[RUSTYME]

 I have never kept a diary Sylvia , had dozens of them , and the only thing written in them was my name on the front !
Since my smash , i have a next to useless memory , so a diary would be handy , but it just never happens somehow !
 I have 2,000+ books, of which 500+ are gardening/crafts/how to do type books . I use these as my memory base.
Although i like reading , i hate writing . It all gets jumbled up in my head , and comes out  inside out and back to front , and takes me longer to write than the event actually took to do !
10 minutes of writing and my brain is ready to explode BANG !
 

[Sandy]

You need a scribe, your are very good and interesting on here, if you had some one to write for you all you would need to do is chat!!

[Lesley Silvester]

Sounds like aquired dyslexia to me.  What you need is a ghost writer so you can get your life stories written down.

[RUSTYME]

Sorting through the shed the other day , i found an old cow horn .
 All nicely polished with beeswax . It was one that i had done years ago , most likely to use as a drinking horn . I made a few , along with some made into powder horns .
I also used to make toggles and buttons , as well as walking stick handles from horn too .
Working in a knacker yard had some perks , free cow and sheep horn !  Also found a pair of leather boots i made , looked like cowboy boots without the cuban heel . They were in fact copies of 16 th century boots . Sadly after 15 years on a a damp earth floor , they fell to bits when i moved them !

[Sandy]

Sounds like a museum!! intersting..when I watch old films I often wonder about simple things....babies nappies?....contraception?..menstral cycle?////food prep?......and food consercation??    How did they dio it?

[RUSTYME]

   One thing i could never understand was why they used terry toweling for nappies ?talk about sticking like s**t to a blanket !
Before that though i think they used just plain cotton/linen cloth . Sanitary towels were made of cotton pouches filled with any dry material such as hay etc , those were the days eh girls ?
Some wierdy methods of contraception ,think of sausages , but they also popped out sprogs like peas from a pod.
Food was clamped pickled , salted , smoked and dried .
Before those methods they ate whatever was about or went hungry !

[Sandy]

consercation

? Conservation

I also heard that spagnam moss was used to line baby nappies, that also prevented nappy rash although wathcing a programme about the inuits, thier babies are sewn into thier clothing!!!   

The hay thing would certainly be cheaper

As a child we did not get a fridge until I was a teenager, then everything went in it...before that it was usualy put in tins in a pantry..I bet the mice had a hay day!!!

Another thing is, mens shaveing? I suppose blades were always used of some discription but I never understood how beardless faces for men (or women) came about, other than getting food trapped and being a bit hot in summer, I find it strange that men usualy shave!!! 

[Bionic]

Sandy,
We didn't have a fridge when I was younger either.  I remember my mum putting the bottles of milk in a hole in the ground to keep them cool. Other things just went in the pantry which was always surprisingly cool.  I would love to have a pantry these days.

We got our first phone in the house when I was about 10.  I was afraid of it and when it rang I used to hide behind the sofa. 

Sally

[Sandy]

I think a pantry is wonderful, we sort of have one but use it for other things and there IS one behind the kitchen wall, so a person who lived here over 10 years ago said...we would love to uncover it but the units are not bad etc and we have no money!! I remember my Gran used to visit daily and as my mum worked shifts as a nurse, she often went for an afternoon nap, that led to my Gran going into the wrong door and geting stuck in the pantry as there was no handle on the inside!!!!!!!

[doganjo]

Our family business was food related so we had fridges, pantries, phones etc way back when I was little.  we lived in my Grandparent's large Victorian house.  But sometimes it just feels good to do without these inventions. But I do feel a little vulnerable when I leave my mobile at home. 

[Sandy]

We had a phone when I was a little girl, I think I was about 8, my dad was on call with the water board and I distincly remember my mum threatening to call the RSPCA to take our dog away as it kept running off when we children, left the gate open....I do not think we  used it much other than me ringing the speaking clock, in th ose days there was no one much  to ring ....

[RUSTYME]

OMG Sandy ! Ever watched the film 10 Rillington Place ?
Check the pantry fast !

[mcginty]

I read a book once about a couple in Wales, who lived self sufficent ,this was back in the 70s.
When Maggie Thatcher came into power, this was no longer possible.

[MAK]

I guess the design of the rural house that allows smallholders to live in basic comfort and is suited to living off the land has evolved over years. Or in our area  by chance someone got the design right 100 years ago.
Our old house is so typical of the area.
Most are  north and south facing with an attached barn and attached piggery.
All have cellars.
 On the north west side of the house we have a walk in larder - its outside walls never really feel the sun and it is essentially a large walk in fridge.
The fire and only chimney is on the end of the house with an outside breadoven facility. I guess this allowed neighbours to share the cost and drudge of lighting a summer fire rather than everyone do the same. "your turn on Friday" kind of thing.
To get upstairs there was a ladder from the barn to the first floor that was converted into 2 bedrooms.
The attic area was the granary complete with mill ( grinding stones weigh a tonne !!
We all have cellars ( it's actually warmer in our cellar than it is outside but still cold. Spuds ,carrot  and apples are stored by us and neighbours and we all have onions hanging outside under an outbuilding roof. The old ladies bottle veg and meat and every super market sells kit to do this.
In some respects life in this rural area has not changed much in 100 years - I'm sure that all our ( and neighbours) tools are that old.
I guess that I am saying that tried building designs that were suited to smallholding life were built en mass across France but at the same time the focus in the UK was low cost terrace housing in towns.

[Bionic]

MAK,
your place sounds lovely. Do you have any pictures?
Sally