General Chat

Not many homes in the UK, I should think now adays are without a in door flushing loo, but how would people like me who have never know it anyother way cope if we didnt? Not just when work is being completed with the plumbling or bulidiing work, where you'd keep out of the way for a few hours.

I would of hated to get up in the middle of a freezing cold night and trapes outside to spend a penny or worse still walk down the street to do so.

When you think about it, how much do become depended on mod cons like mobiles phone or landline phones the internet automatic washing machines the dryer the TV?

I can't imagine getting by without my hoover, or, as you say, the loo, though I did have a problem with the cistern where I had to use a bucket to flush it.

We actually don't appreciate what we have these days, underground sewers instead of streets flowing with effluent, hot and cold running, clean water, as opposed to traipsing miles to the nearest well, which is then hit and miss as to whether it's really healthy or not, shops on every corner (ok these aren't appreciated, when there's a huge busy supermarket to do battle in no so far away).

Then again, we do have homeless people who have none of these things, and they're not all drunks or drug addicts.

Morning Hayley :-D (edit...and Teresa) and a lovely bright one it is !

The indoor toilet has to be one of the best things invented lol, I have lived in a house without one, a few times when I was a child and once when I was about 20 and it is no fun dragging out in the cold!

I love the washing machine, we didn't have one of those till I was in my 20s, I think I could now live without the tv, certainly without the phone, but not having the internet would be a wrench now in terms of being able to do so much on it. I am managing without a dryer at the moment as the last one died before Christmas, I'm just very glad of the dry weather :-D

I was only thinking the other day of the luxury of clean running water!

probably because I remember my teacher at primary school telling us of a visitor from Africa who described running water as the thing that impressed him most about the UK.

Very true, No I dont think I could cope without me hoover or iron or fridge and freezer

With a few adjustments, I probably could live without those things Hayley lol but not my washing machine.It's so laborious to hand wash everything.

OH I could cope without the iron....easily! :-D :-D :-D

I watched a film last night on my own, it was till about 1.30 of course the CH and well and truely gone off, and I had watched the film with my hushy ( fleecy throw) over my legs, when I turn every thing down for the night and went up stairs and too the bathroom it was freezing, having to wash and change in the cold ( much to my disgust) I thought to myself whata whimp.. :-D

Morning Hayley, thank you for those very profound thoughts. I suppose that today's weather conditions have made you think this way.
I'm afraid that I do belong to the era before we all had 'mod.cons'.
We had a bucket in the bedroom for night time use, usually emptied in the mornings by Mam. The usual daytime toilet was down the yard, and very cold, even on summer days. Toilet paper was cut up newspaper squares on a nail. No phones, mobile or land lines, least of all, the internet
Clothes washing was done in a 'copper' in the corner of the kitchen, and drying was on the washing line with clothes pegs. If the weather was
inclement, the clothes were put either on a clothes horse around the fire, to dry,or on a clothes pully and raised up to the ceiling to dry by warm air. Irons were not electric, but warmed up on the fire. That was an open fire, with coals and sticks, not a gas fire.
If 'yer man', worked at the pit, you had coals delivered several times a year, from the pit yard. This was dumped on the street, and you had to barrow it in, and quickly, before someone helped themselves. Baths were not taken in a centally heated bathroom, indeed, a bathroom rarely existed. Your bath, which was usually stored hanging on a nail on an outside wall, and bought in on Friday nights, put on the hearth, and filled with hot water. Indeed, we did not have hot running water in the house. This too was boiled up in the 'copper'. It was topped up after you used it, for the next person, and so on. Hair was washed over the sink, which I still do. Friday night was always 'Amarmi' night, hence the saying that 'I'm stopping in to wash me hair'.
A televsion we did not have until I was nearly thirteen, and every so often you had to turn it off to cool down.
Need I go on. Yes we have come a long way, with mod cons.

Julia in Derbyshire

God I feel almost spoilt Julia ...lololol

Good morning Hayley and everyone. I was very lucky as a child because I was born into a bungalow in 1940 that had a bathroom and toilet. But, of course many didn't have that in those days and some of my relations had toilets in an out house, attached to the back of the house. When I visited my OH's parents in 1957 they were just about to move to a house with an inside toilet but the house theyw ere in had only an outside one.
We always had hot water heated by an ascot.

