Even Meaner than Mean Queen

kate egg · Post by **kate egg** » 17 Nov 2008, 15:33

Story in today's Daily Mail about a lady even meaner than Illona :shock:

Only has power in her house for one bulb and a radio, never cooks anything, doesn't plug her fridge in etc, etc.

To be honest she is so eccentric she makes our own MQ look positively normal :-D

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/artic ... years.html

Post by **Mad Chick** » 17 Nov 2008, 17:45

Crikey!

What would the world be like without eccentrics like Mrs Pick? Boring, that's what. Good on her, she's obviously a very principled (unlike me!) and happy lady :-D

Lucy x

bluebell · Post by **bluebell** » 17 Nov 2008, 18:15

Agree with Mad Chick.
)t'

Good on Mrs Pick.

Post by **Richard** » 17 Nov 2008, 19:30

Not so long ago, about 20 years I'd guess, the next foor neighbour (aged 90+) came around in somewhat of a worry.
She wanted to know if we felt she'd been overcharged on her electricity bill.

It came to just over Â£1 for three month's !

She was one of the old brigade though. Went to bed before dark, got up early and lit a candle !

lancashire lass · Post by **lancashire lass** » 17 Nov 2008, 20:07

LOL - this story reminds me of my grandma & her sister when they shared a house in the late 60s up to the early 1980s. They too would go to bed when it went dark, and the cooker looked as new as the day it was bought even though it was over 20 years old, as they tended to eat cold meals, the occassional baked beans warmed up. They didn't own a fridge never mind a freezer but had a pantry where they kept a few tins, the butter in a proper dish, a small loaf in a bread tin and some sterilised milk (remember the bottles with the crimped on cap before UHT in cartons?)

Aunty would do all her washing by hand in cold water (her hands were very arthritic) with a bar of soap (can't remember what it was called - it was a dark green block) and the only heating was a coal fire in the living room which had been made smaller with fire bricks, and was only lit when it got desparately cold, even then it was just the initial small shovel of coal on top of the newpaper chips (folded newspaper to help it start it up) They never had a bath but a quick wash using a kettle full of warm water after they'd had their cup of tea.

The wallpaper in the house was very 50s/60s and I don't think it ever got decorated after they bought the house except for the living room which my granma offered to pay for. When the house was sold, the new owners were amazed that it had never been modernised at all - still had the original back boiler in the kitchen, no double glazing, no kitchen units, no central heating, the original brass bathroom fittings, a pull chain loo and an enamel bath. Even the stairs carpet was threadbare (no underlay) and was narrower than the stair width, held on by brass fittings (no such things as a gripper)

kate egg · Post by **kate egg** » 17 Nov 2008, 20:22

Oh that so reminds me of my nan and grandad's house. Nan died in 83 and grandad in 87.

The bathroom was off the kitchen and the hot water tank was in the airing cupboard but wasn't plumbed into the mains - they filled it with a hose pipe from the sink when they had a bath (not too often I shouldn't think) nan always had a 'good strip wash' every monring!

The kitchen had one of those free standing units with sliding glass doors at the top and the midlle section pulled down to make a kind of worktop. Their milk was kept in a bucket in the pantry and fresh food on a marble slab in there too.

They did have a gas fire but this was the only form of heating, the windows were metal frames (rusty) and definitely not double glazed!

And the dry rot was so bad in the corner of the living room near the front door that in the end you couldn't use it, any weight on it and the floor kind of bounced :shock:

Meanqueen · Post by **Meanqueen** » 17 Nov 2008, 20:49

I saw this in the Times last week, no I didn't buy the paper, my friend cut it out for me. Remarkable lady, but I don't think I will be going to those extremes.

I like the idea of not cooking, I've just heated a bowl of stew up that I made last night, in the microwave, and added a microwaved potato. I couldn't do without my car, I would hate to feel trapped in my village. And I need a bit of electricity for my computer, but I am trying to figure out ways to cut down on my usage. I am now in the habit of hesitating before I flick a switch or turn a tap, do I really need to switch this on because it is costing me money???

Ilona.

Lilo-Lil · Post by **Lilo-Lil** » 17 Nov 2008, 21:21

Lancashire Lass - that green bar of soap is "Fairy".

It sounds like your gran and her sister could be twins of my great-aunts. They had a similar set up in Birmingham, in a rented house. Woe-betide me if I let the fire go out overnight! They also wore woolly hats all the time to keep their heads warm! Lovely ladies.

Chicken on the Hill · Post by **Chicken on the Hill** » 17 Nov 2008, 23:00

Lancashire Lass, your grans story is just like my grans story. Only difference being mine always had a fire in-it was needed to cook and boil the kettle! She even had an outside loo, use only 2 sheets of paper! Sadly she died 10 years ago, house sold for next to nowt, then modernised. I've still got one of her old kettle whistles, still with soot on it...

smallholderwannabe · Post by **smallholderwannabe** » 19 Nov 2008, 13:50

Kate egg's nan's kitchen cupboard/unit/thing with the pull down middle as a worktop was what somebody gave us to use in our kitchen when we first got married and lived in a house with only a sink in the kitchen. Aaaah. Happy memories! My, that feels like a looong time ago.

I think I would have complaints from my OH if I tried to serve him cold meals all the time and we like our shower of a morning. b And I like my fridge and my freezer. However, 3 weeks ago I decided to monitor our usage of gas and electicity (no water meter) and I don't like my findings. Despite some good efforts, on my part at least, we are using a consistent 15 units of electicity a day and 4.5-5 of gas, depending on how long the heating is on.

kate egg · Post by **kate egg** » 19 Nov 2008, 14:20

smallholderwannabe wrote:Kate egg's nan's kitchen cupboard/unit/thing with the pull down middle as a worktop was what somebody gave us to use in our kitchen when we first got married and lived in a house with only a sink in the kitchen. Aaaah. Happy memories! My, that feels like a looong time ago.

I think I would have complaints from my OH if I tried to serve him cold meals all the time and we like our shower of a morning. b And I like my fridge and my freezer. However, 3 weeks ago I decided to monitor our usage of gas and electicity (no water meter) and I don't like my findings. Despite some good efforts, on my part at least, we are using a consistent 15 units of electicity a day and 4.5-5 of gas, depending on how long the heating is on.

I actually found one of those units on eBay a while back when I was looking for a kitchen dresser, I think they are quite retro now :-D

Good idea re monitoring the power usage daily, might try that one, been working hard training everyone to turn lights off and the thermostat one degree lower )t'

But I expect we are still using loads too much.

Evie · Post by **Evie** » 21 Nov 2008, 01:40

Very interesting article. I dont think Joan is mean though, I think she is just very passionate about something she believes in.