Monday was washday and I remember what a performance
it was years ago? First the whitewashed copper kettle
had to be heated in the scullery with a fire underneath,
started early Monday morning. And he floor was covered
with mini mountains of sorted laundry waiting to be done
Then all the clothes were washed by hand before throwing
them into the copper and boiling them and stirring this
strange soup with a stick, heads grew blurred in clouds
of steam and cheeks glowed pink with exertion and heat,
gradually the smell of laundry on the boil seeped throughout
the house. Now the whites had to be” blued” in a bath with
a bag of Reckett’s Blue to make them come up bright as new.
After blueing, out came the mangle, the machine groaning
and protesting as item after item was passed between its
rollers, mind your fingers, children! In dry weather the
clothes were pegged out to flap damply in the back gardens
or if it rained they were draped around the house. Dad
would have to fight his way through a maze of damp sheets
when he came home from work!
I hope you enjoy the rest
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