Day 12 #100DaysOfOldDays

Most of us are familiar with the rubber hot water bottle that has been around since 1903. When I was a child I wouldn’t go to bed without mine in the winter months. We didn’t have central heating and our windows were single glazed. On frosty mornings I had to scrape the icy patterns on the window to see out.

I’m not sure when the rubber hot bottle came to Ireland, but up until at least the 40’s, these stoneware jars were used to keep the tootsies warm in bed. People wrapped a towel or blanket around the hot jar to protect it and to prevent burns.

Not everyone in a family had one though. Glass bottles filled with hot water were also used. And a common practice was to wrap the lid of the range, or a brick, in newspaper to use as a bedwarmer.