Washing Clothes

Joan Jalland interviewed by Romano Cavaroli

So later on when I got married and had a family. I got married in 1938 - just before the war - and when my children were young, I only had a mangle and a boiler and hung the washing out in the garden.

An electric boiler?

No it had to be a coal one.

And a dolly?

Yes, a dolly.

Can you tell me about the boiler you had with the unpleasant surprise.

Well when we moved in - we had one of those boilers which were built in and a mouse came out of there - and that was the end of that. I wouldn't use it at all, and we went out and brought an aluminium one you stored on the gas stove, and that's how I used to boil my clothes-until much later when I got my washing machine.

You didn't have a monthly wash?

I didn't have a monthly wash - it got done most days - daily.

Did you have a scrubbing board as well?

Oh - I had a scrubbing board - yes.

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