Ask yer Granny!

ginnyknit

I wonder what our grannies would think of life now? I know things often baffle me though I am still young enough not to put on the 'old lady face' yet when something annoys me :rotfl:

I have a craving for porridge now :beer:

suzybloo

Minus four here - so the porridge is now truly on the go................will I make enough and put it in the drawer and just slice it as we go through the week like our grans and grandas done in years gone by!.......... no dont think so :-)

mardatha

Em. Naw. :rotfl: ! Pure white here too and the hens water is ice. But the sun is shining :T

mardatha

Tell me how your grannies managed in winter, in houses with no central heating and only coal fires. Please?

boultdj

mardatha wrote: »

Tell me how your grannies managed in winter, in houses with no central heating and only coal fires. Please?

In my Gran's it was usual to find her in the kitchen baking or in the front room, next to the fire knitting and alway's wearing layer's, by that I mean vest,underskirt,thin jumper,pinfordress,thick cardi and topped off by a crossover apron.

ginnyknit

I am beginning to think the crossover apron was very important - big pockets for all the odds and sods you pick up, hankies for children who have grazed their knee and needed a big hug, and it kept all your layers of clothes held in place to keep you warm.

I remember a friends Mum who used to sit in the rocking chair while we all played and knitted or stitched all the families clothes. Every now and then she would pop her hand in her apron pocket and slip a chocolate out and get it to her mouth without any one seeing - Now being a kid, I thought this was awful and selfish. After seeing her a few years ago with Altzheimers I began to think about the sweeties and her life. Jack( her hubby) was a decorator on the estate they lived on (some charity owned it) and didnt get much wage but free rent, so they lived a very difficult life, she worked her little cotton socks off to make that home work and scrimped and saved all year for a little holiday for them all. Those chocolates were her only treat and she certainly deserved them. Her 3 girls all grew up to be successful thoughtful people and are a credit to her. Happily she got to see al this before she got ill.

Draagonfly

mardatha wrote: »

Tell me how your grannies managed in winter, in houses with no central heating and only coal fires. Please?

I think this is one of the reasons that the kitchen was usually the heart of many homes & most of the day-to-day living took place there as they had their ranges so it was the one place that was always heated. I think in a lot of homes the other fires were prossibly only lit when necessity dictated to avoid unecessary fuel usage & work.

They were probably also on the go a lot more than many people today (not all, I know a lot of you OSers are always on the go too ) so maybe they didn't notice it as much as their bodies were kept warm by this or maybe they were just too busy to notice. I certainly know my Mum always says that her Dad's Mum was worked into her grave she was always so busy, she was a farmers wife & Mother to 5, (2 of whom never married & lived at home) plus she was a champion butter & cheese maker (oh how I wish she'd been around to teach me those skills but she was long gone before I came along ).

When I was a kid (& I'm only 36) we lived in a house that had a coal-fired boiler in the kitchen but it only heated that room & the water...once Mum lit it when the weather turned it was my job to keep the thing going all thru the winter months, emptying the ashes (they made a great garden path ) & bringing in the coal from the outside bunker every day come rain/shine/frost/snow! I so don't miss those days :D:p

mardatha

I grew up with coal fires too, my dad was a miner and I actually thought all coal was free until I got married ! I still have a coal fire and dont mind it at all, wouldn't take a house without one. I think its the heart of a home. But I have radiators off it now, when I grew up we didnt.
I do think they wore a lot more layers and warmer clothes. In the Victorian programmes on tv you see all their stuff was either cotton or pure wool, that would also help. I think nylon/acrylic is totally useless for anything really - apart from drying fast
I wonder what they think of the new fad for throwing out good warm carpets and putting in cold hard laminate? :rotfl:

Winchelsea

Draagonfly = You're right about OSers being on the go a lot - EXCEPT when we're stuck in front of the computer!

That's when I get cold!

katieowl_2

mardatha wrote: »

Tell me how your grannies managed in winter, in houses with no central heating and only coal fires. Please?

Red flannel Drawers!!!! :rotfl:

Actually apart from a bit of background heat of the Rayburn, I've only just lit the fire... I'm wearing a polo neck, a fleece waistcoat and a cardi on top, and my fingerless mittens, so layers must be the secret!

Kate