An Update on Heating and Fashion

A week ago, I told you about our problems with the boiler and the resulting lack of heating and hot water. We thought we had a temporary solution and were all set to discuss which way to go next, when my upstairs neighbour's son suggested he let someone else look at the boiler, so that we could choose between at least two offers.

This sounded reasonable to me, and so on Wednesday, another expert checked out our boiler. 
He said the repairwork so far had been done well. He also said that he was not of the opinion that the whole boiler needed to be replaced - it is not that old, after all (around 15 years).  He suggested we make a little adjustment in the setting of the boiler as well as in the way we use our radiators. 
Apparently, it is much better for the boiler to just leave the radiators on at all times (not on full blast, of course), so that water can circulate. What we had been doing - turning the radiators completely off when we weren't at home, and then cranking them all up more or less at the same time, giving the boiler a sort of "shock" reaction - was not good, it seems, and did not save us any money. If the radiators are slightly open to circulation, pressure inside the boiler is at a constant level all the time, which makes for a much healthier boiler and better regulation of room temperature.

Again, it all sounded reasonable enough to me. I am glad we do not need to fork out a lot of money for a new boiler or extensive repair work. Actually, it is less about the money and more about the upheaval; installing a new boiler would mean work on the roof as well, since the pipe goes through there, and possibly days without hot water.

So, we are sorted, and I have instantly put the new "heating policy" in action in my flat. It feels odd to leave the house with the radiators slightly on, but I suppose it is better on the long run.

In the meantime, I have been keeping warm wearing wintry outfits.

One is a padded Barbour coat in a nice dark shade of olive green. It is a hand-me-down from my sister's colleague. She has given me items from her wardrobe before, and they are always expensive brands which I probably would not buy for myself, and in excellent condition. Thank you, Andrea!
I apologise for the dark picture. You probably can't make out the rest of the outfit; it is a pair of charcoal grey tweed winter shorts, warm pair of tights and the boots I nearly always wear in winter.



The other outfit is a very soft woolly jumper I bought back in September - at Aldi, my local supermarket, of all places! I really like the softness, the colour and the pattern, and there happened to be already  a pair of trousers in exactly the same colour in my wardrobe.

That's it from me for today - an update on the heating situation as well as a fashion post, something I have not done in a long time.