Over To You

Copyright © 2013 All rights reserved www.dailysparkle.co.uk

“Over to You”A collection of stories from Daily Sparkle readers 2012

The Daily Sparkle Ⓡ

Copyright © 2013 All rights reserved www.dailysparkle.co.uk Page 10

Chapter 1Childhood

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Isobel. H

I remember going to a wedding in Edinburgh. I was about 4. What I remember most was a bowl of tomato soup! I hated it. I have no recollection if it was just children that had the soup. I can’t imagine the bride wanting any. It would have looked awful if she spilt any.

As a child I ate most foods quite happily. I remember lots of rabbit stew. It was always tender with no fat. It was quite a favourite of mine. I doubt many children today would say that.

Castle Gardens Care Centre

Jean Haddow

When I was young, we didn’t have television, but we had a gramophone. I’ve enjoyed music all my life. I like to dance too, and though I’m not as young as I was, I can still get attention on the dance floor. Not bad for 80! A sense of humour and a love of music were the best gifts bestowed on me. I haven’t had an easy life, but my ability to laugh and my love of music have never left me, and I thank the good lord for these gifts.





Isobel Munro

My mother used to say, “Don’t cast a clout till May is o u t ” . Y o u d i d n ’ t w e a r summer dresses until June 1st. I remember lots of long w a r m s u m m e r d a y s . Summer seemed to last much longer. Winters were colder with lots of deep snow, great for snowball f i g h t s , s l e d g i n g a n d snowmen. We wore thick skirts, knee socks and black wellies. We played outdoors all the time in all seasons, and were content with our lot.


Isobel Sutherland

I had 4 brothers and 2 sisters. We walked to school together and twice to church on Sunday. I had my chores - fetching water from the outside pump, sweep and wash the door steps, stir the porridge and wash the d i s h e s . M y b r o t h e r s chopped and fetched wood for the fire, our only form of heating. But we still had many happy times to play. It taught me responsibility. I trained as a nurse and worked diligently all my life.





Jean Macleod

I r e m e m b e r p l a y i n g s k i p p i n g g a m e s , a n d chanting

“2 little dickie birds Sat upon a wall One named Peter The other named Paul Fly away Peter Fly away Paul Come back Peter Come back Paul”

The whole street would play together, ball games, hop scotch, tip, rounder’s, hide & seek, skipping and lots of sliding and sledging. No salt then of course.Happy Days.


Eileen

W h e n I was about 12 or 13 my friend Marjory and I would get up early. Mother would make a picnic of sandwiches and fruit and we w o u l d h e a d d o w n t o Grovelands Park in Enfield. We would hire a rowing boat for 6d and row out onto the boating lake. We befriended the boatman who taught us to row properly. My mother would have had a fit if she had known we were out on the water.

Cedars Care Home




Dozing in my a r m c h a i r , dreaming of

the past,Memories of yester

years soon go floating past.Fishing on the river bank, waiting for a bite,R u n n i n g a c r o s s t h e meadows, flying my kite.Scrumping apples from the orchard, whilst keeping out of sight,Blowing out the candle after Mother kisses me Good Night.Searching through the night sky, looking for Santas sleigh,My memories are precious things that brighten a winters day.

Rodwell Farm Nursing Home

Elsie Youngman

A treasured memory of childhood is the day my mother prepared my twin sister and me for a Sunday S c h o o l O u t i n g t o Weymouth. She dressed us in our very best clothes and a new straw hat each. I wonder what little girls would say today? We loved it until my sister’s hat was blown off her head and do you know what? It was lost for ever. There were tears, of course, and a scolding “why didn’t you hold on to it?” from mother.

Cleeve Hill


Keith Kateley & Norman Hall




Mabel Chapman

When I was young I remember ducks upon the pond, and in our garden, pigs and chickens, surrounded by animals everyday.

I loved the village where I lived, It is so different now.Old house now not there, instead are bungalows new.More comfortable in many ways, but I remember better days.

Still there remains the village green, with ducks upon the pond.

