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Housing : Living conditions

  • Thread starter Thread starter colinwilliams1
  • Start date Start date
It is 45 years since I lit a fire: since then I have only lived in places with different forms of central heating.
My sons have flash houses with working fireplaces, and it hurts me to see how they light a fire.
We started with some crumpled newspaper in the middle at the back of the grate, then a sloping row of firewood nsticks on end, resting on the paper, and then what half-burned lumps of coal were left from last night. Then we lit the paper and had smaller pieces of coal to add as the wood ignited. You could cheated with a metal draw-plate or a double sheet of newspaper supported on a shovel or spade. Some people used firelighters, but I was brought up to think that was cheating.
Today they start off with some bits of wood and regurgitated coal, which they douse in some smelly paraffin stuff, and then throw matches at it. Unless you put some big chunks of wood, you can't get a real fire, because the coal substitute is too small to build it up properly.
But it's still better than watching television, and I love the smell outside.
Happy New Year
Peter
 
Our back kitchen

Thinking about it now, I suppose the back kitchen was the heart of every house. I grew up in a new 1934 semi, where the kitchen was the only room to have a concrete floor finished with quarry tiles and no plaster on the brick walls, just gloss paint, green up to waist height and cream above.
The one window at the back looked on to the garden, and the back door was on the left-hand side (if you get my meaning). The sink was the usual deep rectangular earthenware thing, under the window and to the right on the back wall was the gas cooker, made by Main, with a black cast iron frame and white enamel panels. I think there were only three burners on the top, but it may have been four. There was a high-level contraption above for warming plates or keeping things warm. To the left of the sink was the boiler or copper. Above the boiler was a teak draining board which was taken away on washing day.
Against the side wall, between the boiler and the back door, was the dresser, a wooden piece of furniture with low-level cupboards (two doors and two shelves), two cutlery drawers (one on the right for cutlery and the other for odds and who knows what). Above that was the main larder section, which had a big drop-down door with a white enamel top for doing the pastry and cakes. I was always intrigued by the built-in flour hopper which you loaded and could then sprinkle the flour on your mix. Above that were another two cupboards for food, again two doors and two shelves. There was still well over a foot of space on the top of the dresser, and that was always well-filled too.
Against the right-hand wall was the wringer. This had a hinged table-top that was normally down, which functioned as the main working surface, but there wasn't enough room to sit and eat there. On Mondays the lid came up and there was the wringer, beneath which was the galvanised tub and the wooden dolly, which had a copper base for thumping the clothes before your put them through the wringer.
There was no more room in that kitchen as the door from the hall opened into it. Although I was only a boy, I learned an awful lot in that kitchen.
The same goes for other people's kitchens, and I have so many memories. perhaps nthat's another story.
Peter
 
Watching daytime TV (I know, sad, innit?) I saw one of those "do-a-house-up" programmes where a couple (with more money than sense) spent... wait for it... £9000 on a copper bath. :shock: To me, this highly polished monstrosity looked perfectly impractical as I imagined how it would look after a single use when the froth from the carbolic soap had done its best. So if it was worth that amount, what price me ol' galvanised tin bath? At least double, methinks. :wink:
 
Boil in Oil

Paul m8 & Diana (Girly x)
The couple who spent £9000 on a Copper bath should be
"Boiled in Oil" to scourge them of their Pomposity, maybe they will get Copper poisoning or Ver de Gris (Electrolytic lol) to serve "em" right :roll:

My Tin bath shared with my brother AFTER my 3 sisters & always Cold Brrrh, Worse still,,, Years later THEY (Wimminy Sisters) told me that they used to "tinkle" in it so they GOT me & my Bro, Luvly Eh :?: :oops:
Typical Gals but still luv em, John
 
After looking at one of those DIY programmes, a man from Perry Common went to Homebase and, after asking a lot of questions and taking some time, chose a new bath which he took home and, after taking out the old one, installed as per the instructions, but was not satisfied. He disconnected it and took it back to Homebase.
"This bath is no use, it doesn't hold water" says PC Man. "You haven't got a plug" says the salesman. "You never told me it was an electric bath" says PC Man.
 
Bath time with the Robinsons.

Well I've already written there was a 'Pecking order' on bath night at our house and by the time I got into it the water was like quicksand but the best fun I ever had in a tin bath?
Me, Allan and Derek sailed one from Belmont Row down to Saltley..
it tipped over 50 times until we put some stabilizers on it and it only held one of us at at time (while the others threw house quacks at it to simulate depth charges)..but it was fun..
We carried it over to the Rae from there and set it free, to watch it float away...to the places old baths go (all misty eyed here..lol)
Er..um..where DO old baths go?
 
Where do old baths go ...?

:D Old baths go out in the paddock as drinking troughs for cows and sheep, or to the bottom of the veggie garden to grow herbs in, well the do here. :)

Chris :lol:
 
Old baths go for recycling in reclamation yards. I forgot to mention that the £9000 copper bath was not new and was acquired from one such "specialist" supplier.
 
They really must have more money than sense. :roll:

I thought our daughter Sally's old roll top bath was a rip off at £400.00.
 
Wash/Brew house

Hi There!

