Victoria is retired and now volunteers three times a week in a local charity shop raising money for disadvantaged children. She and her husband live in a two-bed flat in a small low rise development in Birmingham.
Victoria is careful not to waste energy. She always turns off the light if she’s not in the room, though since her husband retired the TV’s rarely off, but he never succeeds in putting it on standby. She never uses the washing machine till there’s a full load, and she doesn’t have a tumble dryer. However, the heating system is communal, so they pay the same as everyone else. This really niggles.
She’s not a car-driver, but knows the bus routes like the back of her hand. In any case, she can just about walk to church or to the market. Her daughter drives a Nissan Micra, and picks up her parents on the first Sunday of the month to bring them over for lunch. From time to time, Victoria has a day out by coach - this summer she and her husband had a trip to Brighton and she’s already booked a Christmas shopping trip to Bath. Once a year, she flies home to Trinidad to spend Christmas and New Year with the family. The boat’d take too damned long.
