B136: Water, water everywhere but ...

​This weekend 50 years ago, my family and I were getting ready for a life-changing move.  I was two months shy of my 9th birthday.  Our house in Mass Road had been earmarked for demolition by the Council and we had been rehoused in St. Mollerans….the bit on the Dungarvan Road renamed Hill View to make things easier for delivermen  The old houses, you see, on Mass Road had no running water or sanitation. None at all.  Most of our former neighbours had been rehoused at that stage so we were one of the last few remaining. 

In 1974, having no water was becoming rarer in Ireland.  My family had been on the housing list since my parents’ marriage in 1953 but for several reasons (mainly because we only were two children) other larger families got priority.  My parents also weren’t ones to make a fuss….they just got on with things…..making the home as warm and comfortable as they could.  So, I guess the Council didn’t see an urgency!
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So how did we manage? Two answers….one, my amazing, hardworking mam Peggy….and two, our amazing, kind, generous neighbours.   I say Peggy, as my dad Mickey, was out of the house for most of the day working in Ferrersflex …. so the real coping was done by Peggy.   You see, our neighbours across the road in O’Hickey Place had mains water and toilets and by 1974 many also had bathroom extensions.  So, twice-a-day Peggy hauled a white enamel bucket of water across the road having filled it in our neighbour Biddy Sheehan’s scullery sink.  Biddy was a wonderful neighbour with a heart of gold and a hearty laugh to go with it.  We also got buckets of water from my Aunty Allie who lived right next door to Biddy.  I loved my Aunty Allie…..she was always cooking something delicious.

Biddy Sheehan 1913-2002 - our lovely neighbour

As a child, I loved those trips with Peggy back and forth across the road.  Biddy had a budgie called Joey that was always up to something.  In Allie’s I got to play with my first cousins while waiting for the bucket to fill.  We played house, shop and school in Uncle Ned’s two sheds and the poor man was forever tidying them up after us.  Allie and Peggy had the chats and the laughs.  As I got older, I too learnt to carry the bucket for Peggy …. without spilling any…or sloshing it on my white knee-socks.
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The water from that white enamel bucket with the wooden handle was used every morning to fill the kettle to be boiled on the gas cooker for the morning tea.  It was kept in a little press under the loft stairs that my father Mickey had built with tea chest ply wood.  It stayed deliciously cool throughout the day as we dipped our mugs into it for a drink.  Peggy also filled saucepans from that bucket to boil spuds, cabbage and bacon….or whatever else needed cooking with water.  For several years as young girls, my younger aunts Joan and Teresa thought we had a well in that little press!! 😊

My beautiful Aunty Allie (1927-2007) with her husband Ned Walsh (1915-1989)

For washing ourselves, we used heated rainwater, harvested by Mickey in a large covered blue barrel.  The barrel was filled from a chute draining from our slate roof and kept in the yard to the left of the backdoor.   That barrel was kept spotless by Peggy.  Martin and I were washed in front of the fireplace with that water in a large tin bathtub that hung up in the shed.  But mostly we “topped and tailed” daily from a red plastic basin.  Peggy was most particular about our hair and we always used nice shampoo.  I remember her treating me to “Johnson's No More Tangles” shampoo as I wore my hair to my waist and tangles were the bane of my life.
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My favourite character on Sesame Street was Ernie.  Ernie loved having bubble baths with his rubber duckey.  I remember thinking “when I grow up, I’ll always have a bathroom with a rubber ducky, just like Ernie”.  And that is the reason I love rubber duckies and keep one (or two or more) in my bathroom….even though I currently have no bath having replaced it with a shower after my stroke. 😊

My obsession with rubber duckies!!

The clean barrel water was also used by Peggy for washing our clothes by hand also in a basin or plastic bucket.  I can still see her down on her knees with the basin and a box of her trusty Ariel (never Daz or Omo!). Our clothes and ourselves were always spotless.  Thanks to Peggy’s scrubbing on a washboard and wringing and rinsing!  I don’t think anyone at school ever guessed we had no water! 

As for the water itself, none ever went to waste.  The used washing water was also used to wash the lino on the floor every day and then flung down to clean the drains outside.  We were living “Reuse and Recycle” long, long before it became fashionable out of necessity.
For toileting we used a dry toilet in the shed and as we got older, we used the toilet at school or across the road in O’Hickey Place at Biddy’s or Allie's.  I think, looking back, that is what caused Peggy most embarrassment …. having to direct any visitors or my playmates across the road to a neighbour if they needed the loo.  Moving to Hill View was a new lease of life for Peggy.  I have never forgotten how important water is.

My Brother & I in the back yard of Mass Road in early 1966

So, it's completely unfathomable that in 2024, 50 years after our move, that more than 2 billion people in the world still lack access to safe drinking water.  It must be said that compared to them we were steeped as we actually only had to cross the road to a tap for clean, safe water and access to a toilet if needs be.  Too many people risk their lives and the lives of their children having nothing but contaminated water. This brings all sorts of health risks, including waterborne diseases.  The United Nations says water challenges like scarcity, pollution and degraded water ecosystems are partly to blame. Water access, sanitation and hygiene go hand in hand.  When communities do not have all three, the consequences can be dire. They may miss school, succumb to waterborne disease or even be at risk of death.
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The challenges with climate change and water access have a connection.  Climate change involves long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns.  On one hand, climate change can worsen water challenges. About half of the world’s population experiences water scarcity and drought for at least part of the year. On the other hand, practices that improve water quality and availability can help build climate resiliency. Providing access to water supply and sanitation systems that can withstand climate impacts could save the lives of 360,000 infants per year, according to the UN.

My First Communion May 1973 when I lived in Mass Road

​One of the big issues, as I see it is the disproportionate impact this has on little girls.  They are the ones often tasked with fetching water.  Too often this has a detrimental impact on their education as they miss school or are prone to related accidents.  For rural families, of course water is a complete necessity if they are to grow food.  Farming efficiency is improved no end if the farmer no longer needs to walk long distances for clean water.

For several years, I have supported WaterAid (https://www.wateraid.org/ )as a charity and the work that they do in bringing clean water and toilets to communities worldwide while educating on hygiene.  WaterAid is an international non-governmental organization. It was set up in 1981 as a response to the UN International Drinking Water decade (1981–1990).  WaterAid works in partnership with local organisations in 34 countries in Africa, Asia, Central America and the Pacific region to help poor communities establish sustainable water supplies and toilets, close to home, and to promote safe hygiene practices.

It also works to influence government water and sanitation policies to serve the interests of vulnerable people and to ensure water and sanitation are prioritised in poverty reduction plans. As a matter of policy, WaterAid supports public ownership and control of water supplies but does not take a particular view regarding public, community or private participation in service provision.
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So, I gladly pay the €15 per month for a great cause to honour Peggy.  Each time I open that receipt I think of her and Biddy and Allie XX ❤️
 

My WaterAid Receipt for July 2024

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Bucket List Items Ticked Off in the above Blog post 136
​Number 44 - Giving Back - Support 8 Favourite Charities

• WaterAid

​Other Blog Posts
Blog 11 - Sydney, Australia
Blog 12 - Hong Kong, China
Blog 17 - Beijing, Xi'an & Shanghai, China
Blog 19 - California, USA
Blog 27 - Scotland
Blog 28 - Barbados
Blog 29 - Canada

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