There was one cold water tap in the house (the same as at home though Mum had a gas stove to heat the water). Auntie Nell kept a huge black kettle on the range where the fire was always alight.

There was no bathroom, but we did not have one at home either. Mum heated our bath water for the portable bath in the copper that was in the corner of the scullery.


At our Aunts everyone washed in a large earthenware bowl. Uncle Charlie and Jim were miners and this bowl was specially filled for them when they came home from their shift. I had never seen anyone as dirty as they were after their work shift.

Bob was still a schoolboy of about 13 or 14 years old. He was a grammar school pupil I think because there was never any talk of him leaving school while we were there.


At home we had a flush toilet, but at my Aunt's the toilet was across a little lane at the back of the house and down a long garden path to a little shed. In this shed there was a scrubbed wooden board with a hole in it , and underneath a large bucket. I don't know anything about how it was emptied.

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