NOSTALGIA WITH ROBERT HEAVEN

The Big Freeze

The smattering of snow and the deep frosts that hit Ciren recently have reminded me of the terrible blizzards of 1982 and the Big Freeze as it was called in the winter of 1962–63.

It was one of the coldest Winters on record in the UK. Temperatures plummeted to -19C in some parts of the Country and lakes and rivers began to freeze over.

I read that the sea actually froze over for some distance at Herne Bay down in Kent.

In Ciren, the Churn was solid ice and the Abbey Grounds Lake could be skated on. Roads were completely blocked for several weeks and the only way to get essentials was to dig through snow drifts and fight your way into Town on foot.

Very few Ciren houses had any form of heating other than a coal fire in a downstairs rooms.

Portable Electric bar heaters were common, supplemented as time went on by ugly wall slabs called electric “storage heaters” which were extremely expensive to operate and not very efficient at giving out heat on demand when needed. Hot water for baths and the kitchen sink was provided by immersion heaters, or if you had gas; a device called a “Geyser”.

There was no double glazing to speak of in the 1960’s and as a child I frequently woke up to frozen up bedroom windows with ice on the inside as well as outside.

Duvets hadn't been introduced to the Ciren, and what we had instead was a Candlewick bedspread which was tucked over the top sheet and fuzzy itchy-scratchy thick blankets.

It was warm and cosy in the bed, albeit a bit scratchy; but with breakfast on the table and the prospect of a cold walk to School after; I would jump out in my Winceyette flannel pyjamas, on with a woollen corded dressing gown and dash straight down the “wooden hill” to the kitchen for a warm up.