Adventures of an Inveterate Traveler
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The plumbing for the second story toilet and bathroom ran outside the building and froze about once every three years. The overriding topic with neighbors in the winter was “Well, did yours just freeze or did they burst?”, the latter being a somewhat disastrous affair. The small kitchen had a cast iron stove in the corner for both heat and cooking and consequently this was the most popular room in the house. The English toilets were a challenge to even the most expert. The bowl was six feet up in the air with the plunger chain hanging down. I truly believe the designers had a sense of humor because the toilet would only flush if one pulled the chain at a precise speed and to a precise depth. Strangely all the household inhabitants fathomed out the kinetics and from then on had no trouble, however if you went to a friend’s house or they came to yours then an unwitting person would leave the dining room conversation to use the toilet and after several minutes of clangs, half flushes and tank semi refill noises the embarrassed person would return having given up!! First floor living rooms had fireplaces where the heat went straight up the chimney. All fireplaces and stoves were heated by coal which caused the London fogs known as “pea soupers”. It is no exaggeration to say you could not see your hand if it were outstretched and the grit in the air burned ones eyes and could be tasted. I remember walking home from school feeling the walls or hedges going down the street and knowing our house had a brick pillar each side of the gate, a somewhat unusual configuration built by my father. The house facades were not visible under these conditions. The coal was delivered by a man covered in about an inch of caol dust who wheelbarrowed the coal through the small front garden round to the side of the house where it was dumped into a storage area, this in itself creating an environment resembling Dante’s Inferno. Subsequently the coal was brought into the house in a coalscuttle. The fire was built which inevitably would start very poorly and usually (this word is carefully chosen) a back draft would occur before any real heat was evident causing the smoke to back down the chimney and fill the room. It is little wonder London was obliterated
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About the Book
One of Peter Gandell’s earliest recollections involves the coronation of King George VI in 1937. The whole school assembled in the main hall to listen to his coronation speech, but at that age, the kids couldn’t comprehend the auspicious occasion. At night, he’d enjoy listening to the BBC broadcasts on his crystal set. Radios were expensive large devices driven by vacuum tubes. Most children would build devices whereby a thin stiff wire would locate a spot on a crystal, that in turn would resonate to the broadcast frequency through headphones. Good crystals were sought after and constantly bartered to get the best reception. Later, he was oblivious to the storm clouds gathering over Europe before England declared war on Germany in 1939. Knowing London would be a prime target, his parents shuttled him and his sister back and forth between London and Wales depending upon the severity of the bombing and the forecast for future enemy raids. Join the author as he looks back at growing up in London during a tumultuous time, his travels throughout the world, and advancements over several decades in Adventures of an Inveterate Traveler.
About the Author
Peter Gandell was born in a village in North Wales and grew up in London. He obtained an engineering degree with subsequent training in technical writing. He has lived and worked in three countries and travelled extensively.