Tips from Texas to the UK for beating the heat

Subject: RE: Tips from Texas to the UK for beating the heat
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 23 Jul 22 - 04:19 PM

Well I won't say any more about airc*n in this thread (I've promised...). However, I do wish to disabuse Maggie about how and where I've spent my life, naturally with reference to the vicissitudes of having to endure heat. Yep, I've lived in a house with thick stone walls for 35 years. But I've lived for twice as long as that. I lived for several years high up in a concrete block of flats in east London, two of those years including two of the hottest summers ever recorded in this country (1975 and 1976). From 1978 to 1986 I lived in a tight-packed brick terraced house just outside London on the Central Line, which included the two very hot summers of 1983 and 1984. In recent years we've holidayed a number of times in Andalucía, always in the height of summer (owing to my sister's school holidays), routinely in temperatures hovering around 40C. But those temperatures were tempered, as in Texas, by very low humidity. We found that 37 or 40 in Córdoba and Granada, with humidity in single numbers, was far more tolerable than 28 or 29 in Cornwall with humidity at a typical 60%. We were unlucky enough to holiday in Italy during heatwaves twice, the second one (Lake Como) with temperatures in the high thirties and sky-high humidity. I've been to Oz too, but I'll say no more about the fairly widespread complacent attitudes I found there to global warming.

So I do leave my stone-walled house occasionally, Maggie, and I've been around a fair bit during my time there as well as during the half of my life before I moved into it. Assumptions are easy. Facts are slightly more sacred!

Subject: RE: Tips from Texas to the UK for beating the heat
From: Helen
Date: 23 Jul 22 - 05:07 PM

I am refreshing the following thread:

BS: climate crisis - how do we go from here?

so that the discussion of climate change can be done where it is appropriate and not in this thread which has a specific purpose.

Now that the UK heatwave appears to be over the tips from Texas (and other areas) to the UK for beating the heat may not be needed at this stage. Emergency over, so far, until the next time perhaps?

Subject: RE: Tips from Texas to the UK for beating the heat
From: Donuel
Date: 23 Jul 22 - 05:10 PM

I get it. You've been hot and not so hot.

Dave the Gnome, I think the heat got to me. Now what goes with mad dogs...?

Subject: RE: Tips from Texas to the UK for beating the heat
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 23 Jul 22 - 05:39 PM

The specific purpose of the thread is in the title. Cold weather experiences, though...?

Subject: RE: Tips from Texas to the UK for beating the heat
From: Doug Chadwick
Date: 23 Jul 22 - 06:41 PM

If discussion in this thread has to be limited to that defined in the title: i.e. ".... from Texas to the UK ...., how did it end up talking about the weather in Australia? I think we need to stay on topic

DC

Subject: RE: Tips from Texas to the UK for beating the heat
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 23 Jul 22 - 07:05 PM

You could have a point there, Doug... Though at least if we can stick to hot weather stuff instead of snow drifts, maybe it isn't quite so bad...

Subject: RE: Tips from Texas to the UK for beating the heat
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 Jul 22 - 10:10 PM

People in hot places have techniques for staying cool. Oz certainly is on that list of "hot places."

We're in the lower-triple-digits this week - 102 to 104, and maybe on Friday a high of 98 and a possibility of rain. Wouldn't that be a treat! So many days in a row of high heat are tiring, that is for certain.

Subject: RE: Tips from Texas to the UK for beating the heat
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 24 Jul 22 - 02:08 AM

Mrs Bonzo received delivery of a digital thermometer/hygrometer which showed that the temperature in our house was 29C last night despite being 18C outside at 11pm, so downstairs fan stays on overnight for the greyhound.

Subject: RE: Tips from Texas to the UK for beating the heat
From: Ebbie
Date: 24 Jul 22 - 02:25 AM

I follow several Texas animal sanctuaries, Stilly River, and it's heart-rending to see how the heat impacts the critters and how anxious the people are. Evidently a number of farmers and ranchers are having to truck their stock to auction because there is so little feed for them. One rancher said that he is having to feed hay right now, in the middle of July, when he normally doesn't start that until October.

