Genealogy Chat

If you like finding out about ordinary people's lives, have come across this site:
www.oldandinteresting.com/laundry-blue.aspx
seems to concentrate on domestic details.

Jan

Hi Jan,
Thank you, what a great site.
Regards Diane

Notice how long "baby walkers"have been around

Glad you like it! I love all this stuff myself. Will nudge it from time-to-time.
Jan

Fascinating! It's gone straight on to my "favourite sites" list

Hi Janet,
Thank you, a very interesting site

Thanks for the interesting tip, Janet.

Helen

Thanks Jan - I remember my grandmother used to be in the wash house every Monday most of the day where there was a gas boiler, a mangle and a great big sink. All the whites were boiled rinsed then had a rickett's blue added to the last rinse and then they went throught the mangle, then the washing was pegged out on the line.
I chuck mine in the washing machine and get on with something else while the machine does all the work. How times have changed. Regards Irene

The good old days weren't always so good:)) Thanks for the site Janet, I've bookmarked it for a good look later.

Sue xx

There's also a fantastic description of a 1870's laundry day routine in the 'Victorian Farm' book of the recent(ish) series - it's backbreaking work, lifting 40lb tubs of water many times over. In total it's more like two and a half days!!

There's some fanatstic sections in that book about rural daily life - if anything it's much better than the series, less about farming, much more about life in general. Well worth getting from the library :)

Kate x

Looks very interesting, its in my favourites too, thanks Janet

great site thanks brings back memories

my aunt lived in a cottage in shropshire
and monday was wash day
she had a brick boiler which she had to light a fire under to boil the water after collecting the water from the pump down the road ( this was the 1970's) not the 1940s, she then scrubbed it with blue soap cant remember the name of it and put it though the mangle, it went out on the washing in all weathers.

we spent our summers there as kids and our socks where always pure white when we went back home , my dad bought her a washing machine but she still used to boil and scrub the washing befoe putting it in the washing machine!

I remember the old mangle very well (boy did it get the creases out) anyway one day when my brother and I were left to our own devises, I decided that my hair - long and in plaits - would go straight if it went through the mangle. My brother turned the handle and helped me with it, alas my hair got stuck and he had to fetch Mom and Grannie to release me.

Those were the days LOL.

n