We went to Dunhelm Mill Store in Warrington today, Nik and I. We'd just dropped Laura off at the theatre where she's in a 2 day dance show (her dad and his parents went today, we're going tomorrow) and I wanted a wall mirror for the kitchen/breakfast area.
We found a very nice circular mirror for £20 but, of course, it didn't stop there. By the time we'd done there was also a valance sheet for my bed, 4 new pillows, a pack of net washing bags and - a bolster.
I've been considering a bolster for a while. I've noticed they seem to be coming back into fashion and when I saw them at Dunhelm Mill, reasonably cheap, I decided I'd get one. We put it in the trolley and I said to Nik,
"Your Nan and Grandpa always had a bolster on their bed. They really liked it." I thought I saw her eyebrows raise a little but I didn't make much of it.
When we got home I unpacked the car and took the pillows and the bolster upstairs. I mentioned again to Nik that my parents had used one.
"No impropriety to take place then?" she said, in a quizzical sort of way.
"What do you mean?" I asked her.
"Well," she said, "Was Grandpa confined to his own side of the bed?"
By this time I was very puzzled but, slowly, light started to dawn.
"Do you remember that sitcom with Ronnie Barker?" I asked her. "It was called 'Clarence' and, in it, he shared a bed with Josephine Tuson but they had a bolster between them to "keep everything decent".
"Yes, that's it," she said. "That's what you do with a bolster, isn't it?" I started to laugh.
"A bolster's a long pillow," I said. "It goes across the bed so there's no gap for your head to fall down."
"Really?" Nik asked, incredulously. "I've only ever heard of them in that programme and I honestly thought they were used to seperate people who had to shared a double bed." I was really laughing now.
"Think about it, your Nan and Grandpa had 3 children," I said.
"Well, would you believe it?" said Nik. "I really thought they were a Modesty item."
I suppose there must be a lot of things that my generation accepted as normal that are just not around today. I've never considered that one of them might be the bolster but - there you go.
We found a very nice circular mirror for £20 but, of course, it didn't stop there. By the time we'd done there was also a valance sheet for my bed, 4 new pillows, a pack of net washing bags and - a bolster.
I've been considering a bolster for a while. I've noticed they seem to be coming back into fashion and when I saw them at Dunhelm Mill, reasonably cheap, I decided I'd get one. We put it in the trolley and I said to Nik,
"Your Nan and Grandpa always had a bolster on their bed. They really liked it." I thought I saw her eyebrows raise a little but I didn't make much of it.
When we got home I unpacked the car and took the pillows and the bolster upstairs. I mentioned again to Nik that my parents had used one.
"No impropriety to take place then?" she said, in a quizzical sort of way.
"What do you mean?" I asked her.
"Well," she said, "Was Grandpa confined to his own side of the bed?"
By this time I was very puzzled but, slowly, light started to dawn.
"Do you remember that sitcom with Ronnie Barker?" I asked her. "It was called 'Clarence' and, in it, he shared a bed with Josephine Tuson but they had a bolster between them to "keep everything decent".
"Yes, that's it," she said. "That's what you do with a bolster, isn't it?" I started to laugh.
"A bolster's a long pillow," I said. "It goes across the bed so there's no gap for your head to fall down."
"Really?" Nik asked, incredulously. "I've only ever heard of them in that programme and I honestly thought they were used to seperate people who had to shared a double bed." I was really laughing now.
"Think about it, your Nan and Grandpa had 3 children," I said.
"Well, would you believe it?" said Nik. "I really thought they were a Modesty item."
I suppose there must be a lot of things that my generation accepted as normal that are just not around today. I've never considered that one of them might be the bolster but - there you go.
