Nella Last's routine

GreyQueen

Eliza wrote: »

I know whose book I would read avidly and delight in, that's JackieO's. Please write it Jackie, I absolutely love your contributions to this forum.

However, at the time I'm reading about in Nella Last's Peace, her children had left home, there was only herself and Will. The only mod con I have that she doesn't is a freezer, (she even talks about electric blankets and electric pads which she puts on her stomach, whatever happened to hot water bottles?) she has Mrs Salisbury every week but still all this cleaning, cleaning, cleaning.

Yeah, she had most of the mod cons possible now at that point and was running a household of two adults and there was still all this cleaning? Got to have been a psychological need to clean, rather than a real physical dirtiness to hold at bay.

In my own working-class background, there has always been a sharp self-division between the rough and the respectable families. The respectable working-class person was very clean, even in homes without bathrooms or running water, and this was an important marker of character and probity. My Nan, 92 this year, was one of the last generation of young girls who was sent into domestic service, just before WW2 - she was called home from London to the countryside by her mother when the war was declared in 1939, literally the same day.

Housework and laundry were skills which you were taught and practised diligently. The woman was definately the keeper of the family's status in this respect; should hubby or offspring (of any age) be dirty, unkempt or unmended, the woman was at fault. The cleanliness of the home was seen as her responsibilty entirely, and any failings in it were her failings, not his or theirs.

There's also an aspect of social engineering which came into play. Remember that most women were working in the war, even women from social classes who would never have expected to do paid work. When the men came back, the jobs had to be given up. Women were dismissed from their employment, or forced to leave by the withdrawal of workplace creches literally overnight. Professional women like teachers were expected to resign on marriage, I recall reading about one couple, both teachers, who had to hide their marriage so she wouldn't be forced to resign, because they needed both salaries to survive.

Also, but slightly later than Nella's diaries, there was social engineering in the form of advertising to fan the flames of consumerism for appliances and to mop up wornen's spare time. The weekly wash used to take several days and shaped the whole week. With washing machines, the time taken was far far less. It has been argued that the washing machine is the most important invention of the 20th century, in terms of its consequences; the moon landings were a big nothing in comparison.

The housework ante was constantly being upped just at a time when women were starting to have an easier time of it due to appliances and better cleaning products. I don't see that as co-incidental.

taurusgb

Nella Last - love reading her books. I've read everything I can lay my hands on in this genre and so far hers are by far the best. They (she) just feels so real.

Last year, we took our beloved campervan on a tour of the north and knowing my fondness for Nella, my lovely DH took me to have a look at as many of the places she mentions as we could, SparkBridge, Wallney Island, the Lake District, and of course Barrow in Furness itself. I had a high old time walking past her old house and up and down the road she lived in, eventually posing for a photograph under the street sign on a wall.

This drew the attention of a lovely old man who was gardening nearby and who asked us if we knew someone who lived locally. When I told him what we were doing there, he told us he had bought his house as a young married man about 4 years before Nella and Will had moved out and that he hadn't known her well but rememberd her as a very quiet unassuming litttle person (his words) . He said he was very friendly with the people who currently owned the house, but they were away so he couldn't pop us round and introduce us, (I didn't cry until I got home....honest I didn't)

GreyQueen ..... you still make my day with your turn of phrase!

cat4772

Eliza wrote: »

I know whose book I would read avidly and delight in, that's JackieO's. Please write it Jackie, I absolutely love your contributions to this forum.

yes please JackieO

YORKSHIRELASS

GreyQueen wrote: »

If you don't own it, you don't have to dust it, maintain it, fret about it. When I had a water leak last month my non-existant carpet wasn't figuring in the clean up. The more Stuff, the more elabourate furnishings we have, the more work we condemn ourselves do doing

This is a great post - and so very true. When we redecorated our living room we completely emptied it and only put back a few carefully chosen ornaments and no clutter. This room now requires hardly any cleaning and its been a real eye opener.

I recently read the KonMarie book. Whilst some of her methods verge on the slightly bonkers there is definitely something in the idea of owning less possessions and having a less cluttered life.

I do remember some years ago a conversation with a male colleague whose wife was a stay at home Mum. He said he felt sad because his wife seemed to spend all her days cleaning but the house never looked any different to him. He wanted her to go out and enjoy her small children more but she didnt have time. That conversation struck a chord with me.

I am going to look for the Nella Last books, I think I would enjoy them.

