Does Ireland Need More Snakes?
The sudden arrival of winter this week coincided with a campaign in Britain to introduce more snakes. B&Q joined in — selling them for £1.
For those who grew up with the luxury of central heating, these ‘snakes’ used to be essential pieces of winter kit: stuffed against the bottom of a door to keep out the cold air, in the days when we heated only the room we were in.
As it happened, the current cold snap had me thinking of making a couple of snakes, to block the draught that blows under the shutters in our living room. (Yes, the windows are draught proofed, but a current of air circulates around the shutters, creating an uncomfortable chill.) For the moment, I’m improvising with some rolls of fabric.
But would it be worth the effort of making a snake? Even paying £1 for a kit?
Over at Carbon Commentary, the ever-insightful Chris Goodall has done the calculations, and reckons that at current UK energy prices each snake could save at least £4 a year, and probably more in an old house like ours.
Looks like I’m going to have to take out the sewing machine.
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