Now that winter is fully upon us, we ae banging on the central heating like there was no tomorrow.   The temptation to turn it up just another notch is overwhelming sometimes.  When we my faily were small we had no central heating.   There was the main coal fire in the sitting room which was lit late afternoon to give warmth through the evening.  The rest of the time we relied on paraffin heaters in the kitchen and sitting room.  We had no heating at all in the bedrooms from memory.  This sounds rediculous but we had our baths in front of the sitting room fire – every Sunday night, Mum, Dad and Nan would carole us into the tiny space – Dad would put up a fancy screen he’d made – not so much for privacy but more to keep the warmth of the fire in the tin bath area.  Once the last of the tribe was duly scrubbed and wrapped in towels and pjs, the screen & bath magically disappeared and the towels hung on a long clothes horse to air off.  Its so simple these days!