Now the weather has got a bit wintry it is time for the annual battle of the sexes. The venue is just about every office in the country, where some people (mainly men) have the air conditioning turned on and others (mainly women) have space heaters plugged in under the desk.

The ecological cost must be tremendous, as the aircon cranks itself up ever higher to compensate for the electric heaters.

For some reason certain people think that a temperature of, say 22C is cold, and they try in vain to get the room temperature as close to body temperature as possible.

It must all be psychological. In winter, everyone tends to wear thicker clothes anyway, so should be warmer, but they all want the termostat set to higher levels than it was at during the summer. Surely a temperature of, say, 22C feels the same whatever the weather is doing outside, but it doesn’t seem to work that way.

I don’t like to generalise, but it does seem to be women who turn the place into a furnace and still wear jumpers, shawls, coats and gloves while accusing the men of keeping the place freezing.

I’m not sure whether the solution is to have offices segregated or to set the level at a reasonable one and send anyone who complains off to the doctors to have their blood circulation looked at. If that sounds intolerant it probably is. Lack of fresh air, the smell of burning dust, and uncomfortable temperatures tend to make people irritable. I think I read it in a health & safety book somewhere.

It might be something to do with expectations. I expect to feel warm and cosy when I am at home, but at work I expect the temperature to be neutral.