Jack Monroe #168 Darling, bit gauche

[Universal]

How about black, orange, pink, green and blue? And, going by the many layers of gloss paint on some of the walls (and the bathroom tiles carefully put on top of previous tiles), the nine layers of textured wallpaper and the back of the airing cupboard, it's been a problem since around 1952?

You'd think that having heating might help, along with the literal holes in the wall underneath where the replacement windows had been crammed into crumbling breeze blocks). But no, not when you're sat in bed, right next to the radiator on full blast and the holes in the wall and the temperature is still minus 4 and the water is running down the wall inside because you're still alive despite the cold and running down the wall outside because the gutters fell off some time around 1998. Then somebody at the council tells you that you need to open your windows (isn't the wind howling through the holes and the open chimneybreast enough ventilation? And making it even colder when it's minus 4?) and their records say the roofspace above your flat was 'fully insulated' in 1995 with entry via the 'loft hatch' in your flat that literally doesn't exist, so you can't possibly be hypothermic, despite your hospital admission for it?

Yet, the answer was always 'just open your windows and take your washing to the launderette round the corner that we knocked down and built a block of flats on ten years ago'. When I moved out, the council went gloss painted over the walls and ceilings. Just to cover it up before the next desperate person took it because it was that or nothing.

If I could have made the place warm and ventilated, no problem. But it never, ever got warm. Ever. Middle of the highest temperature heatwave in the UK, the balcony door was open and it got to a balmy 21 Celsius in there. My place now (not council), well, that has insulation and ventilation. And heating that makes the place warm. No mould. No damp. Just comfortable.



Anyhow, I wasn't in the business of spunking money on fancy wardrobes, clothes or plants. Because, with the rent, council tax and phenomenally high gas and electric bills, I was most definitely poor. Still didn't have me out with a tip jar or begging bowl then, any more than I would now. And for somebody to do it when their girlfriend is incredibly wealthy and they're making more than a normal salary for literally doing nothing via Patreon? From people with heating allowances and who think they're being helpful and empathetic to somebody like them? I don't think you can get much lower than that.

Sorry you had to live like this - that's awful. I worked for a small and ethical housing association and would have classed that property as uninhabitable. I do think that the council at the time had very different standards when it came to reactive repairs and planned maintenance. Thankfully standards are far higher now and tenants have a bigger voice and a regulatory body that will listen.

 

[_blank_]

Looks like there’s been a purge

 

[ReginaPhalangee]

It’s a lot easier to be thin if you’re well off and don’t have kids. Not just the lack of time, but the amount of food you have to keep in the house. They eat so much! And it rubs off.

And yes, if it doesn’t matter to you then that’s great - body positivity woo. I don’t like the extra lockdown pounds but I can’t find the self control right now to start calorie counting and cutting down on booze.

babe, same

 

[Zelda]

@Vroo happy birthday! I’m very jealous of the butteries. My granny always used to have them in when we went up for our annual holiday.

Second-generation Scottish here, so please ping me all your questions about Scotland, as I am therefore the official spokesperson.

deleted section in Doric

 

[colouredlines]

Looks like there’s been a purge View attachment 493579

Nah, it's what happens when you delete and reactivate. There's a lag before they reappear.

 

[MancBee]

How about black, orange, pink, green and blue? And, going by the many layers of gloss paint on some of the walls (and the bathroom tiles carefully put on top of previous tiles), the nine layers of textured wallpaper and the back of the airing cupboard, it's been a problem since around 1952?

You'd think that having heating might help, along with the literal holes in the wall underneath where the replacement windows had been crammed into crumbling breeze blocks). But no, not when you're sat in bed, right next to the radiator on full blast and the holes in the wall and the temperature is still minus 4 and the water is running down the wall inside because you're still alive despite the cold and running down the wall outside because the gutters fell off some time around 1998. Then somebody at the council tells you that you need to open your windows (isn't the wind howling through the holes and the open chimneybreast enough ventilation? And making it even colder when it's minus 4?) and their records say the roofspace above your flat was 'fully insulated' in 1995 with entry via the 'loft hatch' in your flat that literally doesn't exist, so you can't possibly be hypothermic, despite your hospital admission for it?

Yet, the answer was always 'just open your windows and take your washing to the launderette round the corner that we knocked down and built a block of flats on ten years ago'. When I moved out, the council went gloss painted over the walls and ceilings. Just to cover it up before the next desperate person took it because it was that or nothing.

