Washing clothes.

Post by **joette** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 6:03 pm

I love it when the weather is right & you can peg clothes out on the line.
Not that I enjoy the extra work you understand but nothing smells nicer,feels comfier than jumping into bed & snuggling into line-dried sheets.Or snuggling up to someone who is wearing line-dried clothes.
I bless the inventor of the Automatic washing machine-you can heave your dirty stuff in & get on with other things come back & it's all ready to be dried.Except off course on the odd occasion when you forget to switch it on/close the door properly or it malfunctions.
I think back to my Mum's boiler-a plug in thing(electrical) with three legs which stood in the corner of the kitchen & was used to clean nappies,towels& sheets.
Then the first twin-tub which you had to stick the hose onto the kitchen tap & heave the washing into the spinner.
On the odd occasion we washed things in the bath-especially after the demise of the big deep sink.We would tread up& down on the blankets & Mum made it fun & not a chore.
Remember in the cold winters & the clothes would freeze on the line & you would walk them into the house.
It nevers get cold enough down South for that & although it is lovely to lift out warm,dried clothes from the dryer I must admit to some nostalgia for the old days when Mum would have our clothes warming on the hearth before we went out for the day.
I know a lot of people will remember the old tenement wash houses although I don't.
When we went to Chiltern Open-Air musuem I knew I was old when I could remember most of the things on display in their post-war house & I am only 50.
I wonder what this generation will be nostalgic for???

Post by **Tracey** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 6:52 pm

I think back to my Mum's boiler-a plug in thing(electrical) with three legs which stood in the corner of the kitchen & was used to clean nappies,towels& sheets

And if you were unlucky enough to live in my grandparents house the wash water then became bathwater

and if like my dad you were second from youngest................................

Post by **emanday** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 6:56 pm

Oh Gosh, what a memory you brought into my mind!

My Mum got rid of the boiler in the corner to make way for a washing machine. We are talking about the ones with the agitator (like in the twin tubs) but this one had an electric wringer fitted

Take my word for it; this was the bees knees and all the neighbours came to see it do its stuff

Well, one day it broke down and there was no boiler now, so Mum and me (I wasn't even at school yet!) walked down to the public wash house which I think was in or near Shettleston Baths, but I could be wrong. There we were, the old Churchill pram piled up with sheets and blankets, trudging from Dennistoun to this strange "steamie".

I was naturally fascinated! There were lots of women scrubbing away at washboards over huge steaming tubs. Mum told me later that I described the experience to everyone and anyone!

Never got there again cause the washing machine got fixed and worked for years before Mum got fed up with the wringer and insisted on upgrading to a twin tub!

Ahh Memories.

Thanks Joette

Post by **Liz Turner** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 6:57 pm

Joette

Yet another great reminiscence of yours - I love reading them! I hope you're collating them all into a folder or book for your family - the memories are priceless.

I well remember the old washing machine with the mangle - managed to get my arm caught in a blanket that was going through and still have a wee bit on my arm where there's no feeling - they were quite tight .....

Liz

Post by **emanday** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 7:10 pm

Yes, Liz...

and my Mum was none too pleased when I fed a "piece n jam" through it

Post by **Liz Turner** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 7:11 pm

Post by **joette** » Sat Jul 15, 2006 11:41 am

Have you saw the play"The Steamie"?
I saw it at the old Singers Club in Dalmuir & again when they televised it-usually around Hogmanay as that is when the fun takes place.
I am sure it will bring back many memories for lots of people.

Post by **emanday** » Sat Jul 15, 2006 12:03 pm

I have a vague memory of watching something set in a Steamie, but can't remember if it was the same one.

rye470 · Post by **rye470** » Sat Jul 15, 2006 7:03 pm

"The Steamie"

It's set in Glasgow Green wash-house, Hogmanay 1953. It was written by Tony Roper (Rab C. Nesbitt's pal) and stars Dorothy Paul, Eileen McCallum (Take the High Road) and Katy Murphy (Tutti Frutti).

My sister in law sent me the video a number of years ago when I lived in London. I watched it every Hogmanay if I wasn't going home. After moving to the U.S., it was the only thing that could get me through the bells. Every Hogmanay for 5 years, until last year, when the Brit TV we brought with us decided it had lived off a transformer for long enough.

I highly recommend it for the patter and the insight into womens lives at the time.

Christine

P.S. If anyone has seen it on DVD, could they ley me know.

Post by **emanday** » Sat Jul 15, 2006 9:38 pm

That's the one! I remember Dorothy Paul being in the one I saw.

BTW - ever read her book? My sister made the mistake of lending it to me just before bedtime. Well, I like to read before going off to sleep. I kept waking her and my brother-in-law up with my hysterical giggling

My sister eventually came through to me and confiscated it

For the life of me I cannot remember if it was just called "Dorothy", but it was her autobiography. It's a scream, especially because it reflects the experiences of those of us who lived in the same times.