General Chat

Hi Linda.
I had a flatley airer as well, way back then it was a blessing in disguise.
Roly doesn't want me to use my tumble dryer anymore,as he says it uses to much electric, but that old flatley used far more,and he never complained back then.
Did you get my e.mails earlier. Luv Mo xxx

Jean I just mised your post. you. I don't blame you for not going to church in the snow and ice. J was very wise to turn back with there being freezing fog. We have a fair bit of fog around this area, which is bad enough, but I hate it when we have freezing fog, like we are having now.
Sorry to hear that you have to have a new washer too, it's the expense this time of the year, especially. Oh well Jean it looks as though it's bread an water for Christmas dinner for both of us and our families, lolol!!

Mo, let's cross our finger's that none of our friends will need a new washer too. It's enough that two of us have to have a new one. lol!

Jean, I can remember the green soap and my mother and nan scrubbing the collars of the working shirts. It was certainly hard work in those days.
We all don't know we're born these days, compared to the women years ago.

Love, Sallie.xxx

Hi Mo
Yes I did get you e-mails Thank You.
One was very emotional but too true.

Going back to our washing theme:
soaps I remember were Fairy the green one I think
Sunlight might have been yellow?
and the lovely red carbolic Lifebouy of course.
We had Lifebouy in the kitchen as that was where Dad always washed. Too many kids in the bathroom I imagine getting ready for school.

Memories flowing now.
Only one bath a week and that was shared, wasn't I lucky being the eldest.
Only allowed to wassh our hair once a week too because of heating the hot water. Oh how I hated being a teenager with greasy locks. What would they do now, they all have daily showers and hair washing too.
After Saturday night bath sitting in PJ's waiting for the toast and dripping or crumpets for a treat. And this time of year chestnuts cooked on the coal shovel on the open fire

Oh shut up Linda it wasn't as nice as now, to be fair

Linda :o) XxX

Ah but Linda, we all live on our wonderful memories of childhood, or some we would rather forget, but the good ones stay.
We thought we were lucky to get a tangerine,some nuts and a book or a puzzle for christmas. Oh and the little tins of Blue Bird toffees.
Bath time consisted of the old tin bath in front of the blazing fire, or in the kitchen with the gas cooker door wide open blazing out heat to keep us warm. And tipping the water out in the back yard,where it would start to freeze,and make a nice slide for my younger brother and I to slip and slide on. Mo xxx

Hi again, just arrived back from Jennie's with the washing all done and even some of it's been dried. Wonderful!

Linda, yes Fairy soap was green, but we sometimes had Puritan soap, which was also green. When my brother and I were babies and small children, my mother would always use Pears soap for us.

My children were born in 1982 and 1985, and I always used terry napkins on them, and my friends also used them on their children. I don't know if they make them anymore, as it's all disposables these days.

Yes we used to bath in front of a roaring fire, this last week I wished that we still did.

My mother would also put the gas cooker on in the winter month's if the fire which had been lit by my nan at six in the morning, hadn't warmed the room enough, so that we would get warm before going to school.


Mo, we were the same, we always used one of my fathers long socks, that "Father Christmas" would put in a tangerine, some nuts and he always put us some chocolate coins in too. Every year we get a big box of paints and a huge colouring book. Oh, those were the days!


Right, I'm going for a shower now and then going to have a lovely cuppa.


Be in touch with you all tomorrow.


Love to you all. Sallie.xxx

Hi all

I'm a 40s baby ........ we had a gas boiler that heated the water to wash the clothes. Mum would use a long wooden stick to pound the clothes around in there. Then she'd have to wring them out by hand, and either hang them out on lines in the backyard or across the back lane. Remember the clothes prp to raise the lines up so clothes and sheets wouldn't drag on the gorund?

................. but we also had a wooden rack in the kitchen that could be raised up to the celing and down again. Clothes would be put on there to dry (or air off after ironing), or on a maiden in front of the fire.

The only water heater was the back boiler behind the fire ..... which could create problems getting hot water in summer.

We didn't have an indoor bathroom, the toilet was at the end of the backyard. My grandparents lived across the road, Granddad was a builder and he had built a bathroom into their house .......... we used to go across there to have a bath. I can remember being carried back home by Mum or Dad, warmly wrapped in a big towel!

