Yesterday the city turned the heating off. From about midday onwards, I heard the telltale creaking of the radiator doing god knows what, shrinking back into place, I guess.
This year, I knew the heating was going off on 15 April, courtesy of my friend, Mind the Gap’s, cleaner Olga. Olga told us the heating would turn off on 15 April. Last year, I was visiting a friend when the heating turned off, and I had no idea it would. I was so cold I had to put my coat on like a big numbskull just to sit indoors.
So I was anticipating the 15 April greatly, as I wanted to see if it was REALLY going to turn off. Now I’m not generalising about Ukrainians as a whole, but occasionally, when you ask a Ukrainian a question they don’t know the answer to, they will pull an answer out of the air rather than check and give me the answer later. It’s strangely similar to some of the East and South East Asian cultures that can’t bear to lose face. I understand the dignity behind the concept, but it can be frustrating when you don’t know what’s going on.
So I was very excited when it DID turn off.
The good news is that it’s really warm in the apartment. It’s only 8 degrees outside, but so far the only extra protection I’ve required is a little bit of help from my 8-year-old leopard-spot fluffy slippers. It helps that I get the full brunt of the sun first thing in the morning.
Over the past couple of weeks, the inside of our place has reached 26 degrees, so I’m not sorry the heat is gone.
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