Mel and Shell by Julia Lawrinson

Author:Julia Lawrinson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Fremantle Press
Published: 2021-11-15T00:00:00+00:00

Things that would surprise you: washing machines

Okay, it was Mum who suggested that. I think it’s boring but she says you’d be surprised.

This is because when my Nanna was my age, they had to boil water in a big pot called a copper and cook the clothes, especially men’s workclothes. Then they had to haul them out of the copper with a big paddle, because the clothes were hot and wet and heavy, and then they scrubbed them on a washboard (we have one in the shed so I know what they look like – they are a rectangle of corrugated tin in a wooden frame), and THEN they had to heat up more water in the copper and rinse the clothes. After that they had to squeeze out all the water and hang them out. This is probably what you had to do as well, Mum said.

Now, all Mum has to do is put the washing in a big white machine, put detergent in, turn the knob to ‘whites’ or ‘coloureds’ or ‘woollen’, then water rushes into the machine and churns the clothes around and around, then drains the dirty water out again. That happens a few times and when it’s done Mum takes the washing out to the clothesline (which I love swinging on, but I’m not supposed to now I’m nearly ten) and pegs out all the clothes until they are dry.

I love smelling the clothes when they come off the line: they smell like sunshine and dry grass mixed together. It’s the best smell in the world, except maybe the smell of the ground before rain, or railway tracks on a summer’s day. I also really like the smell of diesel from buses when we go Christmas shopping in town but Mum says that’s not healthy.

Mum still complains about doing the washing, but if she ever says it in front of Nanna, or if I ever complain about having to walk to the deli or anything, Nanna snorts and says, ‘You young people, you don’t know you’re alive.’

What do you think, Mary? Is a washing machine amazing to you? Or are you like Nanna, and think nobody these days should complain about anything, because of how hard it was for you?

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