As I’ve said before, I have a very old cottage, and in the past, I did have mould mainly caused by condensation. It’s not easy to deal with, and very unpleasant to live with. There has been no sign of it this year, even though it’s been very cold, and I’ve had to wear layers of clothing and only heat the room I’m using at the time, to save on heating bills. I did have damp on a North facing wall but then I had a heater fitted to the wall, which I switch on at night on low tariff. This seems to have solved the problem.
Years ago, I had a friend who lived in a very old property on Arundel High Street, and it fascinated me to see how they coped with condensation in medieval times. Along his windowsills of stone were small gulleys, going down at an angle. The condensation ran off the glass into a small gap along the sill and, then out of the gulleys at an angle to the outside. Because the gulleys were at an angle going downwards no draughts came in. How clever were the people who designed these old buildings! Maybe the architects and builders of this modern age, could learn a few things from what was done in the past.
I don’t think many of us like to feel the cold, but I am wondering if being in too warm an environment causes a lot of the sickness, we get these days. When I worked in a warm office at University. I was always getting colds and bronchial problems, and it seems that many people who work in humid conditions are the same. Another instance is travelling by plane, how many times have you gone down with something having just flown in an aircraft. Although I’ve been so cold this year, I have kept healthy (so far!) and if you talk to those who are brave enough to swim in lakes and the sea all year round, they seem to be the same.
The council have patched up the holes where the posts were knocked out by a motorist at the junction outside my house, but they haven’t replaced the posts. Hopefully they will do that another day because this junction is dangerous.
I see from the latest Liberal Democrats Focus that there is a proposal from The Safer C7 Project to reduce the speed limit to 30mph along most of the C7, with physical measures to slow vehicles naturally. Good luck to them on that because hardly anyone goes through Rodmell at 30mph now! New village gateways will, it’s hoped, make drivers more aware of the communities they are passing through. Improved pedestrian crossings and footways will make it safer to access bus stops, footpaths and cycleways, including the South Downs Way. Traffic calming measures, including priority working (passing) points, are planned near Northease and Rodmell, while key junctions, including, in Rodmell and Southease and at Wellgreen Lane will be redesigned to improve safety. Phase 7 of the Egrets Way cycle path, linking Deans Farm to Piddinghoe, will also be incorporated. The proposals can be viewed on the project website, where a series of maps of the C7 show all the measures being proposed and their locations. Comments are invited and can be sent via the website; www.thec7road.co.uk/safer-c7-project. Don’t worry if you can’t see things online there will also be live presentations and opportunities to comment organised by the parishes. I believe there might be a presentation on all this (by Sue Carroll) at the parish assembly in May so if this is happening, I will let you know.
Many thanks to all the residents form the villages along the C7 who are taking part in the rubbish clear up on 22nd and 23rd February. People should be ashamed of themselves for throwing rubbish from their vehicles or dropping sandwich wrappers and bottles whilst out cycling or walking. Just put a small bag in your pocket or rucksack and take it home with you. I know I will hear a few mutters from people saying, ‘why do we pay council tax when we don’t get much for it being out here’.
There was a notice in the Sussex Express that the C7 would be closed overnight from 17th February to around 15th March. Ali tells me that Sue Carroll has found out that these closures aren’t happening now. I was hoping for relief from the boy-racers who drive at terrific speeds through the villages throughout the night, but it seems that isn’t to be.
Sadly, the quiz that was to have taken place in aid of Southease Church was cancelled as they didn’t get enough people interested in that date. I was hoping to go with my cousin Ian, but we couldn’t get a team together either. Maybe it was because it’s the school holiday period.
So sad to see Shelley’s hotel being let to run down but as I’ve heard many people say, ‘Are you surprised on account of who owns it’?
On a brighter note, Ali tells me that she and Lindy Smart are planning to reseed the area that they and the children of Northease School made look so pretty last year with meadow flowers and perhaps some other patches around the village. If you’d like to help with this or have suggestions as to places where flowers could be sown around the village you can contact Ali on 07779 634710 email porpoisepal@yahoo.co.uk. In the meantime enjoy the snowdrops and crocuses and the daffodils that are starting to come out.