Categories: uncategorized
Date: 13 February 2005 18:50:19
Ok, so I don't normally inhabit the world of launderettes anymore. However, since I moved I have been temporarily without washing machine and so I have been back to the wonderful world of the great British launderette.
After finally sorting my life out so that I could get to one, (having tried and failed when I found out all the local ones closed at 5:00 pm), I discovered that a launderette is not always that wonderful centre of life which you expect it to be. I was told at launderette 1. they only do service washes now, (this having previously been my local friendly launderette, before (a) I got a washing machine and (b) the owners of it retired). I was not impressed, but last week had to get the clothes clean so just went along with it.
This weekend I was able to visit launderette 2. It was a tad further to walk, (but the exercise probably did me good). This was everything a launderette should be (& Eastenders makes it look like - although how come nobody in Walford seems to own their own washing machine???). The service was good, the man running it was friendly and appeared to know all his regular customers names and they shared small bits of their lives in the way that you do. Although I had my head in a book (as is my custom in a launderette - they're brilliant places for having about an hour where you can focus without much else to do) I managed to pick up a few details about the lives of the man running it and the regulars and signed the petition to keep the local school open. Although they didn't stay open quite late enough for me they did open earlier than launderette 1.
Whilst I will be v. happy when my washing machine is all sorted and so I can save the time and money going to the launderette takes up I will kind of miss it.