What 5 things couldn’t our mothers have done without ?

FrankandEarnest

@Allira, yes! as well as her collection of Queenly headscarves, steel knitting needles of any size, in a tapestry knitting needle bag, defined my mum.

knitting needles
BeRo slender baking recipe book
Playtex girdle
Kleeneze polish mop for parquet floors
her pearls

My MIL (or GrandmotherIL) had one of those tapestry roll bags which I inherited and used until it was too disreputable to use!

I've still got my grandmother's hand-made knitting needles roll, with a ribbon tie.

Frozen peas
Me to look after my sister.
Gin
Resentment
Mrs. Beeton.

Headscarves
Embroidered cotton hankies
Germolene
Cream Puff powder compact
An oblong tin cash box with slots marked for gas and electricity, insurance, rates, birthdays and Christmas

Books
A warm house
Theatre and cinema
Entertaining family
Sunshine

Ponds vanishing cream
Rollers
Stockings
Cigarettes
Bingo
Me

Thanks for this lovely thread NanKate
Flowers and plants in the garden and inside the house.
The radio for the Afternoon Play, Womens Hour and music.
Sewing machine for our clothes, curtains, cushion covers, table cloths etc.
Knitting -she made beautiful Aran sweaters for my Dad while watching TV with the occasional "bugger" when she dropped a stitch
Lipstick.

kittylester

A big wooden spoon!

Yes to smack us with !

A thimble. And a needle to darn socks

Clothes pins to hang up the wash

A full-time job (war disabled husband)
A good bus service
Old Time Dancing classes twice a week.
Brisk walks
Tea parties for friends and extended family.

My dad
My brother and me
Head scarf
Curlers
Fridge

Evening in Paris perfume
Hair pins
Embroidered handkerchiefs
2 weeks in Bournemouth every summer
My Dad

^kittylester

A big wooden spoon!

Yes to smack us with !^

No, to stir up trouble amongst neighbours and, especially, the whole family.

Women's Club - mum and dad had moved to a new area to get decent housing. They didn't know anyone, a club was started which she joined, and made some wonderful friends.

Neighbours - all were in the same position (see above) and formed a close knit group providing support to each other including childcare when needed. Wonderful memories for me.

A yard long stick - used to threatening us kids but never used.

Her voice - she had a lovely singing voice and would often be heard singing along as she was doing her chores.

Work - she had a variety of different jobs when we were you young. She made strong friendships at each of them and gave her a sense of self worth and independence.

What a wonderful woman she was.

Her knitting, hands were never still, when she was sitting down.

June perfume

Her garden, she grew the most wonderful roses

My Dad and me

Her shopping trolley for the weekly wander to the shops

Thanks CocoPops. All these items bring back such vivid memories. I cam smell the Germolene now 😝

As I have often said, my mother was an extremely competent housewife. They waited until they could afford a house before they had us (although I think they once said they had had trouble conceiving) so everything was in place when we came along.

She was an enthusiastic Girl Guide in her youth and had the privilege of going to a school which had its own house where the girls learnt to cook and keep house, serving meals for the teachers. She could cope with full mint the family at a camp site with only cold running water, two weeks on a boat, sailing to Holland and Belgium, and with a huge garden, where all our vegetables were grown.I

She had learned to change a baby on her lap so she had very few of the baby accessories that we had.

Her most useful items were a tiny book called "The gardening year" and her iron. She ironed everything except nylon tights. Yes, even socks, knickers and bras. She would never miss a minute of Wimbledon on the television, which she would watch whilst ironing with the curtains drawn on hot June afternoons.

She enjoyed a tin and tonic of an evening.

So:

Gin
Iron
Gardening book
Tennis on the telly
And seeings as we are supposed to list 5, perhaps I would add the Archers on the radio, or a good murder mystery for bedtime reading.

Tearing up now...😥

Her curlers. (Until her arms could no longer reach up and round enough - much hilarity when she spent all evening doing her hair and realised she'd stuck them all in her cardigan)

Her garden. It was a love/hate relationship, really, but I always think of her, brown as a Berry, kneeling at the edge of the beds, weeding.

The radio. It was always on - Women's hour, Listen with Mother, and Terry Wogan.

The iron - another who ironed towels, flannels, everything.

Spin Dryer- Mum only "converted" to using a washing machine towards the end of her life, before then she used a bucket to boil the whites in Fairy Snow, and her trusty spinner.

Not sure how many I've had, but I have to include her car.
She always said it made such a huge difference to her life.

It was a bright yellow Escort, with squeaky breaks you could hear from about 5 miles away! (Just time to sweep around, throwing things in cupboards, so you didn't get told off.

Books
Open fire
Friends
Sherry
And my DD and me, as the only child!

Me. As I helped her the others didn’t. My dad . Her pets twin tub. Glasses

Basildon Bond writing paper.
A book of postage stamps
Cash purse near the back door for tradesmen
Launderette down the road
Hymn book

My mother loved her twin tub and her electric oven, she did eventually get an automatic washing machine but always missed the twin tub.
She also loved central heating, having grown up in an era when open fires and hot water bottles were her only heating. We moved to a house with central heating when I was 8 and never looked back, though she did still love to fiddle with her thermostat as she was pretty frugal,

And in later years she loved her heated rollers, so much easier than sleeping in rollers and a hairnet.

Sewing machine
TV/radio
Landline phone
Gas Fire
Her ‘handbag’