TheQ Posted December 7, 2016 Share Posted December 7, 2016 I know from studying the village I have most memory of, that squatters also took over an old isolation hospital / tin huts after WW2 on the edge of the village. The next town housed the British wives and children of american service men in old barrack blocks while they were processsed for going to the USA. http://swindonsotherrailway.co.uk/tid.wmv My earliest memory of that village was staying with my grandparents as my father had been invalided out of the RAF, I slept in a single chair that turned into a sort of bed in the best front room, luckily for us my grandparents had just had an inside loo and bathroom fitted. That was the winter of 63, I remember opening the back door to be buried in a pile of snow, they lived only a few hundred yards from the primary school so getting there wasn't a problem. Though I remember the frozen mini bottles of milk being defrosted next to the radiators, anyone for warm milk with ice in it? The school (1906-1978) of course had outside toilets at the far end of the playground, only half roofed, so if the rain came the wrong way, you got wet, even in the "sitters" (check spelling yes ok...) still in use till the end of that school. The school had a gate one side of the building for boys and the other for girls with a white line down the middle of the playground out the back from school to loos which you weren't allowed to cross. Soon after we got a council house nearby, I remember the "meat safe" built into the pantry, the laundry / brick shed with the mangle stood alongside a huge sink, the coal fire in the living room that heated the water and not a lot else, scrapping the ice off the inside of the windows. Listening to the radio (Forces Favourites), though we must have had a TV by 66 as I remember the only football match I've ever watched on TV. SWMBO remembers tin baths at home, till she left for the RAF in 1979 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennyMorgan Posted December 7, 2016 Share Posted December 7, 2016 2 hours ago, Hylander said: Peter - have you ever thought of writing a book or even just jotting down on paper your experiences of life. Would make a fascinating read. There are just so many of us old blokes with a story to tell, and a keyboard to knock it out on. Reckon that there are far more interesting stories out there, I really don't think that my ramblings would attract the attention of any sensible publisher. However, thanks for the compliment. Maurice, was a time when I was wholly supportive of the Authority. Re forebears. always wished that I had recorded my Granny Colby's story. She had a good story to tell but for me the value would have been in her Suffolk/Lowestoft dialect, not just her accent but also her vocabulary. For example I well remember her asking me to bike down to the chemist and buy her a 'hudkin'. I didn't know what one was and nor did the chemist. Granny always reminded me of Grandma Giles in the way she dressed and gesticulated with her walking stick. Blass bor, she were hully indignunt, waggling her old stick at me. The chemist just had to be a foreigner! My mum put me right, Granny C wanted a finger stall. Back I peddled and that caused some indignation when I returned, it was noticed that the hudkin was made by Durex. Ohhh moi lor, how could the chemist supply a packet to a youngster with that word upon it! I hadn't got a clue what the furore was about, just knew that unhelpfully dad thought it funny whilst Granny C & Mrs W didn't. I felt quite sorry for the chemist, a doddy fella, because I knew he was in for it! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennyMorgan Posted December 7, 2016 Share Posted December 7, 2016 Q, lovely stuff! I well remember the much treasured frozen cream lollipops from the top of the milk bottles. Funny how schools remained open whatever the weather back then. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grendel Posted December 7, 2016 Share Posted December 7, 2016 we moved into the house where my parents still live in the winter of 1962/3 I was 2 at the time so dont really remember it much, my parents being newcomers could not get a coal delivery (as there was a shortage that winter due to the weather) so at the end of that cold winter, the row of conifers down the side of the garden between the house and alley was all gone. anything wood that wasnt nailed down was burned that winter, just to keep us all warm in one room. I remember in subsequent years, the ice on the windows (inside) and the only hot water in the house was the old gas geyser in the bathroom. we too had the pantry with a large opening in the wall that had perforated zinc to allow air circulation but stop vermin getting in. the old alladin parrafin heaters and topping up the glass jars of parrafin at the 5 gallon drum out in the shed. I remember when we took down the old wooden garage and replaced it with a concrete sheet one with a corrugated roof - that was fun as my dad stood on a nail- right through his foot, I rushed to help and impaled my foot on the nail in the other end of the plank- right through and out the top of my plimsole, we were a right pair, my mother couldnt help for laughing, but did we go to hospital - no just a quick splash of tcp and a plaster was all either of us got (not that we could have walked out to the hospital in the state we were). 