Its not who you know its where you live!

Recently we have seen lots of arguments on English language forums re the heating allowance given to British pensions in UK. In case you are unaware once you become a state pensioner, provided you live in UK, you get a winter payment to help with heating. To qualify you MUST be resident in UK when you reach pensionable age. Not quite sure how this rule was reached but that's how it is. As a pensioner myself  I do not qualify under these rules. Well you cannot win them all. I am just pleased to have a pension and to have lived long enough to collect it! Mind you it is a bit nippy at the moment and I am sure the many many forums used by British pensioners living here will have not a few threads running on this issue as heating bills start arriving.  Right now it is a bit nippy but lets face it we know we will get some right hot weather unlike the poor devils in UK. We lived in Scotland for quite a number of years and it was not so unusual to have the heating on at any time of the year. All in all keeping warm in UK is a far more expensive business. So despite the fact we saw market traders in Cieza today lighting fires in makeshift braziers, and a bunch of workman who had stoped for a break and lit a fire on the roadside to keep themselves warm, we will be counting our blessings not our goosebumps.  So chill out
man it will soon be summer.