[Margaret Pilkington]

I would share the fact that:-
During the winter we could make ice lollies on the window bottom of our bedroom - on the inside.

That no-one I knew had fitted carpets - we had carpet squares and the wood floor that showed was polished with lavender Mansion polish.

The fire grates were black leaded with Zebo and a hard brush and a lot of elbow grease.

That no-one I knew had an indoor toilet or bathroom.

That Friday night might have been Amami night, but it was also Nit check night and bath night - the bath being hauled in off the yard wall and filled with hot water from a Slaxone boiler...and that you bathed in front of a roaring fire.(cleanest first)

I would tell this young person that we used every scrap of food - leftovers were not thrown in the bin - they were made into something else - and that green mould was scraped off food and then it was eaten - the food not the green mould( and Lo - we are still here to tell the tale).

I would tell them that during the winter most children had 'Dunlop Rings'...marks where wellies had caused chafing of wet skin - and most of us knew what chilblains were.

That there were no 'designer' trainers.....there were pumps - you could choose, either black(very practical) or white (High maintenance - needed to be whitened with a block of white stuff that was grated and put into water then dabbed on..what a faff).

Dragging the mangle up the back yard was a weekly event...Monday morning...no wonder none of us had a pick of fat on us - we all worked and played too hard.

Listening to the radio in the light of the fire...toasting freshly sliced bread and drinking cocoa(not hot chocolate - Cocoa).....having a twist of paper with sugar and cocoa in it as a treat. Or a twist of paper with sugar in it to dip a stick of raw rhubarb into.

I could go on and on.

It sounds like a century ago......and it sounds unbelievable..but it is all TRUE!