When I was 11, we moved to another house, and that had a gas boiler with a mangle ............ Mum thought she was in heaven! Still had the lines that she strung out across the back lane, or the maiden in front of the fire.

It also had an indoor bathroom .... heaven! And it had an immersion heater as well as the back boiler ... so we could have hot water at all times (or at least when Dad would let us switch on the heater!).

Two of the 3 bedrooms also had gas fires, and Dad would light the one in their bedroom as soon as he got up, so it would be nice and warm for Mum. I had the unheated room .............. although they did get an electric fire for me much later. Then I inherited big brother's bedroom, with the other gas fire ..... and Dad would creep in and light the fire for me!

Can anyone remember how "words" were exchanged between neighbours if the lines were put in the wrong place?

Mum rarely got involved in those because wash day in our house was Tuesday ....... she had to work on Mondays. No-one else did their washing on Tuesday.

But sometimes lorries would try to get down the lane.

I got married in 1967 .............. but am a few years older than Sallie!


We had a wooden maiden here for some time in the 70s ...... but the problem with that one was that eventually the wood would leach colour into the clothes, leaving brown stains behind.



sylvia
xxx

Mo

re the "intimate apparel"

it wasn't drafts that I was feeling, but no support of "the girls"


s
xx

Hi Sylvia,

We also had one of those wooden racks, and like your mum my mother would put the washing on it to dry and then to air off the ironed clothes.

The gas boiler we had, had a mangle so it must have been a big help to my mother and my nan. They also had a long stick to prod the clothes in the boiler.

Most people around this area still have the long clothes line with a prop, including us. I think the clothes dry better on that than they do on a rotary
line.

When we had a bathroom made by knocking down the dividing wall between the pantry and the outside toilet which was at the side of the house, it was wonderful. We then got our hot water from the back boiler behind the fire. We didn't have an immersion heater until much later, and as you said, it was expensive to use.


If you all don't see me for a couple of days, it's because I don't have anymore to say, as I think I've said all today. lolol!!!

Speak to you all soon.


Love, Sallie. xxx

My Mum used a bag of blue to make her whites very white1
I used to love working the mangle, it made me feel quite grown up.
We had a nice long washing line in the back garden, I think that we might have had two props.

The nextdoor neighbour and my my had an agreement, they would get the other persons washing in if they were out when it rained.

We also had a drying rack, with a few short lines, you could pull it up to ceiling level while the clothes were drying. Of course we also had a normal clothes horse as well as somrtimes gaving some clothing on the large fire guard.

Most of the snow in my street has now gone (I have a little in my back garden) Last time I looked it was foggy outside.


My son should be back sometime tomorrow. So I ahve had a nice rest.

My youngest grandson phoned me this morning to say Hi, it was great to hear from him. He can be very stubborn , I just don't know where he gets it from!!!

Ladies, I hope that all your aches and pains go away for a long holiday and maybe forget to come back. Hve a good nights sleep, all of you, whereever you are.

Tess

Hello to you all,Memories of Washing day,
We had a copper boiler In which my mother used to cut up the sunshine soap and drop it in the sheets were always done on a Saturday when dad was home so that he could wring the sheets out for mum she was only a little women short also. the nappies were soaked then boiled in a big drum on the wood stove each day .Mum had 5 babies,so there was a lot of washing but we always changed our school clothes as soon as we got home into our yard clothes which we wore for several days, THE YOUNG ONE'S WHO WEREN'T AT SCHOOL CHANGED MORE OFTEN. Mum always made sure we had clean undies each day.
We also bathed in a metal tub in front of the stove and it was many years before we had electricity I was about 13yrs old before our little town had electricity connected .
We had a kerosene refrigerator for many rears after the power was connected, and our DUNNY was way up the back and was emptied once a week we didn't have a bathroom we cleaned our teeth in the sink and then the water was put on mum's garden .
Can anyone remember the Carbide lanterns?


