Mrs Wilson

How painful sparklefizz. Poor woman and poor little boy.

All Wilson's books were written by 1940.

Crumbs! His Wikipedia entry is very revealing!!

I think it's marvellous that TV production companies take such care with the sets and costumes but I wish the authors would be more careful to make the language more suitable to the era. Our heroine says in the 1940s when out at a restaurant that she is 'going to the bathroom'. I think this is still an Americanism - why use it?

What should she have said?

Lavatory or toilet

Would a young girl not be a bit shy about saying where she was going? She was going to mop up the spillage on her dress rather than 'spend a penny' as my grandmother would say rather than bluntly announcing a trip to the lavatory.

Maybe so, but she still wouldn’t have said “bathroom” this side of the Atlantic

I agree jane about possible reticence back then so she might have used the spend a penny phrase. I’m trying to recall what I used to say.... probably lavatory. Not sure where “the little girls’ room” comes from but I’ve never used that!

I wish the authors would be more careful to make the language more suitable to the era.

I agree vintage

Sloppy scriptwriters tend to use words and phrases of today in period pieces. OH and I have remarked on just this over the last few months. It makes you wonder if they have a decent command of the language, or knowledge of times past.

She would probably said, "If you'll excuse me, I need to powder my nose", or words to that effect, she certainly would not have used the word bathroom!

vintage 1950 Totally agree with you. I have noticed mistakes in "Victoria" (can't remember what it was but I was seething at the time - think Albert said something like "It looks great") and there have been many others in historical or semi-historical dramas. Don't they have someone like a proof-reader to check up on these errors? Or is that role taken by an 18 year old who thinks people have always said "Brilliant!" ?

I agree. The going to the bathroom remark jarred with me too. She probably have only said that she had to wash the stain. No need to say where she was going.

Going to the loo was always referred to as going to the lavatory or spending a penny.

"I am going to the cloakroom" might have also been more in keeping

Ib 196l we had a feature wall in the dining room in teal. It was called peacock blue in those days. I remember my mother being very proud of her modern dining room furnished with G plan teak.

Back in the early sixties, it depended how well you knew someone. A first dinner date, you tried to make sure that you excused yourself before the meal, and if necessary afterwards. Most young men would tactfully know perfectly well that you were off to the loo, as you did with them. Once you knew someone better you just said ' need the ladies' or whatever! I never found it to be an issue, but I wouldn't have said bathroom as that indicated having a bath!!!! Maybe cloakroom in the early days?!

I remember a great aunt asking me if I'd 'like to see the bathroom'. That would have been mid 50s!

Well did you all enjoy it
Nice to see all the children / grandchildren got on, he only made boys didn’t he ?

Yes the final episode was good. Obviously they'd been living off the money she inherited from her mum together with her secretarial work. Her mum was right all along. Very sad for her.
Glad the families all got together in the end. Gladys's son seemed like a very nice man.

I need to watch it again as I got a phone call in the middle of it so missed some of the intrigue, loved that they brought all his families together in the end.

As my gran would have said, 'What a bounder'!

Errors aside, it was a fascinating story and interesting to see the extended family at the end.
Definitely a cad merlotgran.

I really enjoyed it. What an intriguing story.

I enjoyed it but he was a bounder. The younger generations seemed to have coped with the knowledge and are happy to meet up.
It was extremely difficult to get divorced in the 1940s so him producing the document so readily made me wonder.

kitty your comment about bathrooms made me smile. Hard to believe but in the 50s many people had to go out to the garden for a loo with only one tap often a cold, in the kitchen scullery. I remember it well. No wonder they were proud to show off their nice new bathroom.