Hot Water? That Would Be Grand.

My mum came to visit me and take me home for lunch on Saturday. She commented on what a lovely sun tan I had acquired considering the weather this year has not been very sunny. I jokingly told her it would wash off in the bath.

One of the nicest things about having friends and family living near by is the pity they take on you when you turn up, generally unannounced, looking dishevelled and in need of a good wash. I hate to fuel the stereotypical understanding that there is no toilet/shower/bath/hot water readily available to those of us who choose to live outside the norms of society and forgo brick built dwellings for steel boxed corridors as this is generally not the case... except for us. We have a toilet and a shower (thankyouverymuch) just no hot water (unless boiled by kettle on the stove/hob). We did once have this luxurious facility and I'm sure we will do again, one day. Our pesky little diesel water heater decided to work for the duration of the Cropredy Festival in 2006 and then died a slow and painful death. All attempts made to resussitate it have so far failed. So, when in need of a good scrub our kindly boating neighbours allow us the use of their showers (Thank you very much http://polgara98.blogspot.com/ aka Whitewater). And my parents, who live in Oxford, put the water on to heat when they see us pull up in their drive. So Saturday was a "wash day" and how glorious it was to lie and soak and splash about in a bath. I do love baths. It is amazing how much more dirt detaches itself from you in a bath than when having a general wash with a bowl of hot water boiled from the kettle...

I STILL have my tan so it turns out it was NOT dirt afterall. Though I am slighly fairer in colour post bath and hopefully smell a lot better too.