well on the way home from the shops the temp guage kept going over to the red and i had to put the heater blower thing onto max and it went back to 90. anyway, apparently i had no anti freeze left or it was low and so i have oput some in now and left the engine running for a bit for it to circulate, but i haven't put any in since i got the car in 2006, i thiunk this is the coldest we have had for ages.
Stil a touchl confused about your original question when did it change to topping up every month ......but anyway, you saying that since 2006, you have'nt had the car in for a service, because one of the things they should check is anti-freeze levels, both in the hot summer months and freezing winter ones, such as these.
Essential to check, as levels do sometimes go down quite quickly if car needs it more, due to adverse weather conditions.