At a car-boot sale in rural Hampshire, Myra is looking for wooden chairs. A former antiques dealer, she’s not looking for rare finds, but cheap firewood to burn. “We also look out for free firewood on Facebook, people getting rid of pallets,” she says.
Her household used to use oil for heating. “The last time we bought some it was £258,” she says. “Now it’s £750. We can’t afford that, so we are doing without.”
Myra and her partner have stopped using the cooker and use a cheap portable stove instead. They put the immersion on once a week so they can both have a shower. She admits to being “worn out” by worry. “But it’s becoming normal that people don’t use their appliances, that we live like this,” says Myra, 63.
