Two women were beating rugs against the stones, chatting as they kept an eye on a gaggle of children kicking a lopsided sort of ball about.

When she'd come down, she'd passed dozens of maids scurrying through the corridors, airing out down mattresses and beating rugs.

Then she scrubs floors, beats rugs, washes her sheets and her blankets.

The idea of taking a week to turn out the house, to beat rugs and wash walls is, for most people, a vague memory of something their mothers did ages ago.

Homeowners whose grandparents beat rugs and washed windows worry about more than dirt.

So there she was beating rugs with a broom on a Saturday morning, and he'd missed the chance to wave her a greeting.

Because of you, I was beating rugs until less than a hour ago.

We took curtains down and shook them outside, and beat all the cushions and rugs.

I snuck off yesterday when I was supposed to be beating rugs.

They hung from open windows, beat rugs down to the thread count.