I have finally got my air conditioning machine. A big enough beast at 15,000 btu and does more or less everyhing but the washing up! The noise level is listed as 49db which is a bit like the cabin noise on a long haul flight. Noise is not an issue anyway as the comfort it brings far outweighs that. It has the vents on the front which is what I wanted and which have proved to be just the right height for my bed with the downward vanes slanted down.
It was a bit of a lump to get up the stairs but I have a strong son. Bit of a faff to vent the exhaust hose through the window as the adaptor kits are for sash type windows which I don't have. My son in law rigged up a board to fit the window frame (via super strong velcro strips) with suitable aperture for the vent which we adapted from the adaptor kit and it works extremely well. Just have to remember to close the window when we go out. It has made a big difference already to my comfort at night.
I get my feet cold first before putting on moisturiser and thin socks to protect my skin. Only wish I had been more careful with them at the onset of my EM when I was more concerned with cooling rather than caring for my feet. The little ulcers I caused then still haven't healed properly and my skin is like leather in places. Hindsight is a wonderful thing! Gone are the days of jumping into bed at night with hot milk, biscuits and a good book before nodding off into a good nights sleep.
I shall next try out directing the cold air towards the rear of a normal fan (thanks for that tip, Janice), which will probably be a rather more gentle method and I may be able to do without the socks which sometimes annoy me in the middle of the night. I have been known to take them off and throw them and woke one morning to find a sticky moisturised sock attached to a mirror!
Thanks to all who gave me help and advice, it was very much appreciated.