It’s been sweltering recently, and with predicted global warming, the trend is for colder, wetter winters and drier, hotter summers.  That said, I wonder if the UK will go the route of central air conditioning.[ad#ad-1]

After weeks of attempting to rectify the car problems, the mechanic thinks the head gasket has gone.  Luckily, he passed us on the road, shortly after he had fitted in a new hose pipe for the coolant.  We were on our way to the gym.  It was lucky for us that my daughter had insisted on going to the gym that day (she refuses to go sometimes).  Otherwise, we might have been heading a different direction with disastrous results.  We had to turn around and made other arrangements for the girls to attend their afternoon activities with Stagecoach.  We took a couple buses to town.

As we waited for the kids to finish, my husband and I lunched under a tree in the church cemetery.  Afterwards, we decided to go to the library, expecting it to be cooler.  Whew!  It was sweltering in there.  We decided to go back outdoors and spent the rest of the afternoon under a tree at the school.

I couldn’t understand why there wasn’t air conditioning in the library.  And, if there is, why wasn’t it on?  I can’t believe that anyone could possibly work in such conditions.  I know many public buildings have air conditioning, so why not the library?

My husband then commented that school examination halls were like that.  He recalled taking exams in hot, stuffy halls.  What were they thinking?  In the US, examination halls tend to be on the cool side.  We’re always reminded to take a sweater, just in case.  The heat makes people sluggish and it’s well documented that people perform worse on exams in the heat.[ad#ad-1]

Well, we’re renting a car right now and it has a functioning air conditioner.  What a difference in this heat.  Our car didn’t have air conditioning and I was constantly sweating.  And when the sun is beating down on you through the windshield, it burns.

And, as I’ve complained before, we have screenless windows, so if we must open the windows to air out the house, we have to accept the herd of insects that we openly invite inside.

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Car rentals can be very expensive in England.  It is even more so if you cannot drive a manual.  Most cars here are manuals.  They are cheaper to rent, as well as buy, because they are more readily available.  Some car rental companies do not carry many automatics, if at all.  So, if you can’t drive a manual, you should start learning now.

For those, like me, who cannot drive manuals and dread learning to, there are other considerations in renting that will impact their finances.  First, and foremost, is the insurance.  If you cannot prove that you have adequate insurance coverage (for their purposes), then you are required to purchase their insurance.  In addition, if something should happen, there is a high deductible (called excess) applied.  This deductible is added to your car rental until you return it claim-free.  You can also choose to pay an extra fee to reduce this deductible (or excess).  The terms were so confusing that we did not fully understand it at first.  Besides the basic car insurance that you pay for, you also must pay another insurance for Tire & Windshield.

The issue regarding fuel over here is similar to the US.  You either choose to pay for your gas upfront or refill it to the same level you took it out.  If you don’t return it at the same level, they charge you a small fee for refueling it.  The difference is that you don’t have to pay the maximum rate for fuel.  They just charge you their current fuel charge, which can be cheaper than what you’d find locally.  I know Hertz does something similar now.

When we’ve rented in the US, there never seems to be a major inspection of the car prior to you taking the car; but when it is returned, sometimes they look it over, other times you just park it up and leave.  that attitude varies over here.  Some places, you have someone going around the car quite thoroughly with you before they hand over the keys and they do the same when you return it.  Others, they just hand you the keys and expect you to look it over yourself.  It is your responsibility to report any damage to the car before you take it.  Otherwise, you may be expected to pay for it.

Whether you are visiting or staying, you will need your passport as proof of identity.  Some places (we know from our experience of Enterprise) will also require your flight details in order to confirm that you are only renting temporarily.  If you are staying, some places (again, Enterprise) will want proof that you are residing here – they will want two bills for this.  It made it difficult for us because we still didn’t have a place of residence and needed a car to rent.  We couldn’t prove that we were staying because we didn’t have any bills and we couldn’t prove that we were visiting because we didn’t have airline tickets.  They had no answer when we asked how we could rent a car so that we could get around and find a place to live.  Luckily, we had found another company that was not going to put us through that rigmarole.[ad#ad-1]

It’s best to use a credit card to reserve a car.  Using a debit will mean that they will take your money out first and return it later if you did not damage the car.  I find it more reassuring if they only take out money after the fact and you know how much they will take, rather than guessing whether they have returned your money.  Or, if you have cash on hand, that is even better.  Just remember that Discover is not accepted at most places in England.