The dreaded duvet

We use the natural air drier, the old fashioned clothes line, works well.
Very early days we had in the kitchen a clothes airer, some big rail type affair which hung from the celling. Had a pulley to raise and lower it.

In some parts of Indonesia they still use the very old method, stones by the river bed, have seen them in the upper country regions where lie is still very primitive in some respects.

Many years ago read a story which I was told is true.
It happened in some part of Africa,
The home owner had bought a washing machine, one of the new ones then with no lid.
The house boy had seen it work and thought that maybe his young brother could get a wash in it.
Story went that the young lad ended up with two broken legs.

I have a clothes line in the back garden but also an old fashioned clothes pulley at the top of our stairs as heat rises it is always warm there and the clothes dry overnight on any night of the year and it is free to use, only use the tumble dryer if it is raining and the pulley is full.

I sailed with BP for a few years in the 80s and rather than fitting an industrial type washing machine for officers and crew personnal gear they supplied the ships with twintubs, two for good gear and two for working gear they worked well and when they gave up the ghost and were unrepairable they were chucked over the side and a new one was obtained from the ships stores they were cheap to buy and were classed as a disposable item. On Indian and Chinese crew ships I used to give the cabin steward a six pack a week and he would wash and iron your clean gear, not boilersuits.

I went to sea when I was 21 and lived with my parents so on my first trip to sea I was instructed by the 3/E I was on watch with how to use the washing machine this was after a few days onboard when my clothes were starting to wiff a bit, I thought you just left the dirty clothes in the cabin and they would wash themselves just like at home.

#32 Ivan used to get his good go ashore gear out of the rag bag. I used to borrow the senior apprentices trousers even though he was 6 inches taller than me, which meant I had to start a new trend in fashion with 5 turn ups on each leg. Was invited on board the Circassia one of Anchor lines in Bombay for dinner one time and wondered why all the passengers were staring. Must be a good mate to loan you his trousers . JS

With a good pair of bracers you may have been able to pull them up a bit.
Might have been a bit rough going to the loo though.

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Originally Posted by j.sabourn

#32 Ivan used to get his good go ashore gear out of the rag bag. JS

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I was always trendy!

The name Duvet comes from Iceland.

It got the name from the duck like bird from which the feathers came from to fill it.
Not many people know that.

Here in Oz we call them Doonas.

#36 John, Interior Home Designer - Terence Conran, introduced feather duvets to the great British public in 1967. Did you not get one as a wedding present?:)

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Originally Posted by happy daze john in oz

The name Duvet comes from Iceland.

It got the name from the duck like bird from which the feathers came from to fill it.
Not many people know that.

Here in Oz we call them Doonas.

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Eider you know or you don't know

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Originally Posted by happy daze john in oz

Here in Oz we call them Doonas.

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Och! away wiv ye laddie, it was in Scotland the name originated as in 'doonas pull the covers off me'

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Originally Posted by happy daze john in oz

We use the natural air drier,

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Do that in the UK all you get is a natural rinse.

We used to have eiderdowns as youngsters, they covered the sheets instead of blankets, they were full of feathers. Now we have duvets, that's got to be French for the same kind of thing. It's just that they don't use feathers any more. Me and my brothers were always in bother for there being feathers all over the place. Nothing like a feather pillow though, for laying your head on, and duvets still can't beat Granddads greatcoat.