Two up, two down

I was born in one of those rows of houses, two up two down.
My Mum had no electric or gas cooker cooker, she prepared everything on one of those fire ranges with a built in oven and hook to hang a kettle. The oven could take a roast plus space for two or three saucepans, etc on top. The fire had to be regularly and rigorously raked out or it wouldn't get its full heat. Then Dad would be in trouble.
The stairs was enclosed with tongue and grooved boards with a door at the bottom of the steep stairs.
We had no toilet or bath in the house. There was a Belfast sink with cold tap in the kitchen. This was before they had come back as a fashion icon.

Across the road we had an allotment and an outside Privy which had the latrine bucket which Dad emptied at the top of the garden once a week (I think?.
On the back of the door was a string of cut up newspaper. I don't think the Izal shiny toilet paper was yet a regular feature. This was the first stage of luxury toiletry.
Next to the Privy was the Wash house which had a coal fired copper boiler with a wooden slat lid. A corrugated wash tub was where Mum would pound her laundry with one of those wooden dollies. A short stick was another aid to allow her to remove the hot clothes from the boiler into the tub. The only other thing was the great big mangle where clothes were wrung out before putting out on the line. We use to help Mum turn the handle but it was very hard work to squeeze out the water. Outside the wash house on a nail hung the galvanised steel bath which was brought into the kitchen once a week for all of us the bath in.

In the winter it was terribly cold to wake up in a cold bedroom with bare floorboards or lino. We would wake up with the windows frozen over with jack frost images. There was a small hand made rag rug by the bed which we carefully stood on getting out of bed. These were made out of old clothes cut up into strips and threaded into an old hessian sack.
At night, Mum would take out the iron oven shelves, wrapped in old newspaper into the beds to warm them up. I can remember the steam coming when they touched the bedclothes! And on top of the bed would be covered with Dad's Greatcoat from the Home Guard, like an eiderdown.
This was the wonderful and happy life I started out from. I reckon we were happy and probably considered ourselves well off more than some others.

It was the norm in the 1940's, but I must admit that living in the country we were probably at least 20 years behind those living in the towns.
When I was a lecturing at the local college one afternoon, the subject was Industrial Architecture and I described the place where I was born much like I have written above.
One of the lads who was intently listening asked me where the house was I described. It turned out he was now living in the very same house. The house now has a toilet and bathroom and the allotments are now built over with new houses.
Life has its surprises..........

I have added a bit more that I uploaded to Friends Reunited which pads out my history:
I was born in the village of Fiskerton, California Cottages.
We moved to Thurgarton and I attended the Village School from age six in 1950. Most of this time I was in leg irons or full leg plasters to correct my club feet.
Naturally I played Humpty Dumpty in the school Cristmas Play. They were cruel in those days. We moved to Sandford on Thames in 1951 for a short time and then on to Morville Heath (near Bridgnorth) in 1953 (ish)
I remember two major events there. A total eclipse of the sun when we went to school with smoked glass pieces and of course the Coronation when we were given a commerative New Testament.
In 1954 we lived on Magadales Farm, Thurgarton with my older sister Margaret and younger sister Maureen. Our parents later moved to Southwell, and laterly in Potwell Close, Easthorpe. I attended Thurgarton CofE School until the Edward Cludd School opened in 1956(?)
In Form 2 to begin with (Mr Reece) and then progressed through 2a, 3a, and finally to 4a.
When I was at Thurgarton School boys of my age group in village schools throughout the catchment area attended the National School in Southwell one day each week for woodwork classes with Mr White (who later moved to the 'Cludd). Most of the same year then met at the 'Cludd when it first opened.
I joined the Army RAOC as a Junior Leader at 15. Served many places round the World. I finally settled down in Newark in 1984.
I was employed as a Woodwork Supervisor in a Training Workshop and became a Lecturer at Newark & Sherwood College in 1990.
I retired from full time teaching in August 2004