How poor were you?

Hair washing definitely not allowed either.

I remember one Sunday when I wanted to wash my hair. I was about 15. There was no shampoo in the house so I washed my hair in Omo. It came out quite well. I had to boil three kettles of water when I washed my hair and kept the kettles under the bathroom sink, big risk of burning toes so bare feet were a no no.

Sounds terrible, I used doc whites and was e mbarrased to ask a man in the shop. Nowadays I still can't discuss things like this with a man. Even today buying ten a for my mother I look around to see if a man is near. I used to hide a pad in my pocket of my school blazer so I did not have to poke in my bag in front of anyone. I used to make excuses such as having a cold when we went swimming.

Falconbird I'd forgotten how horrible it was to wash your hair over the sink. Ordinary life is much more comfortable now

Wonderful thread. Thank you all for taking me back as I sit in my centrally heated house.

I remember taking my mum for her weekly drive around the countryside just before she died and driving along a bit of new (for Norfolk) dual carriageway with electricity pylons running along both sides. I apologised for taking her that way through rubbish scenery and she said that she loved the pylons they meant freedom. Real freedom for women. Electricity had liberated women more than anything else. Even gas. It led to a long reminisce about my childhood and how things were just after the war. And she was right. Electricity did liberate women.

That and tampons!

And reliable contraception NfkDumplin

Sorry forgot the g

What's a g between friends. And yes, proper contraception.