So memories like these remain with me.They linger on until today. St Martins



I’ve actually used one of those irons. We were taught a t s c h o o l , a l o n g w i t h s t a r c h i n g , b a k i n g a n d washing. You stood the iron on the Rayburn to be heated up. There were about a dozen heating up in a row for all the girls. If you have 2 of those irons, they’re useful as bookends.

A t s c h o o l i n d o m e s t i c science, we were taught how to wash clothes and iron as well as baking and cooking. We were taught how to starch clothes as well. We used a washboard to clean the clothes. You wet the clothes, got soap, rubbed it on the articles to be washed and scrubbed. Later, people like Lonnie Donegan used it to play music with thimbles

on the fingers to make more noise.

In 1953, Alnwick Castle in Northumberland staged a pageant of Elizabeth I. A lot of the action took place on the castle walls and the dances happened down below. 12 girls were chosen from each school, including me. We practiced our dance for weeks. We made our hessian costumes from a very plain pattern. They were like smocks and very itchy. The principle actors had nice costumes!My mother was given a blanket – maybe from the Red Cross. She made it into a coat for me. It was bright red. I stuck out like a pillar box! I hated it so my mother dyed it blue but it still wasn’t a success. Back then if something was given to you, you had to ‘make do’. After the war, I had a dress made out of parachute silk by my aunt who was a dressmaker.

Home Farm


Memories from Jean



When I was little, I lived with my cousins and Gran in Portsmouth. After the war, I went by myself to Singapore on a boat. I was only 4 and hand’t started school yet. My father had a new wife. I went to school there until aged 16/17. When I arrived, my baby sister was just walking. An Amah helped look after her. I loved living there, and went back a few years ago with my husband. I found everything much the same.

St Olafs Care Centre

We grew up near Hartfordly Moor – there were only houses there, and a pub. My mother had a baby every 4 years. She lost one once. I always wanted to be a nurse – and liked to help me Mam if she was not feeling well. It used to take longer getting over a having a baby in those days.

St Olafs Care Centre


Ethel HainsworthPam Gerrard



Gladys Thomson

My niece comes to dance and play her fiddle. She always used to dance and play - she and her sister a l w a y s u s e d t o d a n c e together.

St Olafs

I liked playing Rounders at home – we liked playing Rounders , me and my brothers– after school and at the weekend. I was one of the fast runners, they could never get me out! We used a bat and a ball & you get extra points the further away you hit the ball – I really liked that.

St Olafs


Josie Kenny




Chapter 2Memories Of

War



Oh Poppy Day, Oh Poppy DayWhat a beautiful sceneTo greet our wayWe thank God that we are aliveBut mourn our comradesWho had to dieOh Poppy Day, Oh Poppy DayFor all our fallen matesWe now gather to prayMay they rest in peaceAmen

St Anne’s Home

Evelyn Armstrong

War Memories

The sirens wailed, the planes flew over,We hurried down to the air-raid shelter,Our dog Prince, eager to be firstNearly pushed us in the pond

Helter, Skelter, into the shelterThe Search Lights swept the skyBombs were falling all aroundWe hid below, safe and sound

The “All Clear” sounded from aboveUp we scrambled to the lightPeace again, to our delightUntil the next raid came.

St. Martins


Bernice De La CroixPoppy Day



Leaving home-so hard at first,In service I began.E n d l e s s H o u s e w o r k everyday,Work seemed never done.

Time off awaited eagerly,O n T u e s d a y a n d o n SaturdayI must be back by 10.

Then war broke out and home I went.I met and married Bill.A soldier he, so called awayAnd I was left alone.

So bored was I,To London I returnedAn Usherette to be.

When bombs fell downThe people fledWe had to stay,No room for us below.

But through these hardships we all cameTo face another day.

Edited by Noel MalowerSt. Martins Centre


Dolly Hutchens:Being in service since the age of fourteen




Chapter 3Memories of

Work



I used to drive cart horses with vats of milk, delivering them to the shops. I got up before 6 am and walked across the fields. Then we groomed and harnessed the horses. We picked the milk up about 7 o’clock and took it round the shops. I drove from when I was 10 or 11 years old. We finished the milk round around 8.30 and then we walked over the fields to school.

