This is the second of my blogs on The Daily Mail Ideal Home book 1949 - 50. The book’s contents are listed under four headings: House and Garden, Furnishing, Management and Leisure Hours. An article which is very relevant to me at the moment because my daughter and her family have just moved – this week in fact – is one headed ‘Removals without Pain’. Illustrated with drawings, it encourages homeowners to just leave it all to the removal company and recommends sitting in the garden and reading a book.
Clearly an experienced ‘mover’ the author, Roger Smithells, gives good advice, “...consider getting rid of at least half your possessions before the move.” He describes ditching 50% of your worldly goods as a “refreshing experience which will greatly simplify your move.” I am sure his advice is as good now as it was 50 years ago!
I was alarmed, however, by some of the items on the ‘to do’ list. “Check the voltage of your new electricity supply and the sizes of the electric plugs in the house so that any necessary changes can be made to your electrical apparatus.” I hadn’t realised that because there was a multitude of electrical supply companies in the UK at that time the voltage could be different in each area. I find that after the Second World War the electricity supply was nationalised and around the time of this book’s publication the national grid and all the power stations transferred to the British Electrical Authority, which later became the Central Electricity Generating Board. However, it wasn’t only electrics that called for excellent DIY skills, “Begin to take down curtains, light fittings and gas fixtures wherever possible ...”, and once done “.....all gas outlets should be plugged.” We would now look upon tampering with gas fittings as dangerous and not to be tackled by untrained members of the public.
And here is a final remark regarding a job that required no training at all but which is equally important when moving. “Arrange for a charwoman or handyman to be at your home with brooms, pails and other apparatus sufficient for cleaning up after the vans have left.” My father said that ‘in those days that was all the work some women could get’. It makes me feel very glad to be alive in these times!
We may not be employing charwomen any longer but we still need the excellent services of good removal companies to help us get all our belongings to a new home. And as Roger Smithells says, “Don’t fuss. Don’t interfere. Don’t try to teach the men their job”. Hmmm!
