My most controversial post to date?

It’s about the washing.

I listen to a lot of podcasts about politics. In a recent one where Tim Miller (The Bulwark) was interviewing Alistair Campbell (The Rest is Politics) about the Iran war, they got into a argument/tease about where was better to live: Europe or America. Alistair was arguing strongly for the beauties of European cities and civilisation, which prompted Tim to say the UK had terrible food (he’d just been to an Oasis concert in Manchester) and that we ‘still hang out our clothes’.

Brakes screeched in my head.

Let’s quickly get rid of the first point. OK, you can buy a bad meal in a venue concession but there’s so much great food to be had in the UK now - it’s so different from the 1970s image that Americans seem to have.

But that’s not my beef, so to speak. It’s the hanging out of the clothes.

First, lots of British people have tumble dryers - about half of households. Many have them, and don’t always run them, especially in summer. I could have one, but I choose not to. There are two reasons:

1. Environment - it seems a needless guzzler when other methods are available. They use up to 5 KWh a cycle, costing up to £1.50 a go. Solar drying on a line: 0. Hey, Americans with lots of sunshine, maybe you’re missing out?

2. Hanging out clothes is one of my happy places. I find it really creative - the smell of freshly washed clothes, the naturalness of it all, doing a task where you can hear the birds and the church bells - I just love it. It links me back to all the generations of people who have been line drying clothes for centuries. I have a scene in The Wordsworth Key all about the wash tub - the community it built for women. We now do our washing alone now (unless you go to a community laundrette) but it still connects. You can tell a lot from what people have on their line, the ages and stages of life - from the sweet baby clothes to the work shirts etc. It is a great clue to character. And you’d swap this for a characterless white box that produces lint and adds to your bills?

   

What about winter - and rain? I’m imagining my American reader asking. Winter - I’m fortunate to have plenty of space for drying inside. That’s when some folk will use their dryer if they are space-poor. As for rain - there’s this thing called a weather app…

So, as this is my Substack for surviving and thriving in publishing, I’d say hanging out the washing hits both targets. It keeps bills down (surviving) and it sends me to my happy place creatively as I ponder my next scene while doing a chore I enjoy.

I’ve got some washing I need to get in. See you later! Perhaps you’d like to tell me about your favourite creative household chores?