Home Farm Care Home

One early morning in 1953 my father was driving a goods train. As they went through a wood after a big storm, a tree had fallen over. My father always drove with his left elbow sticking out the window. The branch hit his elbow bone and it threw him across the footplate and knocked his fireman to the ground. In the hospital his broken arm was set at an angle of 45 degrees. He went to his grave with his arm set like that.

When my father, Malcolm, became the engine driver… there were no speedometers in the engines then. During the war they were going that fast – they blew them up! They were never replaced. If they were ever asked “How fast were you going Malcolm?”, he used to say: “I was going pretty cheery!”

Home Farm Care Home


Alan Donald



From humble beginnings in County Waterford I came to England in the late 1950’s. I was an accountant and kept c l o s e t o t h e I r i s h community. I soon realised we needed a newspaper to facilitate communication between us all in the UK. W i t h t h e h e l p o f a p r o f e s s i o n a l newspaperman, we created my new baby, The Irish Post. Launched on Friday 13th Feb 1970, it is still in publication bringing Irish people together in Britain.

Cedars Care Home

Dawn Turner

I used to walk to my offices in Ipswich, where I was a training coordinator. My twin sister had passed away with multiple sclerosis, I did not know then that I would be in a similar position 6 years later. I now find myself in a nursing home. I meet interesting people from all walks of life. We all have different conditions that resulted in us being here. Mine being MS “Took my legs”! My MS pushed me into a wheelchair dancing with other people like me. I love it! I realise now I am not the only one with mobility problems.

Handford House


Tony



I began working for the BBC ( B r i t i s h B r o a d c a s t i n g Company) temporarily to cover for a lady who had contracted TB (Tuberculosis). The lady had to go to a TB place in Beresford. I was asked would I like to stay, but on the condition that I left when I was 18 years old which was the law.

When I was coming up to my 18th Birthday, a senior Secretary was leaving because she was getting married. Women did that in those days. There was a general up move in the BBC and I was asked would I like to be a junior secretary, so at least I got a foot in the door and went on from there. Mike Neville and George House at the time worked there.

The BBC, we affectionately name the Broken Biscuit Company.

I w e n t o n t o o u t s i d e broadcasting in Manchester which was very interesting. When I returned to Newcastle

I went to night classes to get my grades.

It was a case of keeping an eye on the vacancy board to see what came up. Then I applied for a job on the board.

I went to Manchester. I didn't dream I would get the job. My mother nearly had kittens when I did.

It was much harder in those days as when women got married they left their jobs to look after their families, which was the right way. As I was single I had more chance of promotion.

One funny story was when I went outside for lunch with John Betterman and he lay down on the pavement in his suit and waistcoat!

I went to the BBC to cover sick relief and stayed there for 30 years.

Collingwood Court Care Home


Pearl WrayThe Broken Biscuit Company (BBC)



Polly Eccles

When I was a weaver I had 6 looms - broad for bedding, narrow for curtains etc and tall for long sheets. Our mill was in Blackburn near where I lived. I actually met my husband there. The mill was always noisy and we communicated using hand signals (some could be very rude!). We worked 7.30am till 5.30pm everyday and liked coming home to a home cooked meal from mother. Hazeldene Care Home

In 1951 in my early 20’s I worked in one of the first coffee shops in London. It was The Old Brompton Road and was owned by a Jewish couple. They had an Italian coffee machine that was difficult to operate. The menu was full of things I had never seen or tasted b e f o r e l i k e s p a g h e t t i Bolognese, goulash and pastries. I wore a black skirt with a white apron and earned £2. 5s per week, but made much more money in tips.

Cedars Care Home


Paddy




Chapter 4Miscellaneous




Adele FootmanFireworks!

Remember! Remember! The 5th of November Gunpowder, treason and plot.

Guy Fawkes Guy, don’t poke him in the eye.

