This is perfect for the blog, surely.. I say get it up there!<br><br>T<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Mon, Nov 16, 2009 at 4:48 PM, Jonathan Stevenson <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:jjjstevenson@fastmail.fm">jjjstevenson@fastmail.fm</a>></span> wrote:<br>
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What do people think about putting this on the site as a blog post?<br>
<br>
Kriptick says he's happy for it go up!<br>
<br>
I feel like the blog at the moment when it's not inactive is a bit
top-down propaganda and it would be good for it to give more of a
flavour of what it's like to be part of climate camp. However I don't
mind if people think this wouldn't be appropriate.<br>
<br>
J<br>
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<td>[climatecamp-london] Surviving winter in Copenhagen</td>
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<td>Sun, 15 Nov 2009 12:24:58 -0000</td>
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<th align="right" nowrap valign="baseline">From: </th>
<td>kriptick <a href="mailto:kriptick@riseup.net" target="_blank"><kriptick@riseup.net></a></td>
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<th align="right" nowrap valign="baseline">To: </th>
<td><a href="mailto:climatecamp-london@lists.riseup.net" target="_blank"><climatecamp-london@lists.riseup.net></a></td>
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<th align="right" nowrap valign="baseline">References: </th>
<td><a href="mailto:12bf69900911131615g3a6df39x1dfe75d5424d40c8@mail.gmail.com" target="_blank"><12bf69900911131615g3a6df39x1dfe75d5424d40c8@mail.gmail.com></a></td>
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<pre>Someone told me the temperature can drop to -10C in Copenhagen which is
probably outside most people's experience and certainly outside their
comfort zone. Googling for weather statistics for Denmark however, reveals
that that -10C figure looks very much the exception and around freezing
point seems to be the norm there for December. Copenhagen is on the same
lattitude as central Scotland though so it may feel distinctly nippy there
for us soft southerners. Since the British are notoriously crap at dressing
for cold conditions and since I've ventured onto a few cold mountains in my
time, I've necessarily learned a bit about staying warm in such conditions
which I'm thinking may be useful to pass on to those going to Copenhagen. I
could just suggest everyone goes to a good outdoor shop and buys loads of
high tech survival stuff but since many activists are on low incomes this
advice wouldn't go down very well so here's various cheapo options.
First off, don't just dress for fashion. Fashion clothes are normally fairly
hopeless at keeping you warm so even complete style junkies are going to
have to compromise and dress a bit more functional. Besides which, it's a
situation where you probably don't want to stand out from the crowd too
much. Next check your garment fabric labels. In particular, avoid cotton as
this is a cool summer fabric and not good for winter. Not only is cotton a
very poor insulator compared to other fabrics, but when it becomes wet, (do
the Danes have water cannons anyone?) it has no insulating effect at all and
also takes days and days to dry. Anyone who's ever been drenched while
wearing jeans or a cotton sweatshirt will have noticed just how cold they
became so avoid both of those garments.
The secret to dressing warm is to trap static warm air using several layers
of insulating clothing. Firstly an absorbent but low cotton content garment
should be worn next to the skin that can draw sweat away from your body
should you have become too hot at any stage of the day. Next, wear one or
two well insulated fluffy layers. Two or more thin layers are much more
versatile than one thick one as you can regulate your temperature more
finely. Wooly jumpers are good but can take ages to dry should they become
wet and you will smell like a wet dog during that time Acrylic ones don't
suffer from these drawbacks. Best by far are synthetic fleece jackets or
shirts as they are light and absorb very little water and even if they do
become wet, their insulation value doesn't drop much and they dry in a
trice. You can sometimes find fleeces at second hand shops, car boot sales
or Lidl often sell naff looking but functional ones at this time of year.
You can buy cheap new ones at street markets but they're often the shape of
a sack and fall apart quite quickly. Dunno if he's still there, but last
year there was a guy selling some really nice second hand ones in Sclater
street off Brick lane Sunday market. You can also try an outdoor shop called
mountain warehouse in Southampton St below Covent Garden that sells all
sorts of stuff much cheaper than its more up market neighbours. Your outer
layer should be something densely woven or waterproof to prevent the wind
from penetrating your fluffy layers and blowing the warm air away.
For your legs, no jeans but low cotton content or acrylic track suit bottoms
from street markets are good or you can go for the trick of wearing thick
woolly women's tights underneath some regular closely woven trousers. On
your feet, obviously boots and thick non cotton socks - wool is best. Good
gloves can be quite expensive although Lidl again often do affordable ski
gloves at this time of year. If you're really skint then one thing I've
found is that during cold spells, loads of people drop gloves on the streets
especially at bus stops which you can hoover up if you ride a bike around
town regularly. If you keep finding same sided gloves then turn one inside
out. If you can find widely differing sizes then you can stack small ones
inside larger for double the warmth.
People often complain that their hands and feet always get cold no matter
what they wear on them. This is to do with humans having evolved as social
animals and the trick to prevent your extremities becoming cold is to really
concentrate on keeping your core temperature high. If your core temperature
drops even slightly, your body minimises its chances of developing
hypothermia and so starts to shut down the blood supply to the peripheral
parts of the body in order to prevent that chilled blood from cooling the
vital organs any further. So if you're wearing insufficient warm clothes on
your torso then even with the most expensive gloves, your hands will
continue to feel cold.
Don't forget to cover as much of your head as possible. Peruvian(?) hats are
probably good but I've never worn one. Balaclavas are brilliantly warm
though scary looking and if everyone wears them it'll give a very negative
image. They're quite versatile though as you can fold the sides up and wear
them as a regular non-threatening wooly hat if conditions aren't so bad.
They're actually very expensive to buy from outdoor shops - often 20 quid
though you can try army surplus shops. It may well be that conditions there
are quite mild so remember to carry a rucsack of sufficient size to stash
excess clothing if you become too hot. This is why wearing several thin
layers rather than one thick one is important.
I'm guessing some of the sleeping accomodation may be fairly basic and
heating could be minimal. If so, the best sleeping bag you can acquire and a
sleeping mat is equally important. It's worth knowing that most heat loss
when camping is downwards into the ground so try and put as much locally
acquired insulating material such as layers of carpet or cardboard beneath
you and not on top. Watch how homeless people do just this. You can wear
some extra clothes inside your bag but if you try to wear too much inside a
tight sleeping bag, you can actually prevent the sleeping bag from working
properly. If you know it's going to be a very cold night then it's important
to go to sleep while still feeling warm, ideally immediately after having
some hot food inside you otherwise you will never recover lost heat once
your metabolism drops and you'll get crap sleep. On the subject of food,
remember that in cold conditions, your body is having to work harder just
staying warm so eat more than you normally do.
Finally where you place yourself outdoors can greatly affect your warmth
level. Do your utmost to stay dry. Standing on anything metal or in a puddle
will chill your feet and sitting or leaning on anything cold and hard will
suck the heat right out of your body so try and stand/sit on some wood or
cardboard. If there's much standing around and it's windy then avoid the
effect of wind chill by ducking into the lee of any kind of obstruction like
wheely bins, barricades etc.
Have fun!
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