Care for the Carer !

[AliceA]

That's interesting @AliceA.

Thought some might wantto know what a but and ben is.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/But_and_ben

I'm ashamed to say I was a receiver and giver of the tawse!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-39044445

We had the lower one facing the lane, above was another with door and stairs at the back. Built into the stairs was a shared toilet. So for us we had to leave the front door, go past several turn a corner cross the back and hope it was still empty having tried to check through the back window! A slop bucket for emergencies. There was a wash house with a boiler and a very strict rota. No electricity, a range and gas lights that dimmed when every dwelling put the light on. The bed in the wall was cosy with curtains drawn. The owner Mac, had been billeted with my grandmother. We first had a holiday there for respite, then later stayed for the winter. The bombing had a lull but started in full force on our return.

 

[AliceA]

That's interesting @AliceA.

Thought some might wantto know what a but and ben is.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/But_and_ben

I'm ashamed to say I was a receiver and giver of the tawse!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-39044445

Oh, I answered and lost it!

 

[maryjoan]

We had the lower one facing the lane, above was another with door and stairs at the back. Built into the stairs was a shared toilet. So for us we had to leave the front door, go past several turn a corner cross the back and hope it was still empty having tried to check through the back window! A slop bucket for emergencies. There was a wash house with a boiler and a very strict rota. No electricity, a range and gas lights that dimmed when every dwelling put the light on. The bed in the wall was cosy with curtains drawn. The owner Mac, had been billeted with my grandmother. We first had a holiday there for respite, then later stayed for the winter. The bombing had a lull but started in full force on our return.

Extremely interesting - I remember by grandfather in Cheshire having no electric and a beaten dirt floor in his cottage as well as an earth closet in the garden - that was in the 1950's. The electric had got to the bottom of the lane when war broke out, and it was the 60's before it made it up the lane!

 

[carolynp]

Extremely interesting - I remember by grandfather in Cheshire having no electric and a beaten dirt floor in his cottage as well as an earth closet in the garden - that was in the 1950's. The electric had got to the bottom of the lane when war broke out, and it was the 60's before it made it up the lane!

The oldest classroom in my 1950s primary school had an earth floor.

 

[maryjoan]

The oldest classroom in my 1950s primary school had an earth floor.

where was that???

 

[carolynp]

where was that???

Outer suburbs of Melbourne. School was founded in 1880s. Main classroom building was very solid Victorian and dated from then. Proper floors! The classroom with the earth floor must have been later, as the population grew, and it was still there throughout my primary school years, till 1959.

 

[maryjoan]

Outer suburbs of Melbourne. School was founded in 1880s. Main classroom building was very solid Victorian and dated from then. Proper floors! The classroom with the earth floor must have been later, as the population grew, and it was still there throughout my primary school years, till 1959.

Thank you!!

 

[AliceA]

Extremely interesting - I remember by grandfather in Cheshire having no electric and a beaten dirt floor in his cottage as well as an earth closet in the garden - that was in the 1950's. The electric had got to the bottom of the lane when war broke out, and it was the 60's before it made it up the lane!

I thought I had lost this post! We visited an old couple in the late 50s, probably younger than we are now, in Kent. They lived in a minute cottage. Outside toilet was not a surprise, she cooked an amazing meal with no mod cons. Later it became really dark and I wondered why no lights were switched on. Then out came the oil lamps.
When we lived in the Cotswolds we had frequent power cuts, our oil lamp came in very useful then.