Other soaps are available . . .

Visits to Grandad’s house in Arnside had their very unique aromas. . . There were several really, but the main ones were the smell of a particular brand of soap in the bathroom; ‘Imperial Leather’, other soaps are available. This smell permeated the bathroom. When we were children I can remember wondering; when we arrived to do our routine run around, to establish if all was the same as when we last left it; if the bar of pre-mentioned soap would be new, or the paper red, gold & black label would be about ready to fall off in amidst the soapy lather. Soapy lather was right; the Cumbrian soft water meant you didn’t really have to work the soap like at home in the hard water area of the West Midlands! Talking of water, it was quite a trick not to scald yourself with the exceptionally hot water. You could also ‘smell’ the heat in that bathroom; this coupled with the viciously hot towel rail made for a possibly perilous time as children, amidst the frequent “don’t touch that” and “run the cold water first”. If I so much as gain a whiff of that soap now, I’ll be back to Arnside in that bathroom . .