I had the dubious honour of inhabiting 16 Bissell St in deepest Balsall Heathe from about 1951 to 57.... The end back-to-back had been removed by the Luftwaffe, every second backhouse had a hole through it - some said from the shock wave - the factory half way up was wrecked (& made a good place to go scavenging...if Mom didn't get yer!) The church on the other side of the street was also wrecked - but the 3 boozers & Ephraim Phillips' "Nut screws washers & bolts" javascript:emoticon(':roll:')
Rolling Eyes factory all worked flat out.

As far as the washhouse went (I'd always wondered why "brewhouse", but assumed 'cos we'd been moved to Redditch after the BSA got bombed, that there wuz fings wot Oi din't know).... I think there was only one for 4 houses (2 B-to-Bs), had the brickbuilt "thing" with the cauldron & fireplace, I seem to remember it having running water.

Then..... there was the Khaazi! Our yard had 2, so 2 families were supposed to share.... with the RATS! Talk about "big as pussycats". In the dead of winter, you had to put your coat on to go, take a torch (hoping the battery'd hold out) & your bits of Daily Mirror (on good days, Izal scratchy paper). Hiding in the loo just wasn't an option!

I remember one night, I'd been reading Douglas Bader's story & the description of his "stump", went to the loo, passed out & next I remember was being carried back into the house by me Dad.....

Ho Hum, how things have changed! Now we've gat 3 loos, all centrally heated!


Toodlepip ol' fruits

Dave
 
Fantastic 3 Loos we have only 2 ones not heated.
Well done Freddie.
I remember the Brewhouse so well no running water. :lol:
 
It's mid winter, there's snow on the ground and after a lot of thought you have left a roaring fire to go to the loo. When you get in there there's a howling gale under the door and the pipes are frozen. You are sent back out again with the candle to try to thaw them, because moms busy. It was at times like that I used to think - when I grow up and have children.......... :D
 
You are right Alberta about the washing lines especially ones with nappies flapping being judged by women as to their whiteness. It seems very cruel since washing and drying was so difficult in those days and a complete nightmare at times...i.e. getting things dry and making sure that things like sheets were aired. The houses were damp enough in the winter and
extr steam from drying etc. made it much worse.

I remember the blue we used to put into the water to make sure the
whites were white. What a production it all was. I think the entrance of spin dryers was really welcomed because even if you had an electric washing machine later on it didn't really extract the water like a spin dryer does.
Many people still use them.
 
To change the subject'slightly'.My husband has a problem with arthritis and last week went to our GPs surgery for physiotherapy and acupunture.

Whilst there he was looking down the list of special clinics they hold and saw one to teach mothers how to use 'terry towelling napkins'.
 
Brewus

Well I mite as well stick my 2 penneth in and say I believe some mothers boiled their christmas pudding in the brewus at christmas ?and a maidin stick witch us kids called it a dolly well wat can I say but I think Kandor wood have loved playing with one of them dollies in the brewus Ha Ha
Only kidding Kandor
Reggie
 
We had our boiler in the house in Newtown Row and the Brewhouse was where the Lavatory and Dustbins where, no flush Toilet someone used to empty it daily or what I seem to recall.
:shock:
Oh yes we boiled our Christmas Puds in the Copper boiler
 
I was just remembering...because we had no bathroom, of course, mom lying me along the draining board, in order to wash my long hair in the kitchen sink...
I vaguely remember that it was quite nice...it's a wonder I didn't fall asleep.

we had a tin bath as well, of course... vaguely remember having baths in it...
mom used to go to Victoria Rd public baths for hers... I remember going with her when I was quite little...didn't like it much, I think...so echoey and all those tiled walls...
 
I'll tell you what happened to the old tin baths, I used them to knock plaster up in from 1969 to 1994.
 
How could you Bath in that Plaster Dave? :-X must have looked like the Clay men in Flash Gordon I used to see at the Globe Cinema in the 40s or was you an extra in that, be honest you've done most things :-\
 
We have an old trough in the Paddock that was used to water the Horses :)

Now when I can't get in the Bathroom which is most mornings, I just drift down there and plunge straight in, whatever the weather, then I go for a quick run through the woods back home where the manservant throws the Bath sheet over me, where after I will sit down to Breakfast prepared by our jolly cook.

Us Aston lads are tough and tougher still in the wilds of Suffolk :knuppel2: All this while hoping :police: is not about :-[
 
Alf said:
We have an old trough in the Paddock that was used to water the Horses :)

Now when I can't get in the Bathroom which is most mornings, I just drift down there ...

Us Aston lads are tough and tougher still in the wilds of Suffolk :knuppel2: All this while hoping :police: is not about :-[
Click to expand...
My mind started wondering onto what you do in it when I read that first bit. ::)
 
Its to cold to do anything in other than wash and sing a little as we tend to do when in water. :o
 
Whatever happened to Silverfish ? Our old house seemed to full of 'em, but today you don't see any, is it because of central heating or what. :-\
 
In the old houses we used to get a lot of silverfish particularly round the fireplace. Glad to say I haven't seen any for years.
 
Have not given a thought to these creatures/insects for years. We had a lot and yes around the fireplace. I say a lot but you did not see swarms of them they seemed to be mostly around individually. I have read somewhere that they are extremely ancient organisms. Boy could they move fast.
Regards
 
Any one know more about these "SILVERFISH" I remember coming home from the movies switching on the light only to see the rug in front of the fire moving with them, What are they, Were have they gone,& why only around the fireplace?
As we lived by the the vinegar vats I assumed it was the odour that they liked?
ASTON
 
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