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Sue Armstrong's avatar

I too love baths and enjoyed your post a lot with its witty references (Just because we watched it last night, I think your lady in a bath might be Capucine in The Pink Panther). x

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Jane Brocket's avatar

You are right! Thanks for the correction. I did find photos of Ava Gardner in the bath and I was sure this was her.

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Helen T's avatar

Fabulous, Jane! Я тоже bath-loving сибаритка! (Couldn’t be bothered to figure out how to correctly make a Russian adjective out of bath-loving...) Another excellent start to my Sunday morning - спасибо большое!

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Sandy S's avatar

In an interview a few years ago, Nancy Pelosi revealed that she was fond of a good quality chocolate or two while taking a bath. Such a wise woman!

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Susan Hoyle's avatar

Wonderful! And I’m a shower-lover!

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Jean Andress's avatar

This is so interesting! I like a bath before bedtime, Dead Sea bath salts, a book and sometimes a nice cup of tea. I’ve just stayed with a friend and her bath took ages to fill, was a strange shape and I had great difficulty getting out of it. I nearly gave up!

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Sue Key's avatar

You are so right about flat ‘a’. Having a daughter who now lives in Bath, I have to keep reminding her there is no ‘r’ in Bath or bath.

Another delightful read on another foul Sunday. Thank you!

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Christine Jacob's avatar

Jane, I do love you ! Almost as much as a bath. A movie, a glass of Burgundy and time to enjoy. Voilà my perfect bath !

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Jane Brocket's avatar

Ooh, wouldn't that be wonderful? 'Pillowtalk' would be perfect with a glass your crémant!

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Sarah Harkness's avatar

Lovely piece. That aqua manda oil was terrible, anything you spilt it on was utterly ruined, but oh what a scent. Like one of those oranges studded with cloves, pomanders, they carried to ward off plague germs...

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Catherineap's avatar

Love this post--nothing is better for a cold than taking a hot bath at night while sipping on hot water with lemon juice, honey and whiskey! As another reader commented, the trend in the States is to get rid of the bathtub and replace it with a fancy shower. I've seen this touted in new apartments as a "European" bathroom. Some of the best bathtubs I've encountered have been in British hotels--especially those big tubs set into a wooden surround.

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Jennifer Buttery's avatar

Amusing, informative and pleasurable reading. Made me want to have a warm and enveloping soak very soon; with a book of course!

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Geraldine's avatar

Oh this really resonates! I longed for an Aqua Manda bath after seeing the ads in Diana, but we always had Avon in the pink bubble bottle. Love Bonnard and often envy the fact his Marthe was always painted as the young woman she was when they met.

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Jane Brocket's avatar

I adored Diana! That's bringing back memories...

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SB's avatar

Jane, Thank you! Not only is this post thoroughly enjoyable (I’m running a bath right now!) but I learned a new word. After very hard day at work my late mother would take a a bath and sometimes have my father deliver a gin & tonic! 😂🥰! The current fashion in architectural design, in the US anyway, is to have a ridiculously huge bathroom, an equally ridiculous huge shower and no bathtub, or if there is one it requires great skill to climb into it...much less to get out of it while wet! And while I’m thinking about safety ... those of us of a certain age have to be careful with bathtubs so I had hand rails installed. When I was injured last year I got a nice teak bench set right into the tub and it was perfect. But there’s nothing better than submerging in the water. Ok, sorry...gotta go, my bath is calling!

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Angela Knipe's avatar

most entertaining, thank you

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Catherine Steed's avatar

Your reference to Aqua Manda took me right back to my time at the College for the Distributive Trades where I studied Display Design in the early 1970s. We had to make endless practice window displays with empty Aqua Manda packaging. At least it was colourful.

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Matty's avatar

Most delicious bath of my life was in the student apartments at University of York after a week of tepid showers in a London hostel. The tub was long and deep enough to float in and hot water unending…. I soaked for hours….. why would anyone just shower when one has a daily opportunity to become a mermaid once again? Btw, just as with politics, ours is a divided house, but we make it work….. as long as I get my float in before the walls are drenched from his shower……

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Lin Tarrant's avatar

Blow the bath, I want tiles like that in my bathroom! And Aqua Manda, what a blast from the past. Great article although I am much happier with my shower thank you. x

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