Ashford unexpectedly became the warden in charge of a wartime nursery, where families would drop off children while the parents or grandparents worked. She said her days became almost impossibly full of activities. "A typical day went something like this," she wrote. "Oversee the bathing and dressing of thirty children. Prepare and feed breakfast. Administer cod-liver oil in a storm of protest. Comb thirty heads for nits. Check children for lice. Apply cream for impetigo. Prepare prams for babies' walks, toddlers' playtime. Boil wash woollies, nappies, cot sheets, and clothes. Fill bottles, prepare lunch, serve lunch, clear up. Get children down for naps, break up fights, clean up. Order weekly food, manage rations, issue means-tested invoices and nursery bills. Mending, shopping, administration. Teatime. Story time. Play time. Watch out for doodlebug rockets flying over head. Change thirty children into day clothes, oversee home time. Scrub nursery from top to bottom. Draw blackout curtains and lock up."
