Arnie* and Astrid,* Sweden ● “It was very cold. The house was in bad shape — but that’s just how it was.”

Arnie and Astrid refer to being ‘statare‘, which refers to contract-workers in Swedish agriculture who, contrary to other farmhands, were expected to be married, and were provided with a simple dwelling for their family. Instead of eating at the servants’ table, they were often paid in kind with foodstuff.

John, UK : “I’ve never again been in that situation where I’ve had a piece of kit that cantankerous.”

Q: Do you remember your house being cold or warm as a child?

A: We could get by without the central heating as we lived in a fairly warm part of Northern Ireland. There was virtually no frost … a very mild climate in which you can lift spuds in February and March.

Also, with our […]

Elaine, UK : “Even at 8 years old, my job was to shovel coal dumped in the yard into the basement; usually, the delivery was 1 metric tonne.”

Q: Were you directly involved in ‘managing’ household energy?

A: When I was about 8 years old, If I got home from school when the coal had been dropped, I had to get it into the coalhouse before mum and dad got home from work. […]

David, UK: “Every single morning, the curtains would be dripping with condensation and puddles would form on the windowsill.”

Q: Did your family keep the house warm?

A: I’m not sure that they tried to keep it is warm as possible; actually, I don’t think they did.

Q: Was it a question of not being able to afford to?

A: You don’t really know the family finances are when you’re that age, but I doubt it […]