Don't throw the baby out; Yousay IN YOUR OPINION...

THE recent story by Dan O'Neill about Dinny the Docker (retired) (May 16) had me remembering that old saying: "Don't throw the baby out with the bath water!" Dinny the Docker (retired) had a "bath" only once a month, but his was pretty clean if you compare it to Victorian standards.

For you see in those days, people would have their YEARLY bath around the month of June, and by then they would be very "ripe", as the saying goes.

The tin bath would be brought in from outside. These were usually hung up on a rusty old nail on the backyard wall.

The head of the household, usually a man, would be first to have a dip. His missus would be next. Then the kids, one after another.

In those far-flung days, the large family was perfectly normal, so anything up to 15 kids was common. As there was no television in those days!

So by the time it was the baby's turn in the bath tub, the water was by then black!

So they had to be very careful not to "throw the baby out with the bath water" on to their roses.

As a genealogist myself, I have found June was also a popular month to get married. That was according to the many parish registers I've viewed over the last 30 years, researching my family history.

As I said, the people were ripe by then, and another popular thing the women took with them to the wedding was a small silver or gold case with a little scented sponge inside, so they could have a sly sniff of its contents, in order to cut down the aroma of the great unwashed.

Flowers at weddings also became fashionable in the Victorian age, which also provided some relief, as the smell of flowers was far more beneficial, too.

Another popular day to get married was Christmas Day, as that was the only day of the year the majority of the working class had off.

* Graham Williams Canton, Cardiff