Yes Mark ceramics were put in a soaking drum (oil drum) with top removed overnight myj job as an apprentice in the depths of winter was to break the ice on the top of the soaking drum, remove my coat, jumper, tee shirt and start to remove the tiles, and put them to drain just off upright, this alllowes the excess water to run out of the bisquit, the top rows not so bad, but as you get up to your elbows then you realy start to feel the cold.
As you got to the bottom most lads used to use a beer crate, to stand on to get the very bottom ones that bit was always fun, by this time you try to balace on your workpants to stop them getting wet, you were not alowed, site water was stored, I must admit I had been known to tip some out as I soon found out time after time if your balance was off the crate slips backwards and you are in deep do, All you had to do then was dry off I always used my coat first to get rid of the freezing, then a bit with the jumper, put on tee shirt, put on coat, Blue by then you can do a few star for a bit.
Next you can get in the house, tilers went in just after the brikies, so the doors and windows frames not in so now we have icy winds blowing anound us.
Quarries, where either brushed on the back with opc slurry, or peppererd with opc onto the 3.1 Sand and Cement fairly wetish screed
Fiction or Truth? Have guess?