Light show
In our house, we have our bedroom at the front. Generally, this is fine, because we both prefer the rooms we spend more time in (the kitchen, Mr. Bsag’s studio, my office) to be at the back of the house, with a nicer view. However, there are two drawbacks to the location of the bedroom. One is that there is a pub opposite, so we sometimes get disturbed late at night by drunk people reeling away from a night spent imbibing as many lagers and/or alcopops as is humanly possible. The second is that there is a street lamp just outside our house. While it’s handy as a free security light for the front of our house, it does make our bedroom rather light.
I can sleep through noise once I’m asleep — I’m infamous in my family for sleeping through the Great Storm of 1987, while chaos raged all around — but light invariably wakes me up. Over the year that we’ve lived here, I’ve more or less got used to the light levels in the room at night, but last night the wretched light decided to start randomly turning itself on and off as frequently as once every 20 seconds. It woke me up at 1am, and it was like being in a really tragic disco, with one white light randomly flashing away to the deafening sound of silence. I could see the change in light levels even with my eyes shut, so I was lying awake, waiting for it to turn on or off again, which nearly drove me crazy.
I think that it’s about time we actually got our act together and got some light-proof material to line the curtains with. Otherwise I’m going to have to tie a bandanna around my eyes and blindfold myself before I go to bed.
1
I take it you have reported the faulty street light to your council, preferably through FixMyStreet?
by Chunter @ 26/10/2007 4:25 am • Permalink •
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My wife and I have a very similar problem. When we bought our house a couple of years ago, we failed to take notice that the master bedroom was on the front-side of the house, next to a busy street where teenagers love to drive by late at night with the bass setting on their stereo set to 11, and also facing enough towards east that the sun coming through the windows in the morning reminds me of the final scene in the movie Sunrise.
I know that next time we buy a house, the first thing I will do is check out how the master bedroom is situated in regard to noise and light!
By the way, how have your eyes been? Would you recommend the corrective surgery you had to others?
Thanks. Jamey.
by Jamey @ 26/10/2007 12:50 pm • Permalink •
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Hi, I too am infamous in my family for sleeping through the 1987 storm. At the time we lived in a crescent and my bedroom window looked out over 40 200+ year old trees. 17 of them came down and the first I knew about it was looking out the window in the morning to scenes of devastation unheard of in our little suburban world! Light pollution - my bedroom has a street light out side and blackout lining definitely does the job. However a camping trip to Iceland this summer with it's virtually 24 hour light seems to have cured me of sleep disturbed by light! Double bonus, you see one of the most amazing and beautiful countries in the world and solve a sleeping issue!!
by Pete @ 26/10/2007 12:54 pm • Permalink •
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I'd say blackout curtains are definitely the way to go for your bedroom - but for a more general solution for sleeping through light pollution, you might also want to check out the Mindfold sleep mask. Ok, the plastic front to it is rather ... '70s retro-chic, but it really worked for me.
by Stuart @ 26/10/2007 3:32 pm • Permalink •
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Chunter: Yes, we have reported it, but no fix yet. I didn't know about FixMyStreet, though - useful.
Jamey: I quite like seeing the dawn light, but getting woken up at 1 or 2am is bit much! I think you must be confusing me with someone else on the eye surgery issue, as I haven't had any. I do wear glasses, but my prescription is so mild that it wouldn't be worth splashing out on laser surgery. Plus, I'm totally squeamish about eyes
Pete: Oh, I'd love to see Iceland (or Norway). I've been noticing ads in The Guardian for holidays to Norway to see the Northern Lights recently, and really wishing I could go.
I have tried sleep masks, but other than on a plane or coach, I find it hard to sleep in them. Definitely going to get the blackout material, though.
by bsag @ 26/10/2007 7:47 pm • Permalink •
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Iceland's fantastic - well worth going to, whether you see Northern Lights or not.
Make sure you have plenty of cash though - everything there is emphatically not cheap!
by Lyle @ 28/10/2007 9:50 am • Permalink •
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I have seen, and it may be worth asking about, vertical flat metal plates mounted on the arm holding the light unit, placed as closesly as possible to the light head. These plates are no more than 2ft (600mm) square, and may even be rectangular. I assume the relevant Council fit these following special requests. Being so close to the light source, a relatively small plate casts a big shadow. If you do write to the council I would not mention the perceived benefit of the free security light!! Good Luck.
by Davidss @ 29/10/2007 9:45 am • Permalink •
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Davidss: Nice idea - I didn't know about those. They've actually fixed the light now, so it's less urgent. I can go back to ignoring the constant light again
by bsag @ 29/10/2007 7:49 pm • Permalink •
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there is a small, filled-in hole on the pavement outside our house. A reminder of Mrs Zimm's fight with authority (the local one!). The street lamps on our estate were upgraded (courtesy of a European grant, would you believe) and without warning a new lamp post (sans lamp) was erected stealthily right outside our bedroom window. A phone call or two to local councillors and the county council resulted in an amusing confontation outside our house where Mrs Z asked the rep from the CC , "So, what idiot decided the lamp should go here?" "It was me, Madam" ,he replied. The council worker (who removed the offending item) was stood behind him, wetting himself in silent laughter... When it gets dark we can still see the stars properly from our house.... The only reason they decided to site the lamp by our house, and not further along on a dark corner was the fact that they would have had to dig and lay cable for that... consequently, there is NO new lamp post.
by zimmer @ 31/10/2007 7:21 pm • Permalink •
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