Ok............ Today is bright and Sunny like a spring day, it is also St Davids day here, he is some Saint to do with Wales lol..... and their emblem is a daffodil, I personally think it should be a leek, but then I dont hang with the crowd.....
So, having a bit of cabin fever lately, cos not being able to get out much with me knee, I asked me mad matie Ann if she fancied coming to the garden Centre with me, so that I could get some polys for me Poo Buckets out the front of me house....... I can hear you saying WTF are Poo Buckets..... well they are the original Poo Buckets that use to be in the outside loo that these cottages use to have when they was first built..... no flushables for these houses..... we had an outside loo... in fact is was a plank of wood with a hole cut in the middle and underneath sat the poo buckets.... and once a week, yep just once a week the dunny man would come with his horse and cart and empty the poo buckets... :) - well MY poo buckets are real RARE... bought them at the church fete about 20 years ago.... they had been found in the old community centre (which is our original old flint school) in a cupboard full of rubbish and junk... and only I knew what they actually (cos Im a bit of a local history phlid) were and where they came from :).......so I only paid a couple of quid for them........ well they have been for years out the front of me house planted up with seasonal plants......
A few years ago some local history group spotted them whilst walking pass me house, and this bloke knocked on the door, he wanted to know if I knew what they were and if I did WHY was they planted up and out the front for any bugger to nick, cos they are a part of the history of this place and should be looked after......... so first of all I tells him, yep they are the poo buckets from this terrace of cottages and then second I tell him that I know they are rare, third I tell him that yes they are worth a few quid to history buffs, and fourth, I'll plant what I want when I want and in what I want as and when I want lol, ya see ya can ask me maties, I LOVE these poo buckets with a passion :)...... and if they now go missing I know where he lives....he just blank stared at me, so I bid him good day and shut me door... bloody tosser.......
Ya see, I love the history of me little house, with its poo buckets and the original hand pump in me back garden with the well underneath, ya see once, me pump and the water that was drawn from it, was the only water that was available to this row of cottages for their water supply..... and apparently according to old Bessie that is 92 and was born and raised with 8 brothers and sisters in one of these tiny places, every Monday was wash day, and all the woman would bring there buckets to me garden up the back path, and they would fill them up and go home and boil the water for wash day, and by the afternoon all the washing lines would be full of brilliant white sheets and shirts blowing to dry in the wind...... its amazing to think that in such a short time inside taps are now the norm.........
Ya see, me maties that I hang with aint local, most of them like Ann and Sharon, White Michelle and Ruth are Londoners, that moved down south for a better quality of life, and Black Michele from Birmingham...... out of our group Im the only saddo local lol, so they DONT have the passion for local history and heritage that I do, and my love for architecture for our beautiful buildings down here that what I do..... when we go to Chichester for example to shop, I walk around with he face to the sky, looking at the old buildings above the shop fronts, if you look you can spot gargoyles so drainpipe overflows etc.... they well take the piss out of me....... but they love me as I love them....... I just LOVE old things..... :) ok, so Im a saddo...... like I give a toss what you think ;)
Last summer an old bloke tapped me front door and asked if he could come in, ya see he was born in this house, and had such fond memories of it growing up..... he had buggered off to Australia years ago, but was back to visit friends for the last time before he snuffed it........ he had piles of old black and white photos that he showed me, and he LOVE it that I LOVE ME HOUSE with a passion......... he said I was a rare gem....... yeah right, I reckon at 82 he was trying to chat me up, the dirty old sod lol just kidding..... anyways he let me scan some of the photos....... and the one above is of his wifey back in the early 50s with a pile of washing to peg out on the line...... she is actually standing on MY BACK PATH....... :) Jebus didnt them ladies of the 50s have sour faces.... but it was probably cos she was well pissed off with lugging water from me well just to do the washing, she should consider herself lucky she lived next door, think of the poor buggers that lived up the other end of the terrace LOL ps these house had no running water in them, hence the pump, so bath night was a tin bath in front of the open fire......:)...
ok........ me garden centre story will keep for tomorrow :) - see how I go off track lol
Enough Twaddle for today........