Subject: RE: Tips from Texas to the UK for beating the heat
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 24 Jul 22 - 04:54 AM

Very sad.

Subject: RE: Tips from Texas to the UK for beating the heat
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 24 Jul 22 - 05:39 AM

Last night's minimum here was 17.6C, easily our warmest night of the year so far, but we slept well. Getting properly dry after the shower wasn't quite so easy... Our house retains heat via its thick walls, and we can open lots of windows to let in the breeze, but living on a farm means that you let in the bluebottles en masse if you do that (even the odd blue tit or pipistrelle), swarms of gnats on hot summer nights and millions of cluster flies if you do it any time from late August on. We found the ubiquitous fly screens in Australia to be very repressive and we won't contemplate them. I haven't tried dangling corks on string on the front of my Tilley hat as yet. We are gradually cooling down after the heatwave, though we are suffering from high humidity in the low to mid-20s at the moment.

I wear lightweight shorts all the year round, go barefoot for most of the day and wear only sandals and never socks. Just a cotton short-sleeve shirt in light colours, no vests, etc., (Mrs Steve has suggested that I need a bra...) and a sleeveless gilet to go shopping or walking in winter (winters are mild round here). I don't wear big coats ever, and I have one pair of long pants, strictly for weddings and funerals only. A sneaky cold shower with the garden hose, or just a dousing of the head, a la Maggie, works wonders. I acknowledge that one or two elements of my hot-weather behaviour are only possible because our garden is very private/I don't have to dress to go to work...

Them's my tips from Bude (and we did get a record-smashing 36C last Monday and we were the sunniest place in Britain last Friday).

Subject: RE: Tips from Texas to the UK for beating the heat
From: Donuel
Date: 24 Jul 22 - 05:54 AM

My prescription for the warming is the universal language of music.
We will adapt in perhaps a million years but in the meantime here is a tune called BECOME OCEAN that is by john luther adams for 3 orchestras,
ENJOY a timeless peopleless experience from where life originates.

It is not Le MER or folk songs but it is an immersive pleasant experience and swells like the ocean.

becoming ocean

Subject: RE: Tips from Texas to the UK for beating the heat
From: Helen
Date: 24 Jul 22 - 04:39 PM

A useful article in the Oz ABC news this week:

How the body responds to extreme temperatures, and what we can do to beat the potentially lethal impact

Subject: RE: Tips from Texas to the UK for beating the heat
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Jul 22 - 05:20 PM

I've concluded that the heat has impacted the recovery from knee surgery in that I'm simply not getting out and walking in this heat. The result is I've lost some strength in my legs. I'm going to start going to the gym on the off-days from PT to walk slowly on the treadmill. There is simply no walking around outside because in the cooler morning hours when it might be comfortable to walk (when it's only 82^o) it's also the time more comfortable to sleep. :-)

We are certainly stuck in a rut. Shopping hours are best after sunset so the stores that are still open get the business. I do go out for a little while during the day to refill the bird baths and water the potted plants. There might be six to eight more weeks of this. It isn't even August yet.

Subject: RE: Tips from Texas to the UK for beating the heat
From: Charmion
Date: 24 Jul 22 - 05:33 PM

It was raining in Stratford when I woke up this morning. I swear the hydrangea bushes in the garden were flapping their leaves in glee.

Subject: RE: Tips from Texas to the UK for beating the heat
From: Helen
Date: 24 Jul 22 - 05:51 PM

Hubby and I were in the habit of going for a brisk early morning walk a few days a week until the crazy run of weather stopped us. Flooding rains and chilly winds have almost brought us to a standstill.

A trick we have is to go to a large shopping centre building and walk around the corridors because it is sheltered from the weather. We don't live really close to a shopping centre like that so we haven't done it more than once a week but I think we might start to get better walking weather soon.

Our walking spot is next to a large creek which goes down to the harbour so it has some good views to keep us happy while we do the obligatory exercise.