I was married in 1962 I had my 23rd birthday 6 days after we married.
all my babies wore cotton nappies and I have never had a dryer ! my husband would not buy me one , we lived in Victoria when I had all my children and the winters were wet and freezing but I had several clothes Airers which were always in front of the open wood fires , my husband never lit the fire in the morning I had to do that , so our house was very cold in the morning so I used to boil the electric jug and fill a couple of hot water bags so the children could warm themselves while I got their breakfast .
The town we lived in was called Colac. I was very pleased when we left there.
Huia I was sorry to read that one of your ancestors head stones had been destroyed, not enough time or effort such as camera's are used to catch these people it is the same here in Aust. they get away with it.
Caz I hope your scans give you a good result , thinking of you
.
I am pleased to here that you have had some rain & I hope your snow has abated our Rain seems to have gone for how long I dont know.

Thinking of Mo, Liz, Sallie, Sylvia, Ann,Linda Jean , Tess & Joyce
Love to you all,
Marie.

Hello Ladies,

For those of you that are living in colder climes, I hope that you are all keeping warm...... Marie, also hope that the rain has kept away....Huia, hope that the weather you're having is what it should be for the time of year.
I had to go up to town today, it was so cold, I couldn't wait to get back home.


Caz, read your reply on Joyce's thread letting us know how things went today. Hoping and praying that the results will alright when you get them after Christmas.
I had to smile at your account of Phil trying to get you over the ice into the car. Bless him!
I can imagine Alun and I being just the same.lol! I'm not very good trying to walk on ice, I used to be okay when I was younger, but as I've got older, I'm hopeless.



Mo, how are you today? Hope that you are feeling a bit better than yesterday. I don't know whether you're able to go to darts tonight, but if you are, good luck and hope you team will win. Take care!



Marie sorry, but could you tell me what Carbide lanterns are, please.
Hope all is okay with you and your family.



Tess thanks for your address. Is it tonight that your son will get back?

I can remember the blue bag that they used for the whites. Alun's grandma always used them. Not sure if you can buy them in this day and age. I can't see anyone using them now, and the younger generation wouldn't know what to do with them.lolol!!



Well there's not much to say, I think it was all said yesterday.....18 posts.
Oh dear, there's no stopping us talking, once we get started.lol!!


Thinking of all our friends, Ann, Huia, Jean, Joyce, Linda and Liz.


Keep warm and take care everyone.


Love and best wishes. Sallie.xxx

*** Xmas Snow Fairy*****, Hi all , Carbide light ,
Carbide was a white Powder that when wet gave off a gas the gas came up a thin spout, you lit the gas and it made a very bright light, however it wasn't very stable and it could explode, so our light often ended up being thrown over the back veranda into the back yard until it stopped fizzing it was a shame as it gave a much better light than the kerosene lanterns.
Mum also had an Iron that had a methylated tank attached to the iron it made ironing a lot easier.
The sun is shining Yippee , we have our Xmas party for our gym buddies
after class to-day, I wont be exercising as my knee is still the same, I have an appointment on Thursday morning with the doc I hope she orders an
x ray so we can see what is going on because if I need knee surgery I will need to know as the waiting list for knee surgery is long.if I go public.

The baptism went off well the girls were good .
Nancy's Father was very emotional he has been a very sick man for the last few years Evan and his wife Joy have both been battling Cancer for several years Joy is remarkable she has had a lot of operations but always comes up smiling.

Mo, I hope you are feeling better to-day
Caz I hope your exray was the results you wished for.
Love to you all from *******the Xmas Snow Fairy*********

Hello all, I was talking to Joyce last night and she is in awful pain with her side, I think she needs our support so could we all send her positive thoughts and prayers please.
Thank you Sallie and Marie and any others who have sent their support for me, I haven't read back to check names. My back is bad this morning with having to lie flat yesterday for the scan so I will keep this short as it's difficult to sit.
I'm thinking of poor Joyce, she can neither sit nor lay down comfortably, if you get chance to read this Joyce I am thinking of you and sending as many good vibes as I can.

Love Caz xx

Sending love and prayers Joyce, keeping you close in our thoughts.

Love Jean xxxx

Good morning all, we had a good weekend in Torquay where it was much milder than here, they did have a light frost Monday but not bad at all.

Huia, many thanks for your card and the photo, good to see what you look like.

