Probably a lot older than many of the contributors on here, as a child of about 8, we lived in a house where there was a range in the kitchen, which besides various ovens had a long steel type rail right along, on which the tea towel and hand towel usually were kept. No central heating then, and ice ferns on the inside of the windows too especially upstairs. So we were allowed to get washed and then come down in our dressing gowns to eat our breakfast while our underclothes were put on the rail to warm and we dressed after breakfast, cleaned our teeth and went to school - about 3/4 mile walk, Mum had been doing the ironing the afternoon before and said put all the other things on and I will get the clean knickers from the airing cupboard. I was the eldest and was in charge of my sister on the way to school and had to check she was in the proper classroom and that we were not late. We set off to school and after a little while I realized that I had no pants on!! Torn between having no knickers and the possibility of being late for school and making my sister late, I decided I just had to keep going. We had a great junior school and the patterns of the days were not always 100% the same , so spent the whole day hoping that we were not told to do gym - which in those days meant stripping down to your vest and pants! I was thankful to get home safe and sound and never letting anyone outside know about it but of course within our family it became a definite family story never to be forgotten!1