Dad's Cabbages and Snow Days
Then there's our garden. When I look up there now and see what - it's a bit of a difference now, a bit of a shambles at times. But at one time, Dad had nothing else but cabbage plants up that garden. Nothing else but cabbage plants. Any of his mates used to come round
"Got any cabbage plants, Joe?"
"Ah, help yourself" - then they would help themselves.
"How much is that then, Joe?"
"Well, put the money on the window sill, I got half a dozen (??) so you can please yerself"
And they used to leave a penny or a tuppence for him. Well, that was Dad. Something for nothing.
And then there was Fred again, oh dear dear dear. Poor old Nance - he was always wanting to pin her ears against the wall, I shall never forget that. Always wanted to pin her ears to the wall - poor old Nance. He (???) really. I used to feel sorry for her, but course I mean I wasn't big enough to do anything about it in those days.
Ah, I'm looking out the window right now, cor what some weather. Snow, ice everywhere. It reminds me of when we used to have the sleighs out in the street. They were always outside Richard Nora's(?) house, up the street there. In those days there was no traffic, it was alright. We used to go up there like on an afternoon like this, straight after school we would go up there, had some tins of water, chuck it down there, course there's a bit of a slope on this street - anybody living round this way you'd know, but there's a nice slope on this street. And we used to lay this water down, about 20 or 30 yards, and within half an hour that had froze solid. And we used to have the time of our lives out there. Well that was until the old chap came, the workman, Mr Drury. No sooner had he got home, cussing all the way, straight over he would go, a load of ashes all over the sleigh.
Well, that would finish it for us, no more sleigh rides. We didn't go much on him, we didn't understand the old chap but we couldn't (help it?) in those days