I think I could manage without a washing machine although it would be hard. I didn't have one untilabout 1969 so I was 29. However, although we didn't have a washing machine we had a collection and delivery service for laundry so the sheets used to go to the laundry, so i could manage if I had that (or a laundrette). I have not got a drier now. TV I might miss but would get used to it, was 13 before we had one. Hoover, yes I'd miss that. Phone no I wouldn't particularly, certainly mobile phone but the internet would be a great loss.

Central heating with radiators we didn't have until we were in our forties although we had warm air (sort of efficient) and storage heaters, not efficient and expensive.

I wonder how youngsters would manage without their mobile phones. Remember having to search for a phone box and having to have the coins for it?

Whats an iron?

Julia, that's a great snapshot :-)

My eldest sister used to stay with my Gran (who lived with us by the time I was born) who had an outside toilet. Sister said there was a commode in the bedroom but she couldn't bring herself to use it at night, so had to traipse down in the cold! Both Grans also had coppers, mangles, tin baths etc.

I couldn't do without the washing machine - didn't have one for years and was fed up washing by hand, even if it was just for me. Don't have a tumble drier, but do use a 'sheila maid' clothes rail - lucky enough to have the room - and that is a piece of old technology I couldn't do without!!

A sort of PS, I forgot to say. When very young, I had to wear six layers of clothing indoor, and another two ontop when going outdoors but that was in the winter months.
They were, vest, libertybodice, full length underskirt, blouse, gymslip, cardigan, and the extra two were a top coat and a yellow oil skin. Hats, scarves and mittens were also added, and you always wore think navy knickers, and thick long socks that came well above the knee.
Talk about Telly Tubby when trying to walk round.
Julia in Derbyshire

I can relate to the clothes Julia all except for the oilskin. Ugh the liberty bodice and thick navy knickers with a pocket. (where do girls keep their hankies these days Lol!!
And did you have a 'pixie hood'?

Eldrick, if you don't know don't worry about it you obviously don't need one.

Morning ladies and Eldrick .....Mum describes alot of what you say she was born in the 1930's and grew up with nothing.

Good morning ladies and wor Eldrick :-)

I can empathise with everything that's been given. Grew up in the forties and outside lavatory down the yard,my sister was scared of the dark,I was the youngest but guess who she had to take with her? :-(...remember too all of those wonderful garments ;-)liberty bodice with rubber buttons lol and going to school what a palaver! woollen scarf wrapped across the chest and as we went across the step a Halibut oil capsule put into our mouths :-|
Remember Mam putting Dad's heavy army coat across our bed....snug as a bug :-)
Of course no centrtal heating either,coal fires and a candle in a jam jar.....when it was really cold Dad used to light it (sowwy I know old joke :-S :-D)
I've written down all of these wonders of life in my 'history book' for my family. Think we do all take things for granted but it's progress innit....thank gawd!
Mau xx

edit: and who of the girls ( not too sure if Mr.E owned any ;-) remembers the hair tongs laid in the fire,tested on newspaper and then used to curl our hair....celebrities eat your heart out :-D

Some people have waxed lyrical about the conditions when they were growing up..............but what about the housewife of the times? Would we really want to go back to the physical labour associated with laundry by hand, and trying to keep the house clean of the dust created by open fires?

Yes, as a child, I do recall some of the practises - mother washing by hand or in a Copper, although I'm not sure how the big one outside was heated. And the Scrubbing board and hand turned wringer. Woe be-tide-you if you got your little fingers in the way.

A neighbour of the period used to sweep her carpets with a dustpan and brush and was sooo proud when they bought their first vacuum cleaner.

Although we could probably cope without a few items (mobile phones, and even the TV or internet if it came to it) the washing machine and instant hot water is not one of them. The good old days? Not in my books ;-)

DET, I would not say it was a very happy lot for the housewife of the times, who had to do all these things, and I would never say they were the good old days, either.
Hayley just said about the things she could not do without, and many people, including myself answered what it actually was like.

Julia in Derbyshire

Well when I grew up in the converted Anderson shelter in the back yard of the local pub, we didnt have no outdoor loo either and as for cutting up newspapers and sticking it on a nail...luxury. We kept a cat on a stick. A bath was something posh people had, we just waited till it rained. The drought of 1953 was a bit of an interesting time.

Sometimes in the winter we used to bring trays of ice into the shelter just to warm it up a bit. Mother used to get our clothes from the army surplus stores. I went to school dressed like a Japanese admiral and my sister looked like a cross between Himmler and a land army girl.

Etc etc.