If I could have made the place warm and ventilated, no problem. But it never, ever got warm. Ever. Middle of the highest temperature heatwave in the UK, the balcony door was open and it got to a balmy 21 Celsius in there. My place now (not council), well, that has insulation and ventilation. And heating that makes the place warm. No mould. No damp. Just comfortable.



Anyhow, I wasn't in the business of spunking money on fancy wardrobes, clothes or plants. Because, with the rent, council tax and phenomenally high gas and electric bills, I was most definitely poor. Still didn't have me out with a tip jar or begging bowl then, any more than I would now. And for somebody to do it when their girlfriend is incredibly wealthy and they're making more than a normal salary for literally doing nothing via Patreon? From people with heating allowances and who think they're being helpful and empathetic to somebody like them? I don't think you can get much lower than that.

I don't want to go into too much depth, or get too technical, but this is something that Jack should be interested in.
OT damp talk

I know that without doubt I could have identified the reasons for your damp, and without doubt blocking up those gaps that you mentioned would exacerbated the problem, not improve the situation. The major reason for mould growth and dampness is lack of heating and poor ventilation. Mould will only grow where the air moisture content is high, and the best way to prevent it is by keeping the RH low.

The gloss paint on the walls would actually make matters worse, not allowing the plaster to breath beneath. However glass paint in the 50's was not done to eliminate damp, it was the only durable paint available. There was no emulsion paints, only gloss or distemper. Distemper was a chalk like powder, mixed with water and applied to the wall. It allowed the plaster to breath, but rubbed off in your clothes.

Lack of insulation does not cause dampness, it just makes the property more difficult and costly to heat. The fact that your property never got warm, even in summer indicates that it wasn't orientated to benefit from solar gain not something that can be changed. However it is something that requires greater input of heat mechanically. The heating would have been far too expensive to run continually, which is what would have been required, along with the permanent use of a dehumidifier.

The loft access to flats in council blocks built in the 40's and 50's was in the communal areas. The access to above each flat gained through connecting doors in the loft area, which were kept locked when not in use. This was done to ensure that unlawful access to a flat could not be gained from a neighbouring flat. There would definitely have been access to the loft area, even if you were unaware of where that access was. They could have carried out insulation without your knowledge.

In Salford there is an estate where the properties were heated by a district heated system, included in the rent. There were never any problems with damp. This was replaced with individual boilers and central heating systems, the fuel costs were paid by the tenants. Nothing else changed with the properties. The houses were almost immediately plagued by damp problems because the residents couldn't afford the gas costs.

I could talk for hours on the subject.

Fuel poverty is absolutely massive, and the consequences are huge. Inability to heat a property correctly is the single biggest factor in mould growth that affects peoples health. Because that doesn't affect Jack, she isn't interested.

 

[Scotty1976]

Happy Birthday @Vroo .Hope you have a good one. Those wee frog cakes look too cute to eat.

 

[GoLando]

Me? I live on my own, I have a dining table, I eat at it sometimes?


The first picture that came up when I googled Bromeliad has got a bloody pineapple on it! It’s a sign

But if it's just you, there’s no need to explain it is a sole dining table. Like, there is no need for a qualifier?

 

[SarcasticEllis]

gyrating offensively like Beetlejuice

Oh my god I’m dead

 

[bladiesla]

Fuel poverty is absolutely massive, and the consequences are huge. Inability to heat a property correctly is the single biggest factor in mould growth that affects peoples health. Because that doesn't affect Jack, she isn't interested.

It's why her tips about using an eletric blanket to keep warm while keeping the heating off were so annoying.

 

[Captainmouse]

they used a photo of her real face, not her facetuned face, hence the terror and confusion.

that will really piss her off! She will be fewmin

 

[MancBee]

It's why her tips about using an eletric blanket to keep warm while keeping the heating off were so annoying.

Abso-bloody-lutely.

 

[Pocahontas]

Monday, Monday. What will this week bring?

Jack Monroe #169 Please don’t argue about turnips

Congratulations to @Sideboard Bob for the thread title! 🎉 I think this might be my favourite one 😂 Your prize: a framed print of Turnipbot (who wants to ask him nicely?) Recap of last thread Her Twitter was reactivated after a night’s break. The burning issue of what a turnip is brought her...

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