How lucky we are to be able to turn on the tap in our houses and have pure clean water come gushing out. It wasn’t that long ago that many people did not have a source of water in their homes; my mum lived as a child in a cottage where the water was from a pump in the paved area outside the back door. We expect running water to drink, to cook with, to wash ourselves and our clothes and to flush our lavatories. In Axbridge a small town near here, there are the town wells still visible, and although there is a pleasant image conjured of people , mostly women and children I guess, gathering with their pails and jugs to collect their water, chatting and gossiping together, imagine what it was like on a miserable rainy day, or when the water had frozen, or if you needed some when it was dark or at night. We really are so lucky.
Lois Elsden 