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennyMorgan Posted December 7, 2016 Share Posted December 7, 2016 That winter was memorable! We were out on the ice from dawn to sunset, skating and even partying, ending the day grouped round a fire on the ice. My brother even drove his car to Beccles, along the river. The thrill, for me, was being on a sled, towed behind a car at some speed up, Oulton Broad. The climax being a tight turn by the driver and the sled circling on it's tow line, heaven only knows what speeds we achieved! My brother managed to hit a mooring buoy, that was dramatic! One of the tow cars was actually a Mini Van, its back doors open so we could watch the sled, Great, until the driver did a handbrake turn, the little van spun and the snow on the ice lifted and filled the van! I was the passenger and the snow was round by legs and on my lap. A wonderful time to be young. My dad had a restaurant and the serving trays made wonderful sleds! , 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennyMorgan Posted December 7, 2016 Share Posted December 7, 2016 More on the BIG freeze, including an amazing picture of the ice at Gt Yarmouth: http://www.edp24.co.uk/features/photo_gallery_a_new_year_dawns_but_the_big_freeze_tightens_its_grip_1_1755318 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxwellian Posted December 7, 2016 Share Posted December 7, 2016 Peter. You may be very surprised what we find interesting. We do read your posts. I think it would be an excellent idea. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jillR Posted December 7, 2016 Share Posted December 7, 2016 we loved it when clips of this trio came on the telly strictly eat your heart out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennyMorgan Posted December 8, 2016 Share Posted December 8, 2016 New one on me is that Jill. Probably before my time I married Joan, I love Lucy, Billy Bunter & The Flowerpot Men being more my era. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jillR Posted December 8, 2016 Share Posted December 8, 2016 hi jm Wilson, Keppel and Betty formed a popular British music hall and vaudeville act in the middle decades of the 20th century. They capitalised on the fashion for Ancient Egyptian imagery following the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun. The "sand dance" that formed the highlight of their act was a parody of postures from Egyptian tomb paintings, combined with references to Arabic costume In 1950 they appeared at the London Palladium on the same bill as Frank Sinatra. They toured all over the world, performing at shows in London, Europe, Las Vegas, India, the Far East and Near East, Australia, Scandinavia and South Africa. They finally retired in 1962 after a performance in Great Yarmouth.[12] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilson,_Keppel_and_Betty 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regulo Posted December 8, 2016 Share Posted December 8, 2016 Didn't you see the wink smiley, Jill? JM was there when they sealed Tutankhamun's tomb. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vaughan Posted December 8, 2016 Share Posted December 8, 2016 I remember them! I remember the actions. You can see where Morecambe and Wise got it from. Maybe also proves that Michael Jackson didn't invent the moon walk? 53 minutes ago, JennyMorgan said: married Joan, I love Lucy, Billy Bunter & The Flowerpot Men being more my era. What about Muffin the Mule, then? Oops, sorry - we're not allowed to say that nowadays are we? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennyMorgan Posted December 8, 2016 Share Posted December 8, 2016 Okay for the hill dwellers amongst us to pursue sheep though. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bound2Please Posted December 8, 2016 Share Posted December 8, 2016 13 minutes ago, Vaughan said: What about Muffin the Mule, then? Oops, sorry - we're not allowed to say that nowadays are we? Is that in same bin as Gollywogs then Vaughan? Charlie 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennyMorgan Posted December 8, 2016 Share Posted December 8, 2016 10 minutes ago, Bound2Please said: Is that in same bin as Gollywogs then Vaughan? Charlie Is that black humour? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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