Re the dolly blue bags. Where we have our timeshare in the Lake District, the hotel on the same site, The Whitewater Hotel, used to be a dolly blue factory (previous to that it was a paper mill). You can still see traces of the blue powder ingrained in the walls. My Mum used to use them too.

I was thinking the other day how when I had my babies I used towelling nappies and I would always hang them out on the line. They didn't dry they froze and the line would be full of all those weird shapes. No airing cupboard, central heating or drier so they were dried in front of the fire.

Good afternoon ladies.

Before I go any further, I would like to send my thoughts and prayers, out to Joyce and Caz, that they both get some relief from the pain they are suffering. ((((((((((((HUGS FOR YOU BOTH)))))))))))) Love Mo xxx

I must say how nice it is to see , that so many of us, have had the time to pop in and say hello.

Ann, I am glad you had a nice weekend,and that you arrived home safe and sound.
How interesting to hear about the Whitewater Hotel,being a dolly blue factory. It's surprising to know that the blue powder is still ingrained in the walls. How long ago did the factory close.

I must go for now gilrs, got to do the dinner. Bangers+Mash and beans tonight.
Love and best wishes Mo xxx

Found this on the net.

Many of us can remember becks running black with coal dust, white with froth from chemicals, or, if you lived in Backbarrow, blue from the Dolly Blue works.

In the 1800s Backbarrow was thriving on the back of iron ore, in the 1900s hundreds of people were bussed in every day to work at the Dolly Blue works, but now, in the 2000s, it’s the scenery that provides jobs for local folks.

The old Dolly Blue factory has been converted into the Whitewater Hotel and timeshare. And the patio where tourists sit with a pleasant lunchtime pint over looking the River Leven is the same one that workers would pour out onto at the end of a shift with blue hands and faces.

It was a hotel in 1986 but how long before that it opened I don't know.

Thanks for that info Ann. I don't think I could have coped with working at the factory, but then where needs must the devil drives.
Going from one extreme to another. I have great admiration for the women, who during WW2 worked in the ammunition factories.
Such a dangerous job, and what it did to their bodies was awful.
My word, people use atificial tanning lotion now,to colour their skin, but those poor women had no choice, they ended up yellow from the sulphur in the ammunition.
Don't ask me how or why I have suddenly thought along these lines, it must be what Ann was saying about the dolly blue workers.

My mother was a cotton mill worker and I remember during the war they had to make camouflage nets for the army, I used to go in after school and help make them,I was thrilled to bits when the gaffer gave me a wage packet....in later years it was a thrill to see the same sort of nets covering the guns and tanks...

must go cant miss the soaps, back soon......

love Jean xx

Hi Friends,

Joyce and Caz I'm thinking about you both, and hope that you can both get some relief for the pain you are both suffering from. Sending lots of positive thoughts to you both and also loads of hugs. Take care and keep warm.


Mo, hope you are feeling better than you did on Sunday. Is the weather a bit better in your area now?Although we haven't had anymore snow since Friday, we've still got a fair bit of snow down, the main roads and the roads that are on a bus route are all clear and being gritted, but the side roads are compacted snow which has now frozen, so they are just like skating rinks.

Hope you enjoyed your bangers and mash---that's what we are going to have on Thursday, and probably fish and chips on Friday. I like pasta, but Alun won't eat it, he's very fussy on his food, so have to stick to what he likes, as I don't want to cook two different meals.lol!




Marie, thanks for letting us know what a Carbide lantern was. I don't think we had them here, or at least I don't remember them. Thank you for your pm. Did you enjoy the Christmas party at the gym?


Huia, also thank you for your pm, glad to know that all is well with you.
Hope Phil was alright when you last visited him.

Well, I'm a true Brit and love living in Britain, but when the weather is like it is at the moment, I sometimes wish we had emigrated to a warmer climate.lol!



Ann, good to see that you and T are safely home and that you enjoyed your break. Nice to know that it wasn't as cold in Torquay as it was in Gloucestershire over the weekend.

Interesting to read about the dolly blue bag factory, it's amazing that bits of the blue is still ingrained into some of the walls at the hotel.


Jean, Sylvia, Tess, Liz and Linda hoping that you are all alright.


I'll speak to you all soon. Take care everyone.


Love and best wishes . Sallie.xxx