Lived here from 1942 |
How we Lived in our
Old House
Insulations none
existent, big jumper you must ware,
Half timbered
single brick, few inches plaster of horse hair,
Frosty weather
glistens inside, a fridge you could compare,
Roof half filled
with starling’s nests, built up over the years.
Kitchens the
warmest place, coal fire in big old range,
Heats the oven
and boils, the kettle on the chimney crane,
Boils the taters
and stew, toast the bread on a fork,
From the ceiling
hangs a cloths drier, lifts and lowers on cord.
Bedroom bove the
kitchen, only room upstairs warm,
Usually the kids
have this room, that is always the norm,
Other rooms are
chilled and cold, cool in summer though,
This is how we
lived them days, kids now will never know.
Old iron
bedstead webbed with steel, straw mattress on the top,
Then feather
mattress covered with a white sheet she’d pop,
Mother made a
groove up this, dropped us into bed,
A sheet two
blankets and eiderdown, feather pillow lay ya head.
Best front room
not often used, too posh to use every day,
Used over
Christmas and party’s, best crockery out on display,
Fathers roll top
desk in there, his bills and letters wait to pay,
Always locked
cus of cash in their, he always had last say.
Now heating was
a big open fire, ingle nook chimney above,
Logs as long as
ya can lift, one end on the fire to shove,
The bigger the
fire, bigger the draught across the floor,
The heat goes up
the chimney, fresh air comes in under the door.
A cellar beneath
front room, brick steps leading down,
Couple of vents
to the garden, the mesh with weeds overgrown,
Air circulation
its not good, and musty damp and wet,
Timber in the
floor above, gone weak and springy pose a threat.
A room with
settlass all way round, there to salt the pig,
Not been used
now for many a year, doesn’t look so big,
Salt has drawn
up the brickwork, all through to outside
Bricks are
flaking and rotting, replace section of bricks decide.
Mother kept a
big tin bath, hung on a nail outside back door,
Brought it in to
the hearth, filled with kettle and big jug she pour,
Youngest first
then nother kettle, warm it agen for the second,
Cold night our
steaming little bodies, hot crisp towel it beckoned.
So we kids lived
in the big kitchen, our bedroom top of back stairs,
Long old sofa
under the window, father had his own armchair,
Big old peg rug
in front of the fire, we played and sat on that,
Large old radio
in the window, then hurray first tele in front we sat.
Countryman
And here from 1960 for 25 years |
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