I have a friend whose name is Ann Caroline but everyone calls her AC. Every time I hear the abbreviation AC I think of her. Not the machine that makes the air cooler.
I mentioned in last week’s post that we were entering heat wave number 2 for this year.
We managed through number 1 in May but I would say we all barely managed, especially the 13 year old furred creature, who was very unhappy some of the time.
As noted, this is not a country which is prepared for this kind of hot weather. A significant portion of the housing stock was built at the end of the 19th/beginning of the 20th century and is terraced brick with single glazed windows and no insulation. So, cold in the winter, hot in the summer. Even the stuff built after WW2 gave little consideration to ventilation or heat retention. Stiff upper lip?
It takes a fair bit of money to adapt these sorts of buildings to climate change.
And, air conditioning really isn’t a thing here – until now. You get it some places (eg, some shops). Museums, hospitals and schools were not built to address these issues (even though this need was raised 30 years ago). So, a load of schools in certain parts of England were closed midweek.
We ran over 30 degrees Celsius here most of the week, with it feeling almost 40 (over 100 farenheit). The middle of the day from Tuesday through Friday was totally brutal. No overnight respite either. Just hot and humid.
I had work done on my house (mid-terrace built in 1910) in 2020. If I had known what I know now (hindsight is a wonderful thing) the heating would have been a heat pump (via which you can get both heat and AC) vs the current mains gas central heating, underfloor heating in the big open back room, special roller blinds on the glass roof, and some other tweaks in the cavity walls.
So, I finally bit the proverbial bullet and bought a portable AC unit. I don’t want AC for all kinds of reasons but between dog and me getting older and body not adjusting to temp changes as well as it used to something needed to be done to address our needs – assuming our world will continue to be hotter and get even hotter.
Installing this was a faff and I only plan to use it when we have weather like this. Because it needs to be near a window for the vent hose, its positioning is a pain. But having the interior of the downstairs at 24 degrees Celsius or below is worth the trouble.
(Trying to stay in the cool airflow)
I feel for people on mainland Europe, where the heat is even worse and again there’s little AC.
I wasn’t surprised that when I finally did decide I needed to do this that many units within a vaguely affordable range were sold out. And just to say the type of unit you get in (at least) NYC hung in a cage outside a window is perishing rare here.
So, there you go. As I started this post at 3:30 pm on day 1 of the worst temps (Tuesday). It’s bearable in here and the humidity reading, which is one of the most problematic aspects of this house, is in the healthy range (this morning it was in the dangerous area).
To make this en point for this blog, I will just say I’m in Heretic Perfumes Nosferatu which is so cold I have to gird my loins to wear it in normal weather (cold as hell lilac and iris). I looked longingly at Divine and Lutens La Dompteuse Encagée but big white floral would have been headache-inducing (over the course of the week, the area around the jasmine outside smelled almost nauseating, completely narcotic). Not even cologne appealed. I also broke out the Heretic Black Salt sample the next day.
Saturday the temps declined enough for us all to be much more comfortable. So, in celebration I wore Dompteuse. It felt wonderful. Also heard from friends in Paris that on Friday night they were finally able to open their apartment windows.
So, are you in a heatwave, have experienced a heat bomb (I did during the first half of my Europe trip in 2024), have AC or hate it? And what do you wear (perfume and clothes) when it’s too hot and humid for cologne? And eat (I’ve consumed a lot of watermelon)?
Oh, and this was my first go at uploading using the MacBook rather than the PC laptop.
Pics: mine
Note: I bought my AC on the Saturday before all this started (20 June). It arrived on Tuesday. I paid £329. The same model was up to £700 on Wednesday, 24 June. On Thursday, 25 June, amazon had it for £900. Then, it disappeared completely. Extortion.
NB: Next period of high heat starts on Saturday, the 4th of July…
Even here in Aus, ducted AC is still a fairly new thing (for rich folks ?) and double glazing only exists in posh new build, and it’s still common for most older houses to only have AC in the living room with fans in the bedrooms if you’re lucky.
