Beckett during the Resistance 1940-1942 (James Knowlson - French Literature)

Conditions in the house were fairly primitive.  There was running water only in the kitchen; consequently, everyone had to carry large jugs of water and wash in large bowls in their rooms.  The lavatory was at the bottom of the garden, and to avoid a nocturnal expedition to what was known in the family as 'la punition du Ciel' (the punishment of the Gods), chamber pots were much in demand.  One problem was that both Beckett and Suzanne were extremely late risers.  So Beckett used to wander through the kitchen at about one o'clock with a chamber pot in his hand, just as the others were sitting down to lunch.  The fact that he did this every day irritated Nathalie Sarraute's mother, who considered their guests to be very badly brought up indeed.  "Here comes the madman," she would comment aloud to her daughter in Russian, as Beckett crept silently and sheepishly through the kitchen.

Knowlson, p.289