Cold Cold Cold! – by Sheila

I keep thinking about how cold it will be, especially at night, when we are climbing Kilimanjaro.  I know now that we can expect cold evening and nights from the first night onwards.  The down sleeping bags and thermals will get plenty of use.  It may well be below freezing at night: it seems that Kilimanjaro has its own weather system.  Cold winds blow down from the snow covered top, despite the fact that the mountain is on the Equator.  With a bit of luck we will get warmed up if the sun comes out during the day.

Temperature chart

Thinking about cold nights brought back memories of chilblains, which were the bane of my life during my teens and twenties.  In fact, it was not until we moved into our present house in the late 1970s and had central heating put in, that I was able to forget about them.  I was always in absolute agony whenever my feet got warm.  I remember at times sitting with my feet in a sink of cold water, just to get some relief.  It could have been worse: I did google possible cures and I see that putting your feet in a bowl of urine is considered of benefit to chilblain sufferers.  I am glad no-one suggested that one!

An article in the Guardian health section on 15th January 2012 declared:

“Chilblains are caused by poor circulation in response to the cold. The tiny blood vessels under the skin narrow in low temperatures. When the skin warms up again they become leaky and fluid gets into the surrounding tissue, causing inflammation. To prevent them you should warm your skin gently after being out in the cold: don’t wrap yourself around the radiator when you get home. When outside keep your limbs and face warm with thermals, layers of loose clothing and a hat. Don’t rest your feet on a hot water bottle in bed but wear socks instead.”

I don’t suppose there is much risk of me running into a radiator on Kili, so maybe I will be alright and I will make sure I keep these bed socks on.

Jack Frost's been!
Jack Frost’s been!

When I was a child, there was no thought of heating bedrooms.  There would be a coal fire downstairs, and that would be it.  One of the joys of winter was when “Jack Frost” came and made patterns with ice on the inside of our bedroom window.  On winter mornings my sister Leslie and I would be really excited about opening the curtains to see whether Jack Frost had left ice on the window.  If he had, a line would be drawn down the middle of the window and we would have one half each to decorate further, scratching pictures into the ice with our nails.  I looked up on the internet to check that my memory about this was right and found a nice explanation aimed at children:

“You can see that the frost on a window is always on the inside. And if the outside temperature warms up, or maybe if a window is right in the sun, the frost may melt into water that runs down on the inside of the window. So, you can see that the frost is made out of ice that formed on the inside of the window.

Frost forms on a window when the temperature outside is below freezing. Inside it is warmer, and there is more water vapor in the air. Any water molecule in the air that hits the glass will stick to the surface. As it sticks, it is hooking up to other water molecules to form ice crystals.”

So now I know!

Paraffin heater
Paraffin heater

When Stewart and I were first married, one of the things we bought was a paraffin heater.  Electricity was an expensive form of heating and in our first couple of flats, we relied on the paraffin heater to a great extent.  The place always smelled as a result: I am pretty sure such heaters would now be considered a health and safety risk in homes in this country – though I note they are still sold for greenhouse use.  They were in such common use that the “paraffin man” used to call round door to door once a week in a van selling it and doing pretty good business.  Despite such heaters, we were still always fairly cold: most people expected to wear many more clothes indoors than is generally done nowadays.  It still amazes me now that some people routinely wear only a T-shirt or blouse on top indoors in winter, coming as I do, from a generation which often had three or even four woolly layers on indoors.

Layering

So at least I have had some practice for the several layers I will have to wear on Kili, though for Oscar, who has always lived in a warm house and has never spent much time in a very cold place, it will be a new experience.  We have been told that Jae and I should sleep on either side of Oscar to make sure he keeps warm at night.  Welcome to the 3G cuddle in!

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