PovertyChallenge

My fellow bloggers are setting off fireworks all over the North with radio interviews, newspaper articles, MP responses and more...

So why I am feeling so down? This Challenge is cold, tiring and - despite the messages of support I have received - very lonely.

There is food in my fridge but I lack the energy to cook it. There is soap in my bathroom but I can't face using it. It's not the cold that's the problem but the fact that it's not getting warmer anytime soon.

Well, that's quite dramatic of me; I have a lot to be positive about. I'm off on holiday tomorrow, only a few days until I take a hot shower, and the Oxfam Poverty Challenge is becoming a great success. If reading this has inspired you, then take a look at some of the quick and simple actions you can make to tackle poverty.

But there's no avoiding the fact that this is really, really difficult. I am slowly beginning to see the true face of poverty and it's not pretty.

Update: A few hours on and I am ashamed of wallowing in self-pity. Have just been reading about the upcoming Burmese election. I quote Jack Davies in the Guardian:

U Thein Htun is sitting in the teashop's back room [in Moulmein, Burma]. The election will change nothing for the people, he says. "They don't like the government, but they are too worried about having enough food to eat, enough money for their family. The election means nothing. We already know who will win."

This is the real struggle.

Halloween may have come and gone but I certainly got goosebumps in the shower last night. I felt the brain freeze sensation you get when eating icecream, except this time it was all over the back of my head.

Nevertheless I put in what I felt was a pretty good effort, dancing bravely in and out of the flow of water as much as one can in a small cubicle. After about 5 minutes (or maybe it was 20 seconds), I triumphantly switched off the shower only to discover that I was still covered in shampoo. When I turned the shower back on, it was only the thought of the millions across the world who would love some access to clean water, however cold, that stopped me from turning the pressure dial from “cold” to “medium”.

Just in case the image of me doing some sort of belly-dancing routine to avoid getting covered in cold water wasn’t amusing enough for you, I’ve included a picture of me eating my bran flakes this morning. Maybe I should dig out my fingerless gloves to complete the look!

So that’s it. Last night I shut my heating off for the week and wriggled into my sleeping bag. I spent a moment staring longingly up at my bed before deciding that it felt a bit like camping and was actually quite exciting. It may have been a mark of tiredness following the weekend’s exploits (see previous post) that I slept well all night.

It was a different story this morning. My alarm went off at 7am. I reluctantly reached out into the icy darkness, switched if off, and retreated back into the depths of my sleeping bag. I slowly registered the stark temperature difference between my face and the rest of my body and decided that I would have to approach “getting up” a bit like getting into the sea. I plunged head first into the bathroom followed by breakfast at a jogging pace.

My plan went well and I quickly discovered the massive benefit of wearing a hat. I think hat wearing may well have another benefit later this week when I am sporting the greasy only-managed-30-seconds-under-the-shower look.

This area of the country (Yorkshire & The Humber) has one of the highest proportions of households without central heating in the UK. I hope my MP, Mr. Martin Vickers, will read my blog and think about his constituents in this position and also consider what someone in his position can do for people living in poverty across the world.

I’ve yet to brave the shower yet, or spend an evening in with no heating. And of course none of this compares to those who really do sleep rough, or don’t have access to any water, let alone hot. I fear I am only just beginning to see the tip of a very chilly iceberg.

I’m writing this on a Sunday morning from my cosy double bed in my parents’ house, nestling comfortably among pillows and cushions with my panda Chi-Chi looking over my shoulder as I type; I’ve been sharing my bed with Chi-Chi for over twenty years.

Last night was my parents’ joint 60th birthday party which, even with the extra hour gained from the clocks going back, went on until 5am. The prospect of a hot shower and a warm cup of tea are probably the only things that will persuade me to get out of bed this morning.

Across the world, including within the UK, there are people who go without beds and hot water every day. It’s difficult to know exactly how many people are in this position because of the anonymous nature of homelessness and of poverty in general. During the noughties in the UK, the number of people sleeping rough declined, but there are still hundreds of people on the streets every night .

I’m currently considering the best showering strategy for the coming week. Should I do lots of exercise in the hope that I’ll be so hot I want a cold shower, or shall I do as little exercise as possible so that it negates the need to wash at all? I had considered taking Chi-Chi to the floor with me at night as a companion to share my ordeal, but he looks rather miffed at the suggestion (see image). I think I’ll have to go it alone…

I've chosen to take on two challenges for the next week;

1) No hot water (i.e. no central heating, hot showers),

2) Sleep on the floor.

On hearing about this challenge, I smugly thought that I already lead quite a moderate lifestyle. I regularly use public transport, I try to minimise waste, and I carefully budget my monthly living costs. However, when I actually stopped to consider my daily routine, it was apparent that I enjoy enormous choice and comfort every single day. Whether it’s good quality food, regular retail therapy or the reassurance of my savings account, there are so many things that money makes possible that I simply take for granted. This realisation led me to the question: What, of all these many things, would I really notice giving up for a week? Answer: warm showers and a comfortable bed. I’m sure many share my opinion that central heating and beds are essential items that all homes should come equipped with. The reality is, however, that many people do without these “basics” every day. I hope my experience will give me an insight into the challenges faced by people living in poverty. I hope to encourage others to stop and think about the opportunities that money allows them to have. Most significantly, I hope to raise awareness about the worldwide problem of poverty.

I'm going to ask my MP Martin Vickers what he thinks about all this ... what do you think?