Sunday 20 January 2008

Victorian bathtime

So. What do you do when the boiler breaks down and you have no heating or hot water? Apart from wearing as many layers as you can find and sleeping under two duvets (to be fair, I do that anyway), more importantly- how to bathe?

Option 1 - make like a man and take a cold shower (yep, my other half actually did that!)
Option 2 - make like a girl (and the Victorians) and fill the tub with boiled water. I think maybe it was easier using a tin bath in front of a fire, but using two kettles in a freezing bathroom was an exercise in futility and frustration!

Of course, anything that can't be tumble dried also can't be washed as trying to heat a Victorian house (oh, those high ceilings) with only a few convection heaters and a gas fire doesn't really work, and wet laundry would never dry. How on earth did anyone ever get anything done before boilers and radiators?!