Yorkshire County Cricket Club: credit where it is due - Editor's Newsletter
The morning dog walks are now almost in darkness, Araneus diadematus are ubiquitous in gardens and hedgerows, their webs glistening with morning dew, and slowly but surely the temptation to flick on the heating increases.
That urge, mind, can be easily brought under control. At least, if, like me, you get the warmth in your home delivered every now and then by a tanker, because the price of heating oil is now at £1.10 per litre. Bear in mind that, on average, in the last year or so we’ve been able to get heating oil for more like £0.55p per litre and you can see that the cost of keeping warm for rural homes in particular has literally doubled. Bear in mind, also, that many providers won’t turn a wheel on their lorries without a minimum order of 500 litres, which means, when the time comes, affording heating oil for many is beginning to get out of reach … if it isn’t already.
Living as I do in a farming community, I am all too aware of the struggle that has become bite-sized as ‘heating versus eating.’ I do think that three-word conundrum rather trivialises the seriousness of the problem. Trust me, it is extraordinarily real. I see and hear about it first-hand. I honestly do not know how people are going to cope this winter if nothing changes; God forbid the price should continue to climb.
It is just one illustration, I suppose, of the desperate need to - and the incredible opportunity on offer - wean ourselves off fossil fuels. Yet, even with assistance from grant monies, the cost of switching to an air source heat pump is into five figures, so the most glaringly obvious thing to do for those like me requires a run-up to save for and, again, in many cases is simply unaffordable.
Which brings me to that which got me musing about the cost of heating our homes, and recalling the Dickensian prospect of so-called ‘warm banks’ - community spaces like village halls that are kept warm with open invitations to people who simply can’t afford to heat their homes - being needed in modern Britain. They were needed in Yorkshire last year and they’ll be needed again this year, no question, and that is one prospect that should upset us all.
Yorkshire County Cricket Club - sorry for the clunky segue. YCCC, from next year, is committing to powering Headingley - entirely - using energy generated by renewable, sustainable means.
In a partnership with a firm called UrbanChain, this is a remarkable commitment to helping to clean up the planet but more than that, a clear demonstration of leadership in what is, as I’ve just outlined, a tricky, costly space.
So there you have it. Today’s Well Done Wednesday is dedicated to Yorkshire County Cricket Club.
James
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Word of the day: Taradiddle. A fib, lie. Disingenuous, pettiness.
On this day: 1977 - T-Rex frontman Marc Bolan is killed in a car crash.
Happy birthday to: Sir Lloyd Grossman, 76. 'Who'd live in a house like this!?'
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