I had never heard of the lottery business concerning buying houses on Downham. Most interesting.
Awful accident - poor dog!
Yes Hutch, I remember well the old copper in the corner of the kitchen and the pump which got the water up to the bathroom. Well, it was supposed to but ours didn't for a while and was very hard work when it did. Gosh, doesn't all that sound antiquated now and yet it seems only a blink ago. And yes, bathing in the zinc tub in front of the fire is a very vivid memory.
One of my strongest memories, oddly enough, is of coming home after a family outing and walking in to the cold and dark house and that smell of a dead fire. After all, no-one would have dreamt of going out and leaving the fire lit, even with a guard around,would they? Well, Mum wouldn't have done anyway.
Then it would have been a cat's lick round the face with a cold, wet flannel while the kettle boiled for the stone hot water bottles, into the thick pyjamas and old cardigan used for bed, plus bed socks and then jump into an icy bed. But what a dilemma it was: should one clutch the hot water bottle to keep the top bits warm, or leave it down the bottom of the bed to keep the feet warm? Obviously the answer would have been to have two hot water bottles, one for the top and one for the bottom, instead of which ...
Bren