Its a strange old world – I always thought there would be people who were close to me that I could share my childhood memories with, but it hasn’t worked out that way. My big sister passed away and my big brother has memory problems, amongst other things. My school friends in Syston, Leicestershre have dispersed many years ago, apart from one, Madeline – we are still chatting and I visit as often as I can.
However, as I am now 70 years old I think I should share them on here, just little snippets really but at least they won’t be lost forever…..
I remember…
Our house being so cold in the winter – it was a 1954 built council house with coal fires and a back boiler in the kitchen one, we moved in in September 1954 when I was only six months old. My mum made a bed in the bath for me until she got the beds sorted out.
I remember my legs getting blotchy from standing too close to the fireguard in the winter – I didn’t know many people who had central heating in those days. Our metal framed windows use to ice up inside when there was a sharp frost.
My Tortoise, Lightning who along with his brother Thunder (Michaels pet) made me smile.
Being three years old and having measles – I remember sitting in my cot (bars and all) with the curtains tightly closed so that my eyes weren’t damaged by the light – because that what measles did in those days.
Fruit trees in Mum’s garden – we had three apple trees – one for each of us children : ‘Carol’s was a cooking apple , Michael’s was a keeper and Kathryn’s (me) was an eater. We also had rhubarb, gooseberries and blackcurrants and mum would ‘bottle’ the fruits in syrup for us during the winter – she would also make jam in our big jam pan. But it wasn’t all fruits potatoes, green runner beans (She preserved the beans in rock salt in big kilner jars) and peas were grown in that garden. I used to love being asked to ‘pod the peas’ – I think I ate at least half – she didnt ask me often
I remember children’s television, around twenty minutes of it at lunchtime :- Picture Book, Tales of the Riverbank, Andy Pandy, The Tingha and Tucker Club (my teddy bears were called Tingha and Tucker (I still have Tucker) and of course, The Woodentops , I could walk just like Spotty Dog from the Woodentops!!
My Dad was Irish – he came to England during WW2 to drive lorries to help the war effort. Southern Ireland wasn’t in the war but he wanted to help. My Mum was in the Womens Land Army when they met. Every year for our holidays we would go ‘home’ to Ireland to stay with my Dad’s brother Uncle Andy and his family. They had children the same age as us – so we had playmates. Travelling to Ireland was great fun – lots of train changes until we got to Holyhead where we caught the mail boat to Dun Laoghaire on an overnight crossing where we had a cabin (sometimes with a porthole) then usually Uncle Andy would borrow a relatives big car to pick us up and take us to his house in Bray County Wicklow.
We used to have big Christmas Parties where all my uncles (mum’s brothers) would come to the house, Charlie, George, Vic and Ralph …..we’d play noisy balloon games and board games for hours. I loved Christmas, particularly wearing a thin party frock at the coldest time of the year. my big brother Michael would always wake me up to sneak downstairs very early on Christmas Morning to see if ‘he’d been’. Bear in mind that we would have been to midnight mass and not gotten to bed until around 2.00a.m. One time when he took me downstairs, he opened the door to the lounge and I saw my beautiful bride dolly that I had asked Santa for – I couldn’t stop myself I ran to the tree and picked her up , just as Mum came from the kitchen and caught us. Mum sent Michael to bed but she let me take my dolly with me to mine.
Queen Elizabeth’s speech on our tiny television – we watched it every year
I remember being afraid of Dr Who on TV (William Hartnell) and terrified of the Daleks. I liked Z Cars though ,and Softly Softly, oh and Dixon of Dock Green – all in black and white of course. And the TV was tiny.
Fridays – Crackerjack on TV I loved that
I remember toasting bread on the coal fire with a long toasting fork and spread with dripping…. yummy!
Mum’s collection of brass bells on the top shelf of the bookcase and on the bottom shelf were 10 volumes of Arthur Mees Children’s Encyclopaedia. I loved those volumes all ten of them – I learned so much about the world in there. (today’s internet was a world away then) I don’t know how but all us kids could recite ‘How Horatius Kept the Bridge’
Infant School on the High Street in Syston , Mr Yates, the ‘crossing man’ saw us safely over the road where Mrs Johnson, the school caretakers wife welcomed us into school.
I remember getting a ride on my Dad’s crossbar (croggy) down to the old chapel on Melton Road where we went to school after infants.
My little Rosebud Doll – only six inches , Mum knitted her complete layette from a pattern in Woman’s Weekly magazine – it was knitted with two ply wool. Years later I found the patterns and have since remade her layette – I still have that doll.
I remember my collection of Ha’pennies – some with Queen Victoria’s head on
The rag and bone man with his horse and cart shouting as he came up the street. To my young ears it sounded like ‘Anyoleragbone’!! He used to give us a goldfish in a jar for some rags.
I found a ten shilling note in the street and took it to the police station – I didn’t hear a word back from them – I didn’t do that again!
My first transistor radio – Mum and dad had a big Bakelite radio – my radio went everywhere with me in the crook of my arm and under the sheets at night listening to Radio Luxembourg
My big sister with her frothy underskirts and powder and perfume – I loved it – couldn’t wait to try it. I must have driven her mad.