When I read about how prepared homes in Canada are for cold weather, it makes sturdy brick common in UK houses feel more like ancient stone. And the more I think of it the more I think of stereotypical Transylvania; the dark dank streets, suspicious and isolationist serfs wandering around in cheap tatty clothing, old and imposing little forts of homes, owners ready and primed to shut the curtains at visual intrusion.
Is it that hard to imagine the UK falling into a second Dickensian age?