Sorry to mention female underwear, but it seems to have been a feature of this week.
First my sister raised the subject.
She also raised the subject of my comments on Mum’s soup. Just to clarify matters – she was a good cook, and cooked a wide variety of what were seen as adventurous food in the 1970s. Her soup also tasted good. It was just that it didn’t look good.
Anyway, back to brassieres. It seems that they can be quite important to women in Africa, because women with underwear are not only more comfortable but are seen as more likely to have male family members, which frees them from the threat of attack.
You’d think they had enough problems with war, famine and bad water.
There are several charities shipping underwear to Africa, which can include “gently worn” bras. This is one of them.
I have all this on the authority of my sister – please don’t think I sit here thinking about underwear.
It became more of a feature when Julia asked me if I could pick up some bras while I was shopping. Being a well-trained husband I said I would. After all, how difficult can it be?
When is was in my early 20s I once went into Marks & Spencers to buy an underslip as a present. I’m still scarred by the memory. I mean, first you feel like you’re being regarded as a pervert. Then you go snow blind at the amount of nylon. There is only so much underwear you can see before you start staring around in panic. I was helped out by one of the assistants. It was probably not the first time she’d had to help out.
However, I’m older and wiser now, and more a man of the world. I had the size written on a piece of paper, I have done lots of laundry, there was nothing that could go wrong.
Well, apart from some women staring at me like I shouldn’t be there. I confess I panicked.
Next week I will give Julia a lift to the shop and she will buy her own.
Yes, I know many of you will thinking of this clip.
You get into some interesting predicaments, Quercus! 🙂
I’m permanently confused by modern life…
My mother discovered when just married in 1956 that she was expected to buy my father’s underpants. His mother had always bought them for him in the past. My mother was highly embarrassed because she had never done anything like that before and at that time she had to go into a gentleman’s outfitters and had to speak to one of the gentlemen at the counter.
Thanks for the Father Ted clip!
It must have been worse in those days when you had to actually go into the shop and ask. 🙂
Precisely!
Mothers are surprisingly resilient. I’m trying to persuade Julia that I should give her a lift to ASDA. 🙂
My mother is extremely resilient!
🙂
Your sister raising the subject, and you giving Julia a lift – bras are deep in your psyche, Quercus. 🙂
They have, I confess, been a matter of great interest to me over the years, but in quantity I find them hypnotic, and scary.
Don’t we all 🙂
🙂
Poor Father Ted. How I wish he were still with us.
Yes, he was a talented man – it was a great shame.
Father Ted is new to me. I checked out the link.
Did it play – I thought of you when I posted it. 🙂
Wow – so good to know about yet another thing I take for granted. I had no idea. I will be donating to this cause for sure. Thanks for the info. Your story about shopping made me laugh.
Yes, we can get very complacent about our standards of living. I listened to a radio programme on sanitation in India, and the related problems for women, then ny sister told me about the underwear. It’s hard, from this country, to appreciate how hard everyday life is for people in some countries, particularly the women.
Nightmare.
Yep!