Put him on the bonfire as children, we sang and shouted with mirth and glee.Oh what a spree of wall crackers and sparklers, fountain of stars, nearly reached the sky, what a beautiful sight!

Guy Fawkes Guy don’t poke him in the eye.

For all the fun he provided.Now we pray May God forgive himHe was just led astray

St Anne’s Home




Reg OldmanThe Joys of Motorcycling?

Whilst traveling on the A406, my faithful 600CC panther’s single cylinder started to play up. It kept cutting out! My wife was in the side car and my motorbike suddenly stopped near a chain linked fence. I got my pliers and cut the fencing strands.

After cursing and swearing I saved the motor with the fencing wire. I started the engine. My wife and I arrived home safe! She was on the verge of collapse but we made it!

Handford House



Years ago my husband bought me a bottle of Channel No5 perfume. Unfortunately I broke the top but saved the perfume by pouring it into an empty whiskey miniature bottle and I didn't tell him. Weeks later during a coughing bout in the night, he saw the miniature and had a good drink. Panic! I rang the hospital no problems and the staff thought it was hilarious. And my husband had the sweetest smelling breath for a good few days!

Many years ago as a birthday treatMy husband bought me a gift smelling so sweetChannel No5, I smelt so divineI much preferred it to Channel No9

But then one day disaster struckI broke the bottle, what bad luckThe remainder I put into a Bells whisky smallA miniature bottle I had in the hall

My Husband was unaware of the changeIt was by the bedside just in his rangeHe downed the lot-oh dear what a treatand for days and days, oh his breath smelled so sweet.

Shaw St. PaulsOldham Age UK22


Edith Clowes Poem




Janet Gillam Comfort

I find comfort in a dog called NaLa, how strange! But it is so.Stroking her glossy black coat brings me such great joy and peace.She looks up at me silently, and I feel her love reaching out to my whole being.I feel so honored and delighted if she settles down and sits at my feet.I am sure creatures are not as unknowing as we think.It seems to me they can understand more of the world, and its maker, than we do!

Ash Court




Chapter 5Winter



Under a toadstool sat a wee elfOut of the rain to shelter himselfUnder the toadstool fast asleepsat a fat door-mouse all in a heap The wee e l f t rembled, frightened to fly away in case he got wet To the next shelter nearly a milesuddenly the wee elf smiled a wee smileTugged at the toadstool which toppled in twoHolding it over him gaily he flew

Soon he reached home as dry as could besoon woke the door mouse "Oh deary mewhere is my toadstool" loud he lamentedand that's how umbrellas first were invented

Josephine BrookesWest Wales Winter

In the town, pensioners brave the black, ice-rink cul-de-sacwith walking stick hovering, to divine the safest route

On the road, the Milk Marquee tankers lumber,like beasts themselves.Over the soft brown sugar coloured spreadof sand and grit.

By the river, club-footed iciclesdip in their toes.and long, convict-arrow bird prints patternthe whitened grass

Plas Bridell


Marjorie StoreyUmbrellas



Joe MullerSpirit of Christmas

T h u n d e r c l o u d s s l o w l y dissipated allowing sunlight t o b a t h e t h e b u s t l i n g suburban shopping centre in w e l c o m e w a r m t h . T h e squeal of brakes, blaring hooters, flatulent bark of delivery bikes, mingled with background of christmas carols from a variety of s t o r e s . S t o r e w i n d o w s colourfully decorated with holly and snow, many father c h r i s t m a s ’ o n s h o w , reindeers with sleighs, a multitude of christmas presents on display adding a festive air.Extract taken.

I’ve watched the leaves fall gentlyFrom the old oak tree.I’ve seen the skies grow darkerBefore its half past three.The days are getting shorterWe’ll soon be having snowThe temperature keeps fallingAs I write, its very low.The need for scarves and gloves to wearIs even more urgentTo thwart a winter storm“Long Johns” and great big overcoatsWill soon be “Rig of the day”Hot drinks, good food, and common senseWill help keep flu at bay.

Collingwood Court Care Home


Alma Oliver Winters Coming



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