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Original poster

You know when we had stand pipes in 1976?......

67 replies

Miriam2 · 18/05/2006 08:59

Can anyone remember how it worked? They are threatened round here for later in the summer and I saw a man checking the waterboard manhole covers yesterday...Was the water only on for a few hours a day or not at all on some days? I seem to remember us having a bath permanently full of water..
I am (ahem) old enough theoretically to remember but obviously too preoccupied with boys and exams to have given it any importance!

OP posts:
puff · 18/05/2006 09:02

We just stood in queues in the road to get water. Mum used to send me to fill up buckets. You could only get as much as you could reasonably carry IIRC, ie, no bringing a van and loading loads of carry cans etc.

PinkKerPlink · 18/05/2006 09:03

they are on about doing it here aswell :(

are you still allowed to buy evian?

Original poster
Miriam2 · 18/05/2006 09:04

So elderly people would need help? It must have off for quite long periods then..

OP posts:
Original poster
Miriam2 · 18/05/2006 09:05

We've been buying cheapo still water for a while now and storing it. Dh reckons there'll be a rush

OP posts:
Daisymae · 18/05/2006 09:11

I remember it really well as DD was born in late May, and when I was visiting my parents in South Wales the water was off for long stretches of the day.
It was a nightmare with all those terry nappies to wash!!
It was so hot that DD only wore a vest or just a nappy, no chance to show off all those lovely dresses!!!.

(Though I do remember causing a riot by putting a navy and red stripey sundress on her, 'White for babies, owa Daisy!!)Grin

cod · 18/05/2006 09:13

i al l,aughing at all the old photos
i rememerba lt he clothes as quite normal in my menory but god it looks antiquated.

we wer ein NE scotland - loads of water there :(

lorina · 18/05/2006 09:23

It was blisteringly hot for weeks in 1976. I was about 9 and living in a village in the cotswolds. I can remember the roads melting and sticking to our sandals. We never had standpipes ,our water stayed on but I saw it all on the news. They put the fear of God into us about wasting water. I have NEVER left a tap running whilst cleaning my teeth ! I seem to recall lots of people filling up their baths with cold water and storing it that way.
Dont worry about it until it happens because it might well not

wannaBe1974 · 18/05/2006 12:13

do not get me started on this because it makes me mad. it's just rediculous how they can declare a droubt when actually, we don't have so much a water shortage as incompetent water companies who lose 800 million gallons of water a day - absolutely ludicress.

I grew up in Africa, where they do have actual droubt, where it doesn'train sometimes for years at a time, that is real droubt, if they utilised the water in this country properly there wouldn't be a problem.

rant over now

Caligula · 18/05/2006 12:20

Agree Wannabe. It would also help if they hadn't sold off reservoirs for unaffordable housing.

nannyme · 18/05/2006 12:21

I have heard that in Kent we are definitely getting stand pipes this summer - just a case of when.

Dreading it. Apparently 70 per cent of wastage is through victorian pipes that leak!

Marvellous.

Bozza · 18/05/2006 12:25

I have just started to feel some sympathy for my Mum. My sister was born in October 1976, I was 3 and my other sister was 2 in the august. Can you imagine being pregnant with a 3yo and a 1yo in that heat?

Sure it won't affect us here in Yorkshire will it? I was seriously worried about driving my car through deep standing water on the way to work this morning.

SaintGeorge · 18/05/2006 12:28

Yorkshire Water reserves are at 90% so no restrictions planned.

JanH · 18/05/2006 12:30

Only if those darned Southerners set up a stealthy pipeline and steal all our lovely rain, Bozza.

LIZS · 18/05/2006 12:31

We had an extended holiday on a farm in Devon and reopened the old well.

charliecat · 18/05/2006 12:32

I live in Kent and theres been a man outside with a spray can marking the drainy thing. Looks like the q will be outside my house thenShock

DumbledoresGirl · 18/05/2006 12:34

We used to empty our bath water into the water butts my parents had in the garden so my mother (a keen gardener) could water her plants. Oh and also, kept a bucket of bath water by the loo to flush it with.

Dear Lord, I hope we don't go back to doing that. I don't remember standpipes where we were though.

LillyPink · 18/05/2006 12:35

where are they propsing this for ? What areas?

SaintGeorge · 18/05/2006 12:36

I hope that there aren't swarms of ladybirds like in '76.

Bloody awful walking down the street with your feet making horrible crunching noises. Urghhh!

calicopie · 18/05/2006 12:37

I can remember having a line drawn in the bath as we weren't allowed more than 3 inches of water.

Can anyone remember the bread strike too, or am I imagining that?

KTeePee · 18/05/2006 12:37

Bozzo, my sister was born in August 1976 - I vaguely remember my mum being very hot (those lovely crimplene smocks can't have helped!)

The day my sis was born my dad had taken the rest of us to the beach, only found out we had a new sis when he phoned the hospital when we got back - obviously these were the days when men didn't attend the birth, but he wasn't even waiting outside!

sandyballs · 18/05/2006 12:37

I agree wannabe1974, this makes me a bit mad too.
And if they keep on building and building in the SE, without increasing the utilities, it's only going to get worse.

Ledodgyherring · 18/05/2006 12:37

I was born in july 1976 with the heatwave and the ladybird plague be a bit weird if it all happens again exactly 30 years later.

JanH · 18/05/2006 12:38

\link{http://www.guardian.co.uk/britain/article/0,,1776494,00.html\Interesting piece about the 76 drought} from yesterday's Guardian.

It's for most of the SE, LP. I saw a map somewhere yesterday with the water companies on, will see if I can find it.

JanH · 18/05/2006 12:40

\link{http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4985976.stm\BBC piece about water restrictions} with map. (It's not the one I saw but it'll do!)

SaintGeorge · 18/05/2006 12:41

calicopie - a few bread strikes in the '70s but I think the longest one was a bit later, '78 maybe.