The message
from The Natural Philosopher contains these words:

Was living in a very cold flat, and we'd spend evenings in the pub to
keep
warm, as the beer was cheaper than the fuel we'd have burnt in a futile
attempt to get the flat warm.

snip

Reminds me of the first shared house I lived in

Reminds me of the third (and worst) shared flat I lived in. However it
did have two advantages to balance against the total grot, the
impossibility of having a warm bath even after adding several boiling
kettles as it filled and the ice on the inside of the windows in winter.
Firstly it was the cheapest flat in Stafford at the time (1967ish) with
a rent of only 16 quid a month which would have been affordable even as
a sole residence (there were four of us sharing) and secondly it was
next door to a pub and we could be in there in less time than it took
most people to get to their front gates.

--
Roger Chapman