Mungo wrote:

In the west of Scotland there is little issue with drought (its about
the only
thing going for it) hence I'm slightly annoyed at "modern" machines
taking in
a teacup of water and attempting to wash clothes with it.
A half-full drum of water is a wonder to behold...

I agree, my Miele has a 'Water plus' button which tells it to fill the
drum to a decent level rather than use a couple of teaspoonfulls. you
can also set this to be permanently on.