x
13 comments:
I am a local in my town. Of course my town is a city, so that is a bit different. Our city is growing in leaps and bounds, and on my entire block there is only one other family that was born and raised here. I feel like I have deep roots because my parents and grandparent on one side came in the forties, but some of my grandmother's sisters had already moved here in the twenties and thirties. I know that one of my great aunt's had a nice house on a hill in a fancy part of town. I also know that she was single, beautiful, and didn't have a job. Uh huh. There is also something else I know about her, but I will leave it to your imagination. My city was part of the Old West, and some of the rowdiness hung around for awhile after the cowboys were not in use anymore. My father's side of the family was here since before 1900, so I feel kind of attached to the area. My dad also co-owned a lake in the area that the city bought and now is a city park. It is cool to drive by there every so often and tell the kids. Hey guys, your grandpa used to own all this. Of course, now the area is not considered safe, so we don't venture over there often.
I don't know much about poo pots. Out here people just dug like 8 feet deep holes and put the outhouse over the the hole, and when it was halfway full, they would dig a new hole, move the outhouse, and fill up the old hole with dirt. I have used several outhouses in my life, and I helped dig one in Mexico. They seem really simple and fairly safe unless you live close to a water supply, but my mom used to tell us how miserable it was to go out there at night, if it was freezing. She said once there was an ice storm and she had a stomach virus, and I will leave the rest to your imagination. We sure do have it alot easier now.
Terrific stories you share ladies. Thank you for your reflections.
M-Toasty - you are a gem. You have such an appreciation of things.
I used to have an antique 1941 BSA motorcycle (yep - British ;) WW II model. Most enthusiasts would restore and "show" such. I rode the piss out of it for years. That is, until it's rear wheel locked up on me coming down an incline. Then I sold the bitch right quick. I can be unforgiving at times. I had other Brit toys...but they all sort of went the wayside to pay for college and support my "kid habit." You know, changing priorities and all.
Poo buckets are common in the villages of Alaska (it's hard to dig down 8 feet in real permafrost), but in the Fairbanks area, those without running water use the 8 foot deep method noted by Susan.
Gargoyle rain spouts are awesome. They're all over Japan at the temple and shrines. During rainstorms, I'd catch the water in my mouth, swirl it, and spit out the essence. Mmm.
I have a set of congas in front of my cabin that I plant with flowers each summer. Some say congas, some say poo buckets...
Have a great day folks. It's a day for play. You're invited to join in on the "Irrational Object Game."
;)
I love old things too. I have a grand collection of antique books (which you know), and would gladly live in an old cottage like yours one day. I don't much care for new houses anyway...they lack character, it seems. They often also lack quality.
Our house was built in around 1940. It's old, the plumbing is old, but I love the solid feel of the house. I like the lap and plaster walls because they're so solid, though they give me fits when I want to hang a picture. I love the fact that our fireplace has a tile hearth that's right down on the floor, instead of raised. I love the fact that one day, we may remove the carpet from the house and find the most beautiful pine flooring beneath.
The only thing I don't like about the house is that we don't own it yet. We're still renting it, and have been since we moved up in 03. The owner isn't ready to sell yet, and we don't want to move. Still, he can't live forever, can he?
~Susan~ :) lovely story, fanks for sharing it with me......... I was not born in this village, but I have lived here for just over 26 years :) so that officially now makes me 'one of them' LOL..... when I say local that means within a 10 mile circle........
I dont know if it comes through the passion I have for my area where I live, and where I was born..... would love to uproot though and start a new chapter in me life..... before Im well to old LMFAO xx
~Fool~ yep, Im a firm believer in old things should be used if at all possible........ I have some wonderful really old oval what I call turkey plates, ya know them plates that take up the whole table..... real old..... but we use them and lob them in the dishwasher lol...... me matie thinks Im crazy, but I know I am ;)
We get the scouts to dig dunnys when they are camping and teach them how to use a straining pole lol when out in the woods and they need to do a poo :)...... Im all for back to basics *s*
Oh my, I LOVE gargoyles and the ones on chichester cathedral are just magnificent...... one learns a lot with ones head looking up....
