Sunday Bath Night. The only one of the week in the early 1950's. First off the coal fire would be backed up at about noon. That was regardless of whether it was nearly sub tropical outside. You sweltered, whilst the fire heated the back boiler for hot water, ready for all three of us later. We were all put in the bath water together. The unlucky one got the tap end of the bath. Mum always made sure that the cold water went in first and then the hot. However, the cold tap remained cold and even worse in winter. No heating in the bathroom. Whoever was the unluckiest of us three to get the tap end nearly had frost bite off bumping into the cold of the tap. You were then taken out in order and dried with a towel that resembled sandpaper. No tumble driers, they were dried on the line outside or worse still, in winter on the fireguard. I swear it took several layers of skin off you. I think my mum invented exfoliation of the skin. Just as you thought you were comfy from the freshly laundered pyjamas (which had been warmed on the fireguard in front of the roaring fire), you then lined up for the 'nit comb'. Again several layers of skin were removed from your scalp in the hunt for any unwelcome visitors. Being the only girl, I then endured mum's attempts to turn me into Shirley Temple. Out came what I can only describe as toothed clamps. Mum would use her fingers to create waves in my hair and then clamp them (with another layer of my scalp) into the clamp. To this day I have a wave on the right side of my head which I swear the clamps made and where she later tied an excruciating bow into my hair. I knew I would then have a difficult nights sleep with the torture clamps in my head. Even worse was to come in later years, when mum decided I would look lovely with ringlets. Scraps of cloth were torn. My hair was then divided up and wrapped around the cloth. Along with my hair went several inches of my neck, it was excruciating. We also had toilet paper from the daily paper in the outside loo, spiders out there, a paraffin lamp to prevent the pipes freezing and I will follow with another post of the 'delicacies' we had to eat.
