Memories

Due to a burst water main between here and Ely, the whole village has been without water all day. You do not realise how many times you turn a tap on during the day until there is nothing coming out of it, do you? I managed to just fill the kettle before the dribble in the pipes ran out and I collected 4 pints more when I went into Ely but that was all. I do, however, have a water butt in the garden.
Which is where the memories come in - when I was a little girl I used to go and stay with my aunt in the country. She had just one tap with mains water in the kitchen which was only used for drinking, there was a pump at the sink too which drew water from the well. The toilet was in a hut out in the yard and had neither plumbing nor power but a bucket of water by the door which had to be used to 'flush' the toilet and then refilled from a rainwater tank in the yard (and woe betide anyone who left the bucket empty!)
So now, nearly 70 years later, I have a bucket of rainwater beside my toilet, I have just boiled rainwater to wash up, have a wash (and isn't it lovely and soft, too) and fill the dogs bowls.
We were promised water would be restored by 2pm then 6pm, then 9pm, 11pm - it is now gone midnight and the taps are still dry!