GreyQueen

I've always thought of it like this in terms of cleaning. I phrase I absorbed from Don Aslett's How to Make Your House Do The Housework (highly recommended, it's in my local library) is four on the floor.

As in, every extra piece of furniture is four (feet) on the floor, othewise known as an obstacle to cleaning. And, by eliminating the furniture, or having different kinds of furniture, you can make housework faster and easier.

nursemaggie

Not so long ago my son said why do you never have any fun?

I had to admit I can't. I was brought up with the idea that fun was wicked and so was not doing anything. I have struggled with it all of my life.

No for nothing did they have the saying, "Cleanliness is next to Godliness".

My mother expected every woman to work from 6am to midnight 7 days a week. She told my ex just before we married that I wasted hours doing crosswords. He turned to her and said "Why not everyone needs some relaxation time."

Actually my hours of crosswords was the Saturday crossword in the Yorkshire post. She only knew about this as we had family gettogethers
on Saturdays and my aunt and I would go over the Yorkshire Post crossword on Saturday nights.

I still can't sit and do nothing but my vacuum only comes out once a week. I am sure as she got older my mum did sit and do nothing as she also went blind.

Perhaps Nella was brought up the same. Her parents would be Victorian. My grandparents were Victorian, born 1870s and my parents had very Victorian ideas.

When I was doing my training it was still compulsory for nurses to leave when they got married. It changed before I took my finals. It was well into the 70s before they considered having nurses back after they had had babies.

Spaniel_girl

Thank you for starting this thread. I too have recently read and enjoyed the Nella Last books after someone mentioned them in a MSE post. It's a real eye opener to see just how frugal you needed to be in the 40s and 50s and makes you realise how much we take for granted these days. I'm very glad that I don't feel compelled to clean my house from top to bottom every day!

Eenymeeny

Thanks for all of the comments on this thread, I hadn't heard of Nella Last but I'm certainly going to look her up now!
I'm also one of those people who 'have to look busy' all of the time and find it hard to just relax. It's definitely part of my upbringing I reckon, although I do remember us sharing a wry smile when my mother used to greet us with a 'I've just this minute sat down!' when we returned from school. It was the fact that she had to excuse herself for sitting down that is such a shame and that she only found time to research our family tree, write poetry and join local history groups when we'd all left home. We all work hard and are entitled to relax and not feel guilty when we do. Let's hope that we are more enlightened these days.
Btw I am one of those people who actually enjoy ironing and take pride in a well-ironed crisp white shirt, but everyone's different aren't they?

flubberyzing

GreyQueen wrote: »

I'm 50. And it pleases me greatly when I hear women in their twenties and thirties declare that they've never ironed anything in their life. I feel like jumping with joy whenever I hear that, or see a posting of a donation of iron and ironing board on Freegle and wonder if another Slave to Flatness is casting-off her shackles.
QUOTE]


That's me. I'm 30. I've been living independently for 12 years now, and can honestly say, in all that time, I've never ironed a single thing. Whilst I own an iron - it was a gift from a friend of my mum's who had 2 - I've never used it, and don't own an ironing board.
A lot of my most vivid memories growing up, where of my mum ironing absolutely everything, from bedsheets down to undies and hankies. I thought then what a massive waste of life it was, and resolved never to do it myself. My older sister does either.

GreyQueen

flubberyzing wrote: »

GreyQueen wrote: »

I'm 50. And it pleases me greatly when I hear women in their twenties and thirties declare that they've never ironed anything in their life. I feel like jumping with joy whenever I hear that, or see a posting of a donation of iron and ironing board on Freegle and wonder if another Slave to Flatness is casting-off her shackles.
QUOTE]


That's me. I'm 30. I've been living independently for 12 years now, and can honestly say, in all that time, I've never ironed a single thing. Whilst I own an iron - it was a gift from a friend of my mum's who had 2 - I've never used it, and don't own an ironing board.
A lot of my most vivid memories growing up, where of my mum ironing absolutely everything, from bedsheets down to undies and hankies. I thought then what a massive waste of life it was, and resolved never to do it myself. My older sister does either.

:j Bravo for you and your sister!

I have an iron which was bought for me in the 1980s and use it a tiny bit. I think I'd always want an iron as they're pretty essential for sewing, which I do enjoy, but I minimize anything which needs ironing, possibly do 10 mins per week, or less.