: I've moved on from my wife... but my manhood hasn't
Last year, I left my wife after 20 years of marriage. Our younger child had finished her first year of university and I felt it was a suitable time to end things. I wasn't happy in the relationship, I felt trapped by responsibility, that my life was a constant circuit of providing for people, doing errands, driving miles and having nothing left for myself. My wife was very upset – she liked things the way they were, but I simply couldn't see a future with her – I wanted more from life. Sex with my wife was great, and unlike a lot of married couples in our early 50s, we made love regularly. But that wasn't enough to keep me in the marriage, so I left and moved from the Home Counties into a friend's flat in east London, a vibrant neighbourhood that I love. Early on in our marriage, I had an affair which lasted about a year. The sex was great with that woman too. I never had trouble 'performing', either with her or with my wife. I will freely admit that I am not the most well-endowed man, but I always thought the positive of that was it is easier to get and maintain an erection than it is for a man with more generously sized genitals. I have never had any complaints from the women I have slept with. Recently I decided it was time to get back in the sexual saddle. I was invited to a big party in central London and treated myself to a hotel room, with the intention of picking someone up and losing my 'divorce virginity'. I met a 50-year-old woman I had known vaguely during the early years of my marriage. There was a strong attraction there, so I brought her back to my room. We undressed and kissed passionately – I was really enjoying the fact she was physically quite different to my wife, it felt exciting. But my penis refused to cooperate, despite the anticipation and excitement of discovering a new body, it remained lifeless and limp. We tried everything, the woman was very attentive, but nothing seemed to work. It was so frustrating. I told her it was entirely my problem, which was true, and that I found her attractive. She was sympathetic, but I worry that she might think it was actually her fault. This has never happened to me before. I was even careful to limit alcohol as I wanted my first sexual encounter as a free man to be impressive. Instead, it was a disaster. Since the separation, I have had sex with my wife a few times, and it has been, if anything, better than when we were together, so I know that I can have sex, I just wasn't able to perform this time. I don't want to take Viagra, as it feels like failing. I know a lot of men do take it – I mean, erectile dysfunction is a billion-dollar industry, I get it – but it's just not me. I have never struggled with this before. I don't understand it. I have always been extremely confident around women, I am in the best shape of my life, and I don't have all the constraints and worries I had with a young family. Is my penis refusing to move on from my marriage when the rest of me checked out long ago? Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Times
26-05-2025
- Times
Meet Nick: ex-army, charming, funny, people-smuggler
There's an image you have of the people who smuggle desperate, vulnerable migrants into our country on boats, often with little thought for their safety. You think of them as shadowy figures, operating in gangs, most probably from other countries. You despise them for profiting from human misery. I had that image too, until a year ago, when I met Nick*. He is a man who, like me, is in his early forties, grew up comfortably in the Home Counties, has a child, and who I discovered over a year of talking to him, is charming, funny, likable, even. Unlike me, however, Nick was a people-smuggler who had brought dozens of migrants into the UK illegally. 'People coming to this country was making me successful,' he boasted.