Subject: RE: Tips from Texas to the UK for beating the heat
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 24 Jul 22 - 05:58 PM

The Royal Horticultural Society, of which we're members, have asked us which plants suffered in last week's unprecedented heatwave. Well my non-stop begonias are sulking badly, though the ones in semi-shade aren't too bad. Impatiens, whether bizzie Lizzies or New Guineas, are also doing badly. My lacecap hydrangeas are suffering, as are my long-established Cornus shrubs, though that could be drought. My pelargoniums are doing brilliantly, just as well as they're my mainstay. The surfinias are looking good. In the veg plot my broad beans are now all safely in the freezer, and they did well this year. My spud crop is the best ever. The runner beans need tlc but they'll be fine. Fortunately I'm not on a water meter. I have goodly supplies of all manner of fresh herbs.

Subject: RE: Tips from Texas to the UK for beating the heat
From: Senoufou
Date: 25 Jul 22 - 02:06 AM

We went over to Wroxham (Norfolk Broads) yesterday and saw a huge plume of black smoke drifting over nearby fields. As we sat in the McDonalds, about ten fire-engines hurtled through the high street, sirens blaring. Apparently they had been sent from five towns, some not all that nearby.
The railway line had to be shut down. Harvest is in progress, and it's thought that carelessness with cigarettes, matches, outdoor barbecues etc cause these dangerous field fires. Although sometimes 'spontaneous combustion' in the intense heat and drought can start fires too. Very worrying.

Subject: RE: Tips from Texas to the UK for beating the heat
From: Helen
Date: 25 Jul 22 - 03:45 AM

Senoufou, in Australia there are very strict rules about total fire bans and not throwing cigarette butts out of car windows, etc, during high fire danger periods. We are used to the rules because high fire danger periods occur often in our climate.

I guess it's another thing that we take for granted here - it's part of our normal way of life - and areas like the UK are not really aware of until the heatwave emergency periods occur.

Subject: RE: Tips from Texas to the UK for beating the heat
From: Senoufou
Date: 25 Jul 22 - 04:19 AM

Ah Helen, I wish people here had the same awareness! Our roadsides are littered with rubbish chucked out of cars (cans, bottles, used masks, plastic bags etc) and it causes hazards to wildlife, constitutes a fire risk (and it looks terrible!).
Apparently, the poor firemen were badly affected by toiling away in the heat (from the fires and from the sun). This is all getting so serious.
Our local river and 'lakes' are thronged with youngsters/teenagers having a swim. Lovely for them, they come from far and wide to bathe in the Wensum in our village. But they too leave piles of litter and I've seen some of them smoking cigarettes. Our farmers are starting to harvest their crops, and they must be so fed up with the drought and the fire risk.

Subject: RE: Tips from Texas to the UK for beating the heat
From: Helen
Date: 25 Jul 22 - 05:41 AM

It doesn't stop some people from littering generally but I think a lot of people are aware of fire hazards in high fire danger periods, which are well advertised.

Subject: RE: Tips from Texas to the UK for beating the heat
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 25 Jul 22 - 06:44 AM

I'm so cool that the heat just rolls off me.

Subject: RE: Tips from Texas to the UK for beating the heat
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Jul 22 - 10:03 AM

Senoufou, there is a popular essayist in the US named David Sedaris. He and his partner Hugh had a house somewhere in the UK and a few essays emanate from time spent there. One of them had to do with the time he spent picking up trash along the road near his house. Quite an operation. I think it was the collection called Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls.

Every week a dozen more counties in Texas are designated "disaster areas" so they can get special funding to help recover from the fires that have been racing through them. One spark and "bam!" you have a wildfire. This can keep going for a while - we have 254 counties here.

Subject: RE: Tips from Texas to the UK for beating the heat
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 25 Jul 22 - 10:22 AM

Falling birds and dehydrated hedgehogs: heatwave takes its toll on UK wildlife Animals and insects have been casualties of recent extreme heat, but the true impact will only be known over time, experts say ...

Subject: RE: Tips from Texas to the UK for beating the heat
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 25 Jul 22 - 10:23 AM

We have him here too.