The bike sounds well proper good LOL xx
~Toady~ :) hugs.... ya know my little house aint a cottage as I think you see it in your head, its a tiny little end of terrace house :) with a long thin garden..... jebus how I wish I had a bit more land........ Tosser got me little bit of england... I got a scabby cat lol
Me little house was built in 1904 and is well solid compare to newbuilds nowadays, and originally the 2 bedrooms (I now have 4 bedrooms I converted the little attic into 2 bedrooms) would of had little open fires...... :) ya know I would never buy a house without a chimney...... and this year Im gonna lift me carpet and strip back the 106 year old floorboard in me bedroom :) - well thats the idea....... think it will look good with me old iron and brass bed.... and me pisspot under the bed LMFAO - ok that was a joke ;)
My house is overflowing with stuff thats old lmfao......including me ;)
Im hoping that the owner of your house snuffs it sooner then later.... fingers, eyes and knees crossed for you all lol... xx
Fanks for popping by today..... last one out turn off the lights and unplug will ya..... oh and I would like a cuppa tea and toast in bed in the morning if you dont mind :)
loves ya xx
x
I too love old things. I agree w/Toad, character. THings in England are eversomuch older than here in the states; there is so much history. My house was built in 1825 and the barn shortly thereafter. I just love to go stand in the barn and look at the beatuiful joinery work. Even then, the beams were used; you can see the old mortises carved in the beams. Same as in the house, I have some exposed beams with lots of hitory in their length.
Marm your stories bring out such wonderful stories from others. Thanks for pulling out all those tales! When I lived in Australia (Perth) the loo was outside and the shower was inside.
Bonne Nap!
The Twaddle today was sooooo fine....
xo
:)
Marmite! That is so cool. It's neat that you got to have that picture! What a story. I love houses, too. Some houses are very special. Marm, I'm lovin' your blob :-) You are awesomely good at this!
I don't know what the hell Twaddle means, but I love it.
Marm, you are completely awesome.
MT I admire your appreciation for the "practical" antiques.
I had to use a poo bucket one time. Unfortunately I didn't have a fancy enamel pot so I used an old yoghurt container, popped the lid on, and later deposited it in the garbage can at a supermarket. Ahhh the tales of being homeless.
~Shark~ oh my goodness...... I LOVE the sound of your house and barn..... oh a barn, what I would do with a barn, sigh.... you jammy sod to live in someplace so old.... x
~JBelle~ you little fibber you LMFAO x
~Lynn~ I would NEVER sell me little house, but I would take out the $480,000 equity in it and invest in someplace else, and the rent I would get from this little place would cover the equity loan, its just trying to pick the right time and place to move to.......and Im trying to think of the best way to use that equity to everyones advantage.... me and me matie Ann and her hubby yesterday was taking about buying fixer upper houses from autions and having a bash at property development..... Im just toying with ideas at the moment......
But yeah some houses are mega special......
A few weeks back I drove to the house where I was raised between the ages of 1 and 14...... you know, the 'bad house' - but do you know what..... as I stood out the front of that house and stared at it, all I could remember was all the funny tales from it.... like the Martin story, and Mr Earl next door, and Mrs Marsh that lived down the bottom and old Mr Crook.... I looked around and even thought some of the 'other things' popped into me head....... all the other bits took over those thoughts and it made me smile...... my Jacob thought it was fasinating cos Ive told me lads some of the funny things growing up and now he could put a picture to the places that I had described..... even down to the stream we use to paddle in..... Im glad I went...... xx
~mommydearest~ Welcome to my humble abode LOL..... as you can see, it is what it is.... just Twaddle :) x
~Green~ shutup, you aint right lol xx
~Burdock~ :) ok you DONT wanna know some of the places that Ive HAD to go lol...... oh and the poo buckets are made of that stuff like the old tin baths and buckets that they use to have.... which by the way out the back near me back door I have loads of them water buckets planted up with plants, the poo buckets though are twice the size with not only a carrying handle but a little side handle to hold when 'emptying' lol :)
OK......... see me comment answers are to long and also full of twaddle lol sorry........
Fanks maties
x
I guess I'm last call. I'll put the tea on and pop the toast. Lights out.
Excellent, fascinating tales, as always...from you AND Susan.
I'll be back to read and absorb more at another time. Must head out to work. Must chase the bacon into the barn.
Later.
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