Donations are essential to keep Write Out Loud going    

The way we were. Part 2

The house we lived in had no electricity,  we had a gas cooker,and a large cast iron range for a fireplace, it was a magnificent focal point for the front room, it was in the middle of the gable wall and a set of cupboards on either side of it,it was matt black in colour highlighted with polished  hinges on the oven door and oven door knob, I was chosen to do a weekly polish using a polish called Zebo or black lead, the result was to be proud of ,the same fireplaces are worth a fortune today because they are as rare as hens teeth,         Above the fireplace was a cornice " shelf " and above that were two gas fittings one on each side,and a mantle was placed in the holder made for the purpose to illuminate the living room, the mantle was made of a fine gauze like material and if you were so much as to touch it it would break before your very eyes and you had to go to Mary Ellens" corner shop "for another.       We had a corner shop on every corner,and you could buy any commodity you wished for,and mum used to send one of us with a list of goods to give to  the shop owner," who by the way knew everyone by name,"if your credit was good you came home with the goods,and if not ,you came home with nothing and mum would send one of us to the next shop,and that's how things were then.      Going to bed on cold nights was a nightmare, mum or dad would put a house brick in the range first thing in the morning,and took them out at night really hot they were wrapped up in any old cardigan,or shirt, etc and one put in each bed ,result,bliss,the only downside they had was in the course of the evening and early hours ,one would fall out of bed with a resounding thud and frighten the life out of us,

To be cont;

◄ The way we were. Part 1

The way we were. Part 3 ►

Comments

Profile image

Harry O'Neill

Tue 23rd Aug 2016 16:22

I echo M.C. about the amazing speed of the change..when I got married this was the norm (even those gas mantles)
...and those cold bedrooms with their oil-clothed floors!...
Blimey cold?..lad you`ve never lived!

Then they were all knocked down and all of us were put into (nice) estates...Maggie Thatcher then `electorally` let us buy the new ones cheap and never ever put the money she got back into building enough new houses. So, the price of our new `brick assets` went up and up, and up.

So if any of you young `non home owners`are listening; That`s a large part of how we became the rich and prosperous baby Boomers and you are never likely to be able to afford to own your own house...(At least not till we croak and leave you our cash)

Profile image

M.C. Newberry

Tue 23rd Aug 2016 13:52

Another firsthand reminder of how much has changed in a
single lifetime in this country. An entertaining and important slice of how things were - should we get
too whiny about the life we live today.

If you wish to post a comment you must login.

This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.

Find out more Hide this message