Friday, 9 January 2026

Dry January?

Just before I went shopping on Tuesday, I nipped to the bathroom. As I dried my hands I observed that the blue towel was so thin you could hold it up to the window and see daylight, and the edges were faded and almost fraying. The nametag, sewn in place by my MIL in 1974 when Bob went up to Oxford was fading too.

I succumbed to a sale bargain in Sainsbury's! Most of my towels are blue or white, so I treated myself to this gorgeous habitat/Morris "Tulip" handtowel, half price in the sale, just £5. It is thick, and soft, and rather lovely imho. In January, my hands will be properly dry.

52 years is not bad going for a towel though, is it?

26 comments:

  1. That is a very long time for a towel! Your new towel looks lovely.

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  2. I think we've a towel from my school days, but it's a 'plumbing towel' now.

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    1. I have a few 'floods and disasters" towels too. I took a load of older towels to the dog charity in Dorset before we retired. They were very grateful

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  3. I have towels bought from Debenhams in 1992 which are still going strong. The colours are no longer fashionable but they dry well.

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    1. Does "fashion" matter more than "function"?

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  4. I have been repurposing vintage linen tray cloths as pretty hand towels and linen table cloths as bath sheets. They are so absorbent and easy to dry in winter.

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    1. How easily we forget that before Terry Towelling was invented, most families used linen towels for drying their bodies as well as their dishes;

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  5. You treated yourself to a lovely new towel. Wonderful pattern.
    I like patterns like that on towels.
    I'm going to get out my towels with the 60s/70s patterns and take them with me to the gym.
    It's fun!

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  6. I have lots of old towels very useful for all sorts of mopping up jobs. Not sure any of them are 52 years old though. I love your new towel think I might look in our Sainsburys and see if they have any. Regards Sue H

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    1. I notice that the Habitat website has not reduced these in the sale. Our Sainsbury's also had lovely green William Morris ones too.

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  7. I looked at some towels in Tesco sale on Monday but didn’t succumb to temptation. Good towels are difficult to find nowadays and certainly won’t last as long as Bob’s towel. There’s a stash of really old towels in the garage which are used for all sorts of tasks and then get washed when the job they are needed for is complete. I also consign facecloths to the dusters pile when they become very discoloured. I’m decluttering again today in the craft cupboards. Catriona

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    1. My craft audit is progressing in fits and starts...

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  8. I'm still using Wedding Present towels - from 1985. They are thin and "crispy" when just washed - just how I like them! I can't abide fluffy towels that just seem to shift the dampness about & absorb nothing. Mr FD seems overly distressed at me using these towels for some reason - he prefers the newer fluffier towels & can't understand why I don't!

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    1. I like "thin and crispy" for drying my hair (and how come we are using " pizza " 🍕 adjectives here? 😉)

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  9. Fifty two years for a towel is amazing, and I thought mine were doing well at about 13. It's amazing when you get a new one and feel the difference though isn't it. I have a couple that I picked up from Mum's when we were sorting out last year and they are so luxurious compared to mine. I might have to have a sort out and let Alan have the oldest as rags for using at the bungalow while he is working, when the water is back on.

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    1. You definitely need old towels for the bungalow work!

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  10. I usually pick up one or two good quality handtowels from The Original Factory Shop when and if I need them. Unfortunately on Monday it was announced that they've gone into liquidation (the staff at my local shops knew nothing about it til Monday. They're all devastated).

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    1. I saw the OFS announcement. We have quite a large one in town. That will be missed, I'm sure

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  11. 52 years for a towel is pretty good going. I used one of our old towels to line Sheva's carry box for a vet visit - only jabs and she yowled all the way there and back. TK Maxx have some pretty towels too. Xx

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    1. I haven't been in TKMaxx for ages! Must pay them a visit sometime

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  12. Perhaps you should write to the company that made Bob's towel and let them know how well their product endured! I usually save old towels and donate them to the animal shelter where they can be used for bedding, cleaning, drying the pets and so on.

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    Replies
    1. Sadly that company no longer makes towels!

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  13. Well done to that towel for Long Service! The new one is rather lovely.

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