In my parents’ two bedroom council flat in north east London, as a small child in the later 1960s, I remember how cold it was there during the winter months. No central heating installed in the block until the late 1970s. Until then we relied on a gas fire in the front room, and in my room, a two bar metal framed electric fire with a corded flex from the 1950s that was plugged into a socket which droplets of water covered the front of. The insides of the windows in my bedroom froze when it was really cold. No thick duvets - just a thin eiderdown over a bedspread and a sheet below it. I cried with the cold in there. As a special treat, Mum would lay an electric blanket on my bed if it was really freezing. Otherwise, you put up with what you had.
in the sitting room. Bedrooms had gas fires that were lit for about an hour before bedtime. No double glazing either. Thick blankets, an eiderdown and hot water bottle to keep warm. Many a time in the winter you’d wake up with ice inside the window. I was in my late teens before we moved to a fully central heated house and fitted carpets.
