Oh Mr.Chancellor!

[Poppy Mole]

Please can I have my "winter fuel allowance" now as it has just cost me £600 to fill my oil tank.

[Poppy Mole]

[gp.girl]

NO, you should put on another jumper or insulate properly....... >:(

[Poppy Mole]

All insulated to the highest degree & woolly jumpers are out, also every armchair has its own snuggle blanket, but a house has to be kept warm, the thermostat is kept at 17 through the winter.

[caroline7758]

Are you in an oil club, Poppy?

http://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/oilclubs

[lincsyokel2]

Get a wood burner and a chain saw.

I take down tree free of charge, as opposed to Tree Surgeons, who charge hundreds. I do it the old fashioned way, with ropes, ladders and pulleys, and a bit of engineering and physics. I end up with huge piles of free logs, all i have to do is get rid of the brush, which i haul to the lotty communal bonfire. Ive taken down three Eucalyptus this year, a fungal disease has wiped out thousands,  Ive now got about five cubic metres of logs in the wood shed, the cost to me was a few hours labour and a gallon of petro and a litr of oil l for the chainsaw.

Another source is the RAF and the Army. They own large tracts of land all over Lincolnshire, lots of it woodland and copses, bombing ranges, ammo dumps, and practice grounds. There several round here, they are uterly unmaintianed or looked after, and i frequently log in them. Last year i removed two entire Pine trees that were dead and still standing. I can drop a tree on a sixpence, log it into 1 yard logs and lump it into the trailer in about 15 minutes, i call it blitzprotokollierung  which is german for 'lightning logging'   ;D

[tonybloke]

all i have to do is get rid of the brush, which i haul to the lotty communal bonfire.

Be careful LY2,
only stuff produced within the curtailage of the property may be burnt there.
otherwise it's classed as 'waste treatment', for which you need a site license, and then there's the 'waste carriers license' which you would need if transporting anything from one site to another for burning.
we've had this info from our local environmental health officer at our Allotment Associations AGM

regards, Tony.

relevant info: section 34, environment protection act 1990

[claybasket]

Hy LY2,me and my OH used to get a years contract to clear the Forest floor from the forestry for £10 a year ,we had a Aga type cooker we saved a fortune and were never cold.

[lincsyokel2]

all i have to do is get rid of the brush, which i haul to the lotty communal bonfire.

Be careful LY2,
only stuff produced within the curtailage of the property may be burnt there.
otherwise it's classed as 'waste treatment', for which you need a site license, and then there's the 'waste carriers license' which you would need if transporting anything from one site to another for burning.
we've had this info from our local environmental health officer at our Allotment Associations AGM

regards, Tony.

relevant info: section 34, environment protection act 1990

hmm ok

but what if im transporting it to my allotment for use on my compost heap. and then later on I decide to burn it?

[Poppy Mole]

Caroline,  Yes I am in the local consortium which does help quite a bit.
Lincsy, your idea for me at any rate is just not feasible

[tonybloke]

hmm ok
but what if im transporting it to my allotment for use on my compost heap. and then later on I decide to burn it?

you'd prob get away with it, tbh.
but we had a chap who was a fencing contractor taking old fence panels to plot for burning, 10 grand fine!!
and a tree surgeon taking 'brash' for burning, 20 grand fine.
be careful!!

[Aden Roller]

All insulated to the highest degree ...................................the thermostat is kept at 17 through the winter.

My elderly parents are cold if the temperature drops below 22⁰C during daylight hours. They normally have their place at 23⁰. The heating allowance is a godsend.

[grannyjanny]

I dread the colder weather. My thermostat went years ago & I hate being hot. I hibernate when it's hot in the Summer. OH is constantly cold & likes the stat turned up, the problem being when once he has warmed up he forgets to turn it down. He has been known to wear his thermals in the 'Summer' months.

Seriously though I don't know how the old & infirm & people with families who have to stick to a budget are expected to manage.

[Digeroo]

it has just cost me £600 to fill my oil tank.

Ouch But how long will that last? 

Am I right that the fuel allowances will be lower this year?

[grannyjanny]

Fuel allowance for under 80s in going down to £200. I think for over 80s it's going down by £100.

[Poppy Mole]

Ouch But how long will that last?

Should last till the end of January, February if it's a very mild winter

[grannyjanny]

and if it isn't a mild Winter what then? Our daughter has a gas fire in the lounge, when the evening meal is over & little one is in bed the heating goes off & the double doors are closed to make the room smaller. It's nice & cosy for them but there must be people who can't do that.