Until my 30s I lived in old, drafty ‘heritage’ houses with gaps under doors and along windows and would nearly die come summer time. In 44°c there’s no fan in existence will keep you cool.
But, old houses mostly had great big baths so I would fill mine up with cold water and every time I couldn’t bear it I’d go plonk myself in the tub and pretend it was a little plunge pool 🙂
Our houses are also freezing in winter because for some reason no-one thinks it gets cold here in winter ?
It makes one wonder who actually thinks through the structure of housing stock.
Our winters used to be fairly mild. Now, it’s almost non-stop rain November through end January. Makes you want to escape.
I’ve been watching the weather situation there with absolute horror. In general the places in the US that get hot have AC. The casita I used to live in has one of those portable hose-dealies which work okay when you really need them, and the house I’m in now has heat pumps (heat and AC.) I cannot imagine what everyone is going through; I think I saw on the news that people were sleeping in a park in Paris.
Mainland Europe on the same latitude as London (ie, Toronto) has been hit hard. Apparently it’s an El Niño year so wild weather. We’ll see how things unfold. I am now contemplating a heat pump.
How did you position the hose out the window? I am now looking for someone who can cut me a plexiglas panel (with a hole in it) to position in the window. Wish me luck.
I’m glad you found some relief! I live in North Texas, notorious for hot summers. One year we had over 70 consecutive days over 100 F – nightly lows in the 80s. The thing is, we’re prepared for it – AC everywhere, working efficiently to a fault sometimes. We’re mostly mildly inconvenienced – getting into a car that’s been sitting outside, for example. It’s different for you all, and I’ve been concerned for my friends in Europe and the UK.
And my husband and I will actually be in London on the first part of a wonderful vacation beginning in mid – July, so we have yet another reason to hope for a return to reason soon!
I rely on lemony EdC’s during the hot months, mostly. I can’t bear my beloved jasmine when it’s hot!
Seventy consecutive days … Hard to imagine but I’ve never lived in the south of the US. I am hoping this weather will be a wakeup call to government but we’ll see.
Oh, enjoy London. It’s due to be in the 80s there next week but who knows whether you’ll end up with a bit cooler and a bit of drizzle. Have you ever been to Coal Drop Yards, behind Kings Cross? If not, it’s a nice way to while away a few hours. Good restaurants and shopping, and the architecture of the apartment buildings at the back of the development are amazing (reused gas towers).
I actually chose to live where I live just for the weather. Our side of the hill (West Los Angeles) gets pretty much perfect weather- so much so that I really don’t use my AC that much. My apt. faces North and I am not on the top floor so even in the two weeks it’s really hot here it’s not hot. I’ll take it.
Mother Nature is kind to you. It’s clearly getting worse here and, as Musette said, there isn’t the infrastructure to deal with it. And currently we’re between prime ministers (Starmer resigned given how poorly he was doing) and the new one hasn’t yet been installed. But I hope whoever it is takes climate issues more seriously.
In Ohio, we are about to get into 90 plus degree temps starting tomorrow and it’s will be in the 80’s today. I am probably going to turn on the air conditioning some time this evening to get ahead of the heat. It’s funny with the FIFA games going on, people are realizing that the heat in the US is no joke and are apologizing on Tiktok. Love the picture of your Lab. I have a black and chocolate one.
Interesting about the reaction to World Cup participants.
A chocolate and a black one or a mixture? Joe is a farm dog, meant to be running around the animals. Instead he lives here with a small garden and retrieves his toys.
I’m so sorry you’re going through this because… yeah… you guys don’t have the infrastructure for it. Here, in the Midwestern US, it’s just Tuesday. We’re in a heat dome through FRIDAY! I am not a fan of AC overall but at this age I definitely need it for sleep. Luckily, window units do the job.
Glad you were able to get some relief with the portable! If you want to move it, consider getting a longer hose ( which you should be able to get at any home improvement store)
And I’m going to wear the divine Divine today, in your honor!
