Cold nights.

This is another cold night again people, "unserious rainfall" as I call it has been falling since evening. The weather is cold to my liking but here I am suffering from coryza after spending all my day under the air-conditioner. Now it is off but still everywhere is cold. I hope my coryza doesn't last or turn to something else that could make me take bitter pills. This is my best weather but now I think it is getting too much. I just want it to stop raining because I need warmth now....

Hi everyone, how was the day? I had a cold one and I am still having another cold night. As my hood will always say "weather for two", I swear I don't know the meaning of that sentence, lol!

The only month I expect it to rain "unseriously" is during the month of August. In this part of the world, August rainfall can fall all day and night and keep falling till another morning. That is just what it is known for but after the month, it stops.

These days, things have changed and no longer follow their sequence as they have been since forever. Unlike tonight's rainfall, it was never expected in this manner it is falling. Maybe mimicking August if I may say, because that's how it happens in August causing denial of movement and introducing cold to the environment.

After work today, I had to come back home under the unserious rainfall and get soaked with water. As I lay on my bed under the duvet with my legs crossed, I began to imagine how our great grandfathers kept warm in times like this.

They had no modern house, warmers and jackets to keep them warm at night and even on cold days but still survived and lived long. I was imagining how they took shelter without modern clothing and still lived with the harsh environment.

I could still remember those days as a child, I would go close to the kerosene lantern with my clothes on to get the heat from the burning lantern for warmth. I sometimes place my fingers close to the iron head of the lantern for warmth too, but still that wasn't enough for me. Those lanterns are no longer in use these days and that made me wonder more about how great grandparents lived with their family before the invention of kerosene lanterns.

As I kept pondering and asking myself questions, I finally got an answer which is "fire". There have been stories and pictures of how people lived in the olden days and I have heard and read a lot of them and from what I know, they kept warmth in the following ways..

Circling a burning fire (bonfire)

According to stories and books, our early fathers would light up a blazing fire and sit around it at a little distance. This is often done at night after dinner especially here in Africa. Everyone around comes out circling the first sitting close to their family respectively. This is also the best time to tell stories and takes of warriors who have lived in the past. This kind of gathering is so important because not just that it keeps them warm, it is also an institution of learning from the elders who tell stories of the past, especially the root history of their families and villages.

I miss those days and wished I had the experience. From my imagination, it feels good and natural. The fire burns down and I wish to roast my yam in the fire. I just have a thing with roasted food. Their children will fall asleep while listening to the stories and sleeping on their mothers laps. Most importantly to me is the warmth from the fire and not forgetting my little piece of roasted yam. I wish to try this circling of fire one day with my family or friends.

Carefully putting a fire pot under the bed (bonfire)

This is another amazing way our fathers kept warm. I believe that this idea came because it was raining at night and it was cold. So because they can't circle a fire outdoors, they came up with this beautiful idea of a fire pot under the bed.

They have this ceramic or clay pot that they prepare a fire inside and place it gently under their bed. I believe that this works more effectively on a mat bedding not on modern foams.

This must be so effective but has the disadvantages of smoke indoors.

Taking alcoholics

Till today, some people use alcoholics to keep warm at night. I don't really know how this works but I see them take some portion and keep it close to themselves. This alcohol includes rums and white liquors. Alcohol makes me sleepy and I believe it doesn't cure cold or keep warm but some people do. Good for them I guess.

This is how our fathers kept warm at night till this modern era. Nature imbalance always has a way of dealing with it to provide comfort to humans.

Thank you for reading lovelies and have a quality week.

@Gianna-B , 2022 and all rights reserved.

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