Pensioners' Page

Keeping Warm This Winter

1. Have at least one hot meal a day, and plenty of hot drinks. Good, traditional food is best for warmth and energy, so eschew 'convenience foods' whenever possible.

2. Keep physically active. Not only does this help your body to produce the heat it needs to function, but also helps your joints to remain supple, improve your circulation, and helps to prevent weakening of the bones. Walking is good, but in cold weather some kind of indoor exercise is best.

3. Always wear a hat or cap out of doors. This is because most of the body's heat is lost through the head.

4. Loose fitting clothing is best for warmth, as it traps the air, heated by your body, which would otherwise be lost to the atmosphere.

5. In cold weather, try to remain in the one room, and keep it well heated and free from draughts {old blankets, or clothing, placed along the bottom of doors may help with this}. The smaller the room, the easier it is to keep warm.

6. If you have problems paying your gas or electricity bills contact your local office immediately. The fuel industries now follow a code of practice which ensures that households in which everyone is over retirement age won't normally be disconnected between 1st October & 31st March. Financial help may be available from the Dept. of Social Security, and you can ring them free on:

0800 666 555

Winter Warmers

The Bentilee Volunteers & Neighbourhood Project run a visiting scheme for the elderly and housebound, whereby an assigned volunteer will visit you through the winter months to check if you're o.k., run simple errands, help with cooking, etc. Further details may be had by ringing them on S-O-T 598014

And if they can't help, they may know a man who can!

Copyright The Bentilean 1999

Note the Bentilee Volunteers telephone number has changed. Latest details can be found elsewhere on The Bentilean Online.

Back to: The Contents Page | The Archive | The Bentilean Main Page

1