Denise: A problem with the water supply somewhere: pressure so low the electric shower wouldn’t fire up, and the washing machines were beeping and flashing and eventually had to be turned off.  House is certainly cold, but not enough to freeze pipes inside.  Buried pipes here in Uist are often just below the surface, as frosts are rarely more than light or short-lived: but J says the temperature outside is only just a fraction below zero, so perhaps its nothing to do with the cold.