Well I'm watching (from afar) the place I was born and grew up in, the place I call home, burning to the ground. All the good things we stood for - tolerance, pragmatism, good humour, reputation, confidence, common decency, are being lost. All the time the news gets worse - strikes everywhere, shortages, NHS collapsing, people will have to choose between heating and eating this winter. Portugal seems like a well run paradise in comparison.

It is a man made disaster, and I left to escape it.

Every time this topic is touched I learn something new about the standard of comfort that western Europe enjoys.

I've been told that in Germany the gas-saving measures will make people turn down their temperature during winter to 20-21°C from the, supposedly, standard 24-25°C.

But that can't be right, can it?

When I lived in Italy we had below 20°C during winter because the wooden windows from the 70s not replaced since then due to various, not strictly financial reasons, didn't provide much insulation.

Over here in eastern Europe it was always "18°C and put a sweater on".