Subject: RE: Tips from Texas to the UK for beating the heat
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Jul 22 - 11:27 PM

Though it might seem counter-intuitive, in this weather a hot bath in the evening before bed means that when I get out of the tub the air just feels cooler (relatively speaking), enough so that I can get to sleep more easily. Definitely a quick shower, a patio shower, a sponge bath, or a regular bath will help you sleep. There is nothing like prickly heat to drive you nuts at bedtime.

Subject: RE: Tips from Texas to the UK for beating the heat
From: Helen
Date: 25 Jul 22 - 11:48 PM

Trade unions plead for maximum working temperatures following heatwave deaths in Europe

There is a section near the end which states:

"In Australia there is no maximum temperature above which workers must stop work.

"Safe Work Australia says a single '"stop work" rule cannot account for all the factors that make working in heat hazardous.

"They include humidity, air flow, physical intensity, fitness and acclimatisation."

Note: That doesn't mean that workers in Australia have to keep working in unsafe temperatures. What it means, in my experience, is that each industry has its own work health and safety standards relating to the varying work situations. As an example, when I worked for a local council there were strict rules for the outdoor workers on when they had to stop work due to high temperatures. The indoor workers in offices etc had a different set of temperature standards.

Subject: RE: Tips from Texas to the UK for beating the heat
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Jul 22 - 10:00 AM

There were men refinishing a concrete slab in the back yard next door last week when it was about 108^o out. I think they should have taken the days off, but then, they'd be taking the summer off at this rate and probably couldn't collect unemployment compensation if they lost jobs because they refused to work in the heat outdoors. At least there was shade.

Subject: RE: Tips from Texas to the UK for beating the heat
From: leeneia
Date: 27 Jul 22 - 12:30 PM

A shower or bath before bed may be fine, but don't go to bed with wet hair. Your pillow and bedding will be become a zoo of micro-organisms living on your skin cells plus the water your hair provides.

Gross, eh what?

I don't see anything here about the old and vulnerable. Who do you know who's 80 or 90 and living alone? Your aunt, your father's old friend, your neighbor. Such people need to be checked on. They can do crazy things like be afraid to turn on a fan.

Subject: RE: Tips from Texas to the UK for beating the heat
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Jul 22 - 10:16 AM

Perhaps not wet hair in bed, but for people with allergies washing hair before bed or changing pillow cases so they don't have a day's worth of pollen in their hair to leave on the pillow to breathe in.

Pillows are things that you don't want to look at too closely. And should probably be replaced far more often than we actually do.

Subject: RE: Tips from Texas to the UK for beating the heat
From: Senoufou
Date: 29 Jul 22 - 09:41 AM

Our landfill green bin was emptied this afternoon and the three poor binmen were sweating again. (It's rather warm today.) I handed them three icy-cold cans of Diet Coke (which I always have handy in the summer months for fainting postmen, couriers and binmen) One chap made me laugh - he stuck the cold can down his trousers to cool his tummy!

Subject: RE: Tips from Texas to the UK for beating the heat
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 29 Jul 22 - 10:21 AM

Diet Coke - the Nutrasweet hits me like one of those saline laxatives. No can do.

I notice that the water bottles from the new case are a little snug in the cooler I put on the porch. Yesterday not only were both bottles gone, but all of the cooler ice water as well. Perhaps poured over the overheated mail carrier?

I put a 4' kiddie pool (blue molded plastic) out in the front yard with large stones and bricks so birds can land on them. And I put a little floating solar fountain in the middle with a few half-bricks standing on end to keep it in the middle. That way it won't spray all of the water out of the pool (a problem when floating it in smaller bird baths).

Some things have been over-watered; I think I killed the American beautyberry and finally figured out what was going on. I'll have to use an old golf club without the head to probe around in a few places and see how wet or dry the soil is. Keeping things alive in the vegetable garden till fall is the goal so I can get a few crops in milder weather.

Subject: RE: Tips from Texas to the UK for beating the heat
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 29 Jul 22 - 12:13 PM

Very heavy and humid this afternoon, hoping for rain to cool the air a bit!

