July 2, 2007: Cave cottage

[CzinZumerzet]

The house I grew up in, two up two down, had neither electricity, gas, sewerage services or water. We had a 'wash-house' in the back garden with a hand water pump delivering cold hard water, and a 'privy' at the end of the garden shared by three other cottages. The wash house also housed a copper, literall a big water boiloer which we lit a fire underneath on washday in order to boil wash the whites.
My mother cooked on a range fuelled by coal and wood and we used oil lamps, candles and later, gas mantles for lighting. That's coal gas not the sort cars run on. We had a pressed earth floor which I recall being so cold in winter... And no we didn't glow with rude good health, I seem to think we had perpetual runny noses and chilblains.
Makes you think about how very many advances there've been of the purely domestic variety which are now commonplace. I don't want to be without my satellite link or my wireless internet but things like hot water and phones and a flushing indoor loo are just basic aren't they.