Well I have to admit so far this has been the warmest winter that I can remember,Maybe a lot worse to come mind you.

I remember the cold winter days and nights from 60+ years back and would not like to go back to them.

"cold winter days and nights from 60+ years back"

When was the last time you saw ice on the inside of a bedroom window, even in a non-centrally heated house?

It used to be quite common!

I remember back in the early 80's,still using paraffin heaters at home.They gave off a great instant heat, but, overnight, the sash-windows would ice-up a few hours after the flames were blown out at bed-time...I can still recall the smell.

The heaters, each, had two glass bottle reservoirs of paraffin fuel which was purchased from a lorry on the street every weekend.

peter99co

One gallon of paraffin can produce as much as 10 pints of water when burned in a heater. The amount of water is greater than the amount of paraffin because of the water vapour already in the air in the room.

All this extra water vapour condenses on any cold surface, which in the average room includes the windows.

"When was the last time you saw ice on the inside of a bedroom window, even in a non-centrally heated house"

!963 which was the last year we lived in a 'tween the wars semi in Bromley, we then moved to a new house in Cheshire that had oil fired central heating the following summer.

1963 was also a record cold winter, so I have the vivid memories of a 7 year old of waking with the hot water bottle stone cold under beneath a hundred weight of blankets, Jack Frost patterns thick inside the windows, the warm smell of the Esso Blu heater on the top landing and a Boxer dog cuddled up in my bed too!

When I looked through the frosted glass, Shortlands South station was at the bottom of the garden, and I would get an ghostly abstract image of the steam trains passing by with huge clouds of condensing steam billowing out into the cold morning air as dawn broke.

Halcyon days, excuse me while I wipe a tear from my rose tinted specs...