I feel lucky to have procured the AC machine. I sleep ok when it’s hot as long as there’s a breeze but I imagine in your heat it’s just not possible.
Can’t move the machine. Need it spewing at back of the house rather than front. Such is life.
Enjoy. I think I might wear it tomorrow.
I borrowed one for a while when I lived on Maple. I found that it would turn off just when things were getting really cool and ask that the water reservoir (that collected all the condensation) be emptied.
Everything is about the “mini-split” now but I prefer the window one. If it dies you just replace it.
I’m in the heat dome, as it’s called, with an Extreme Heat Warning (per AccuWeather) until the end of Friday. They say 200 million people in the US are effected. I have some kind of heat pump setup here. Just put the thermostat on heat or cool, set the temp – done. It’s wonderful!!! And shockingly inexpensive compared to the East Coast.
I had a 10ml travel size of Nesferatu. Loved the bottle it’s in. It’s shades of black. Showed my daughter the bottle. She sniffed it, put it in her pocket and took it home. lol. Today, I’m wearing Perris Monte Carlo Arancia Di Sicilia, a citrus that lasts a long time on me.
The whole idea of being stuck in unmoving heat. Sigh. I wish you well.
I think it was a year after I did the renovation that heat pumps started to come into vogue.
We’re about to have a stretch of high temps and humidity here in Connecticut. No AC but ceiling and stand alone fans and being at a somewhat higher elevation makes do and there’s always the basement to retreat to which stays cool all the time.
Is that vent hose just dripping water and possible to hang over your sink?
I think you only really get basements here in expensive new builds. I may be wrong. Anyway, the vent hose spews hot air so it needs to be outside the house. I’ve actually discovered there are companies that make plexiglas plate with holes in them that fit into window.
So sorry to hear about the heatwave — that’s miserable! Here in Virginia where our summer temps often hover near 100 degrees F with high humidity, everywhere and everything has air conditioning. In some (many) places it’s too cold, so i always have a cardigan with me. They’re calling for 103 this Wednesday. Those cold, crypt-like scents are just right for these broiling hot days. Keep thinking like a vampire!
I think if one is used to the heat it can be managed — and if you can go from cool place to cool place. This country just isn’t there yet. Will try to channel vampires 🙂
Hey there Cinnamon,
We are very lucky here. The apartment has a floor above and garaging breezeway below. Even at 40°C we rarely need to use our AirCon and have ceiling fans in all bedrooms and main lounge area. Same goes for winter.
So glad you’ve found a decent fix at a reasonable price. Being too hot or too cold is miserable.
Glad you are also getting some respite and are able to hit the BWFs.
Portia xx
I like to think if it wasn’t for Mr Very Furry I could figure out a way to manage. NYC got very hot in high summer, like 112 (I know that’s nothing for you). But, it was dry and you could hop from cool place to cool place. Here’s that’s not possible. The petrol station up the hill has AC, which I discovered one hot day when I went to buy ice cream.
112f would be pretty hot here. We’d be broiling.
When it’s really crazy hot here people love to go to the mall. It’s always a good refresh.
It wasn’t often but the few times it happened were actually fascinating. Bone dry, so possible to outside for short periods.
I recall one day I had planned to go buy my then husband a birthday gift. Still did that in AC’d shop. Lots of water and big hat (and wonderful sundress I got at a charity shop). Strange what we remember …
Last night was bliss. Didn’t need the fan. El Doggo still kept going downstairs to lie on the limestone floor. Being black & having a non shed poodle fleece means heat & humidity is purgatory for him. A water spray, his own fan & the cold floor do help. We’ve been a touch cooler than you but still over 30c, just an amber warning rather than red.
Yup, it must be so difficult to have black fur in weather like this. We’ve now cooled down significantly — but that will only last till the end of this week, when we’re back up to high 20s. At least so far it won’t feel like 40 degrees …