Very disappointed to find that Maille Mustard with Honey no longer available.

Subject: RE: Tips from Texas to the UK for beating the heat
From: Donuel
Date: 29 Jul 22 - 10:43 PM

The aspertame variant is the culprit. If the diet drink ever reaches 100 F the sweetener turns into formaldihyde. Airline pilots are mandated to not drink the stuff.

Govenor Abbot has bussed 4,000 immigrants to Washington DC. They are being tended to by volunteers. The mayor wants Federal help but there is none yet. At least the immigrants have beat the heat.

Subject: RE: Tips from Texas to the UK for beating the heat
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 29 Jul 22 - 10:58 PM

I've heard about a shortage of mustard in France also. I have several varieties in the fridge here but they will last a long time, I don't use it that often. Good luck in sorting that out soon!

The temperature dropped about 20 degrees this evening as a few rain showers passed through the area. I didn't get rain, but I enjoyed an evening in the mid-80s!

Subject: RE: Tips from Texas to the UK for beating the heat
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 30 Jul 22 - 02:40 AM

The explanation given by one of the supermarket managers was that Maille cannot source certain ingredients, hey ho, I found a honey and mustard dressing which isn't bad.

Subject: RE: Tips from Texas to the UK for beating the heat
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 30 Jul 22 - 10:57 AM

"The aspertame variant is the culprit. If the diet drink ever reaches 100 F the sweetener turns into formaldihyde."

Where does this come from? I've found that methanol is produced in the metabolism of aspartame and that formaldehyde is produced from methanol as it is processed through the body but nothing that matches what you suggest.

See Wikipedia for example.

Subject: RE: Tips from Texas to the UK for beating the heat
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 30 Jul 22 - 11:45 AM

The one I have to avoid is Stevia. It turns my stomach into something resembling a cement mixer.

Subject: RE: Tips from Texas to the UK for beating the heat
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 Jul 22 - 12:18 PM

Aspartame is something that was left over from really unsavory cold war experiments, is my understanding of its origins. Wikipedia says it came from developing an ulcer medication. I suspect information was conflated a long time ago. Since Monsanto got NutraSweet when it bought Searle, and since they also produced a lot of toxic products, it was a logical conclusion. It is a really nasty product.

Staying cool this time of year means staying hydrated. I make a green tea with lemon balm tea in quart or half-gallon jars (two tea bags per quart, three for the half-gallon; a teaspoon or two of dried lemon balm in a tea sieve ball). To this I sweeten with a level measure scoop of stevia the same amount as tea bag (two scoops per quart, 3 scoops per half gallon). And I squeeze in a tablespoon or a little more of honey into it for the honey flavor. This comes out as a home-version of the Arizona brand green tea with ginseng and honey tea. (I don't have ginseng but the lemon balm grows all over the yard). There doesn't seem to be enough caffeine in the green tea to bother me at bedtime, though I usually don't drink it past about 5pm. Black tea is for mornings only here these days.

Subject: RE: Tips from Texas to the UK for beating the heat
From: Donuel
Date: 30 Jul 22 - 02:54 PM

Monsanto has long since sold the patent to Aspertame to avoid lawsuits. It is found today in chewing gum and other smaller products. Its a pretty old product to research, thats for sure.

Subject: RE: Tips from Texas to the UK for beating the heat
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 Jul 22 - 08:06 PM

Monsanto passed off stuff like glyphosate to Bayer. They're passing the toxins around among themselves.

I bought a 100' garden hose today to have as spare for dragging to the back of the yard or to either side if I must. In case some spark starts the neighborhood alight. All it takes is a dropped cigarette or a poorly adjusted lawn mower (if anyone has lawn left to mow). Having been trained and spending several years fighting forest fires, I have gear handy. My hose, my shovel, long pants, socks and shoes (instead of shorts and loafers that I usually wear around the house), a hat, etc.

Subject: RE: Tips from Texas to the UK for beating the heat
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 02 Aug 22 - 11:19 AM

1) build a wall and stand in the shade