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Archiver > WARBRIDES > 2007-01 > 1168981445


From: "joan reichardt" <>
Subject: Re: [WARBRIDES] Tights in winter
Date: Tue, 16 Jan 2007 13:04:05 -0800
References: <BAY119-F342DF60E934D014257ECFBAB50@phx.gbl><007101c739a0$89c35920$6400a8c0@home48683c78a2>


Hi, Lynn, So did I - grow up in Richmond, I mean!!! Where did she live and
where did she go to school. I lived on Manor Road, just off Sheen Road, and
went to Richmond County School for Girls. Joan
----- Original Message -----
From: "Lynne FitzGerald" <>
To: <>
Sent: Tuesday, January 16, 2007 11:00 AM
Subject: Re: [WARBRIDES] Tights in winter


>
> Hello All,
> Joan,
> You have described what my poor mother put up with. She ended up in
> northern New Brunswick very near the Gaspe coast. Wonderful hot summers
> but
> the winters were awful. I laughed out loud when you talked about the
> frozen
> washing. We were always cracking the sheets when we brought them in off
> the
> line. Poor mum. She grew up in Richmond, Surrey.
> Lynne
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Melynda Jarratt" <>
> To: <>
> Sent: Monday, January 15, 2007 5:51 PM
> Subject: Re: [WARBRIDES] Tights in winter
>
>
>> Joan that was hilarious - the tights episode brings back memories for me
>> too
>> - ones I'd rather forget!!!
>>
>>
>>>From: "joan reichardt" <>
>>>Reply-To:
>>>To: <>
>>>Subject: Re: [WARBRIDES] WARBRIDES Digest, Vol 2, Issue 11
>>>Date: Thu, 11 Jan 2007 15:26:03 -0800
>>>
>>>Hi, Michelle, The weather is no screaming hell here either!! In the
>>>Kootenays we are used to vast quantiries of heavy snow, followed by warm
>>>up,
>>>followed by rain, followed by freeze up that turns everything into a
>>>skating
>>>rink, but it has been pretty normal for us, unlike those fragile
>>>creatures
>>>(Kathy included) who live in Victoria.
>>>My husband had tried to explain to me how cold it was in Saskatchewan but
>>>it
>>>is hard to put into words what 50 below feels like, so I hadn't a clue.
>>>I
>>>was well kitted out, with fur coat etc. but still went out wearing a
>>>stylish
>>>hat instead of a warm scarf or woolly toque because it looked sunny and
>>>bright. I froze my nose walking to the bus the first winter, and I can
>>>still remember the agony as chilled feet and fingers returned to normal.
>>>I
>>>found the cold so restricting in terms of what I could or could not do.
>>>Going out with small kids was impossible and I can remember dragging our
>>>first child, bundled up beyond recognition, on a sleigh, going to my
>>>sister
>>>in laws to play cards!! With more than one child, and still no car, that
>>>ceased to be an option. Even when we did aquire a car the cold weather
>>>meant we had to plug it in overnight, we had 'square' wheels and dead
>>>batteries if we left it parked too long and copious piles of blankets
>>>were
>>>a
>>>fact of winter travel anywhere. My oldest son was born on December 31st
>>>1949 and the thermometer never got above about 20 below all through
>>>January - and this was the old farenheit scale!!
>>>Two memories come to mind: the first winter we were living with the
>>>in-laws
>>>and although their house had indoor plumbing there were some across the
>>>alley that did not. I was gazing out the kitchen window one bitterly
>>>cold
>>>day when I saw a horse drawn wagon coming along the alley. It stopped by
>>>what I now knew to be an outside toilet, the driver got down, lifted up
>>>the
>>>flap and proceeded to use a PICK to dislodge the contents - when people
>>>talk
>>>about s--- flying I know what they mean! The second event was many years
>>>later, after the invention of leotards (heavy weight tights). I had to
>>>go
>>>downtown to do a number of errands and it was very, very cold, and of
>>>course, the wind was blowing, so I borrowed a pair belonging to one of my
>>>daughters. They were a little small but I hauled them up as best I
>>>could,
>>>put on all my winter gear, including long fur coat, high boots and off I
>>>went. By the time I was walking back from City Hall to get my bus home
>>>said
>>>tights were rapidly working their way down, and the crotch had reached my
>>>knees. I crossed the road to the bus stop like a demented penguin,
>>>barely
>>>able to put one foot in front of the other as my knees were tightly bound
>>>to
>>>each other. In the privacy of my seat on the bus I managed to hoist them
>>>up
>>>enough to make it home, but it was still not a pretty sight!!
>>>Keeping the house warm was a challenge, especially in the days of coal
>>>and
>>>wood furnaces. The kids all stayed in bed while dear old dad ventured
>>>down
>>>the basement and stoked up the temperamental octopus-like monstrosity
>>>that
>>>kept us warm. What a joy it was when we got natural gas!! And the frost
>>>laden windows were another one of our winter hazards, as well as frozen
>>>pipes, but I truly think the wind was the worst! That icy blast that
>>>took
>>>your breath away, and those little frozen granules of snow that bit into
>>>your skin, oh yes, I remember it well!! Thanks, Michelle, it was indeed
>>>a
>>>shock coming from the south of England where we hardly ever saw snow or
>>>freezing temperatures for more than a day or so to a winter that lasted
>>>for
>>>onths on end. Joan
>>>ps Should I mention the frozen washing (which we felt duty bound to hang
>>>out
>>>on the line) and the time I snapped one leg off my husband's long johns
>>>as
>>>I
>>>came in the back door?
>>>----- Original Message -----
>>>From: "Michelle" <>
>>>To: <>
>>>Sent: Wednesday, January 10, 2007 4:01 PM
>>>Subject: Re: [WARBRIDES] WARBRIDES Digest, Vol 2, Issue 11
>>>
>>
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