Feeling Crafty

craft·y  (krft)

adj. craft·i·er, craft·i·est

1. Skilled in or marked by underhandedness, deviousness, or deception.

2. Chiefly British Skillful; dexterous.

Not sure about underhanded, devious or deceptive – or indeed skillful – but thanks to Pinterest and some very patient friends, I have recently been discovering my crafty side.  Here are some of my efforts.

One of the enduring mysteries of British culture! I reckon this is the real reason: “I think the real reason why we Brits hang on to our single taps is because as a nation we are prepared to tolerate minor inconveniences if the alternatives are a) more expensive and b) involve changing a familiar system which works perfectly well.”
I love the place! 🙂 But NOT the single taps!

CrossPurposes

So why do most British homes have separate hot and cold taps (see December post)? (Note for transatlantic readers, tap = faucet!)

Reasons of history:

A high proportion of British housing stock dates to the 19^th and early 20^th century, before efficient mixer taps and modern valves were available. Some of our housing is much older than that – one of the consequences of living in a part of the world which has few earthquakes (see August post). When interior plumbing was introduced it would have begun with a simple system piping cold water straight from the mains into the kitchen.  Hot water was later added separately, hence a dual system.

Reasons of health and hygiene:

Early plumbing systems used pipes of lead, so while cold water from a lead pipe may be potable, you wouldn’t want to drink hot water that has come through a lead pipe…

View original post 377 more words