Life before money

Hi, The weather has picked up a bit here in North Lincolnshire. Spring has almost sprung, and I have a line full of washing wafting gently in the breeze. Temperatures are a lot higher than yesterday, it won't be long before I am peeling off a few layers. Whoa, steady on, it's not that warm, ha ha.

In response to Anon who has requested some more oldie photo's, I've dug out a few, with a little bit of a story behind them. I was brought up in a Council house on an estate. Today they call it Social Housing, and the new houses are built much closer together. We had lots of room on our estate, a big garden and space to roam about the village and the countryside.

So, who's in this photo? It was taken in January 1965 by me, at the front of the house next door. On the left is Bob who lived there. On the right is Jack, his nephew who came to visit. My mum, brother and sister are in the middle. Jack had gone through the process of applying to emigrate to Australia, I seem to remember that they had a scheme where people could go for £10. He came to say cheerio as it wasn't long before his leaving date. We were all very sad to say goodbye, but wished him well in his new life. He made a promise to us before he left, he said he was going to buy a farm and when he was established he would send for us. We were so excited to think that we might be going to join him later. We talked about it for ages after, to anyone who would listen. Sadly he never did send for us.

I was totally in love with Jack, he was very handsome. I wonder what happened to him.

When we left the council estate, mum found the four of us somewhere else to live. She didn't have much money, living off the maintenance payments from dad, and a little bit from the part time job she had in a factory canteen. She found us a small three bedroom terrace house with no bathroom, no hot water, and no heating. We had a gas fire in the living room that was all. There was a draught coming through all the window frames, and a big hole in the rotten floorboards just inside the front door, which we couldn't use for fear of falling through it. 

This is me tidying my bedroom. There is no plaster on the wall behind me, and the furniture is a mishmash of all kinds of handmedowns and cast offs. On the left you can just about see a bit of the tea chest which I used for a cupboard/table. It has a blanket over the top of it to try and hide the unsightly wooden box.  

Our house was next to a pub called The Black Horse, we never went in there. Mum didn't like pubs after being forced to go to my dad's local for years. On the other side of us were Tom and Mavis, their two girls, and Mavis's mother. They had this lovely German Shepherd called Joker. He was so gorgeous, mum loved him. Our row of houses was like those  you see on Coronation Street, only we were on a busy road.

We had very small back gardens, and the toilet was in a shed outside the back door. Bloomin cold in the winter with the wind whistling under the door. I can remember sitting there reading the squares of newspaper hanging on a nail on the inside of the door. Over the back wall was a factory yard. Roberts and Birch made meat products, I worked there for a while. On a Sunday night a lorry would arrive with a load of squealing pigs. The noise was horrendous, I'm sure they knew they were going to be slaughtered. I got the sack from the factory as it was upsetting me so much and making me feel sick. This was the start of me thinking I ought to become a vegetarian.

So here I am at age 18, (1967) leaving home to go and live in Blackpool. All my worldly possessions in one small plastic case and a plastic carrier bag. Hair dyed, back combed and laquered, wearing my green woolen coat and brown suede calf length boots.

Mum walked with me to the railway station, our little dog Nipper came along as well. Time to go out into the big wide world and start the rest of my life. I was so excited. Mum was very upset. 

I will maybe find some more pics another time, don't want to bore you to death.

My lunch for today, the plate is now clean, I have scoffed the lot. An advocado pear, four mushrooms, banana, melon, strawberry, more melon, pieces of apple, served on a bed of spinach, with a small tub of yogurt which came with the prepared fruit. Lipsmackin fantabulous.

I will only have a light snack later as I'm going out for a meal tonight, with my friends. It's been three months since we last met up at Arties Mill, so time for another get together and chinwag. I have no plans for this Easter, might go out somewhere, might not. I will do what ever takes my fancy, don't I always, ha ha. I hope you have a nice holiday with whatever you are doing. Toodle pip.