OPINION: Take Bathrooms for Instance.

I’m still trying to make my mind up about getting old. On the whole I lean towards not liking it, although on the plus side, having worn the T-shirt quite a few times, there are few nasty surprises left, which is a blessing. If the phrase ‘chill out’ wasn’t coined by or for the older generation, then it should have been.
Life becomes far easier when you learn that it’s pointless railing against what’s chucked at you and I can say with confidence that I’m wiser, although wisdom without the burden of wrinkles, glasses, stiff joints and grey hair would be fantastic.

One of the downsides of coming from an earlier generation is realising that the world and technology has speeded up to such an extent, that on some days - especially when I’m chilled out - I doubt I’ll ever catch up. But if I did, would it be worth it?

Take bathrooms for instance.
If you’ve spent the first twelve years of your life without one, and the tin bath, brought in from its hook on the back garden wall once a week was the closest you ever got to being wet all over at the same time, a beautifully appointed bathroom never ceases to give pleasure.
I love the latest designs with deep, free standing baths and sinks that look as if you’ll be taking a leap into science fiction every time you use them. I’d really love a wet room, and I wish someone had come up with the idea of burning scented candles whilst wallowing in an endless supply of hot water when I was young. And as for Jacuzzis and hot tubs in the back garden!

But hang on a minute. Aren’t we supposed to be having water shortages in a lot of areas? Hasn’t water been classed as a precious commodity not to be taken lightly, and we should take a quick shower rather than a bath? Aren’t we being asked to switch off lights if we’re not in the room; use energy efficient bulbs and turn off appliances at the plug, because leaving them on standby wastes a huge amount of electricity every year?

If things are that desperate, I can see all these power hungry aids to modern living eventually becoming obsolete, and I wonder if the powers to be in their efforts to avert an inevitable power crisis, would take the drastic step of banning any household item classed as an unnecessary luxury.
I find it hard to believe that in my lifetime we’ve nearly come full circle when it comes to ‘all mod cons’, but this is where being older and also born working class could really come in useful. I know all about having to wash in the kitchen sink, and popping kettles and saucepans on the stove to hot the water up for a Sunday night bath.
Remembering my childhood, they could ban bathrooms altogether, and bring back public baths for those who live in a flat and have nowhere to hang a tin bath.

Despite popular misconceptions, our mothers kept us squeaky clean, you could eat off our floors and we didn’t drop like flies from nasty diseases because there was no running hot water to wash our hands. We coped perfectly well, even thrived without most of today’s necessities.

So, despite being labeled old fashioned and a drain on the public purse by many of today’s generation, being old means we’re a fountain of knowledge when it comes to waste not want not. We could show the youngsters a thing or two … I quite like the idea of that. I’m up for it if you are.

PROTEST: Someone Knicked our Sweetcorn.

On one of my earlier posts, I mentioned picking the pumpkins we'd grown for Halloween. It was a bit early to harvest them, but they were huge and hard to miss, so there was a good chance they would get pinched or vandalised once we got into October.
Yesterday we went to our allotment to pick the last of the sweetcorn, and every remaining cob had been knicked.
It leaves me short of things to say, because most of what we thought and wished on the thief is unrepeatable.

Thankfully the pumpkins have survived being stored in the garage. The largest is going to our two youngest granddaughter's school for Harvest Festival, and will then be used for Halloween.
Grown with love, given with love, and enjoyed.