Some personal memories. The school I attended had had its name changed because previous generations had been unruly and the school had a really bad reputation. We all used to walk to school in those days. Even at 6 years of age it was perfectly safe to walk to and from school on my own. We used to start at 9.25 am and finish at 4.20 pm. The class rooms were very large and had big coal fires to keep warm. The problem was that when sitting at the back of the class you `froze`. The front seats were fine but often too warm for comfort. The teacher sometimes asked one of us to get some more coal and put it on the fire. The flames would then die down for a while and the temperature dropped slightly until the fresh coal started blazing once again. There were many `poor` children and our clothing wasnt the best during rain or snow. Those at the front would often have steam raising above their heads as they thawed/dried out. Our shoes often had holes in and our socks became sodden. One end of the school and been damaged by bombs during World War 2 and there was a gaping hole covered by a tarpaulin, to keep the wind and rain out. We were told by our teachers not to go too near the edge in case we fell the two floors to the ground below. It was during these times that we had what was called `smog`. (Smoke and fog, a thick swirling `yellowish` fog). Heating then was by, as I said earlier, coal. The pollution used to pour from the chimneys and this smoke, in certain conditions, would suddenly descend on us. You may have heard the phrase `You couldnt see your hand in front of your face`. IT`S TRUE. I left school one dark evening and headed home, usually about a ten minute walk, when the `smog` suddenly descended and I mean suddenly. Under normal circumstances it was quite dark anyway as the street lighting was by `gaslight’ and not very bright. Men would walk the streets with a large pole to turn the gas `up` and if he hadnt reached the street where you were walking home you had to rely on any light coming from the houses. Anyway, I became totally disorientated and when crossing the road I tripped on the kerbstone. I picked myself up and, unbeknown to me, started walking in the wrong direction. I just didnt have a clue where I was. Tears started streaming down my face as I started panicking. Some time later I bumped into a man who asked where I lived and he somehow got me home. The ten minutes had turned into about two hours. There was no double glazing in those days and the `smog` used to find its way indoors and linger in every room. Our toilet was outside and during winter the wind and rain would come in through the large gaps at the top and bottom of the door. During the night I would stay in bed, snuggling up to the `hot water bottle`, now lukewarm, and put off going to the toilet as long as possible. Eventually I would have to go of course and when finished I would pull a square of newspaper off the string to complete my actions. (No soft toilet tissue in those days). Then back to bed where I lay shivering and trying to get back to sleep. Our playground was mainly the `bombed out` houses, although we did have parks with apparatus that is now considered dangerous. It was quite OK for us children to throw stones at any windows that were left intact in the ’bombed’ houses, and even set about demolishing some of the remaining brickwork. I remember one particular occasion, when having our one hour dinner break from school, where we went to a `bomb site` and one of the `kids` found what turned out to be a 303 bullet. He inserted in a hole in a concrete post and hit it with a brick. There was an explosion and a loud noise from across the road. We went to investigate and found a large piece of brickwork missing from the building. It had been a live rifle bullet. The first buses I remember had the stairs on the outside but these were gradually being replaced by the newer buses with stairs on the inside. When one of the `smogs` came down the buses would have a man walking in front with a `flaming torch’ and the driver would follow the flame. There were also `trolley buses`, usually on the outskirts of London. They had a large rod on top of the bus which sprung up to come in contact with the electricity supply to supply the electric motors. These buses were very quiet and all you heard was a kind of `humming` noise. They accelerated very quickly and I used to look forward to visiting relatives in the areas they ran. There was a down side of course and that was they were so quiet you couldnt hear them coming. The `trams` were also powered in a similar way but ran on rails like a train. There was a `rut` between the trams rails where the `negative` side of the power was connected. This rut was very hazardous as the gap was about the same width as a bicycles tyres. Many times you would see a cyclist get his front tyre caught in the rut and he would go headlong over the handlebars. Only happened to me once and I still have the scar on my knee. The trams were double-decked and it was very frightening when travelling on the upper deck as the tram lurched and swayed violently on its merry way. The seating was made of wooden slats and the back rests could be moved backwards or forwards so you had a choice of travelling facing the direction of travel, or with your back to it. (Not recommended I can assure you). The trains were still powered by `steam` and we often used to walk to Waterloo station to stand and stare as the engines `huffed and puffed` as they idled at the station. When they pulled away steam used to belch from everywhere and hot sparks flew from the chimney. Sometimes we would peer over the top of a railway bridge, to watch trains thundering by. Occasionally one would come unexpectedly, from behind, and as the engine passed below we received a face full of smoke, steam and grit. (Spit!, spit! Erk!). The London Underground has hardly changed. The trains were always full during the `rush hour` and the passages to and from the platforms dark and damp. Not a lot has changed really except for some new lines and some paint here and there. I havent used the underground for the past ten years so maybe things are different now. I mentioned the coal fires earlier. The coal was delivered by two men with a horse and cart. The horses used to get to know their round because once the men had finished delivery to one house, they would walk forward on their own to the next delivery. My grandfather used to order half a ton at a time and the coal was kept under the stairs. Sometimes the fire would be difficult to light. It was often my job to tear some newspapers and crumple them up and put in the `grate` (where the fire burned). On top of this would be placed some `fire wood`, (pieces of wood chopped earlier). The paper would be lit and after a while the wood would burn and start `crackling`, at this point pieces of coal would be put on carefully until the fire started burning well. When the flames had died down and the embers were glowing red, we used to cut a slice of bread and put it on the `toasting fork` and hold it near the glowing embers. The taste of the toast was `out of this world` and cannot be equalled by any modern method of cooking. Mind you, the heat from the fire used to burn your hand and you got to know the point when to `change hands` or lose a piece of skin. Earlier you saw I wrote `half a ton of coal`. Strange language nowadays but not as hard as it appears. 16 ounces (oz)= 1 pound (lb). 14 lb = 1 stone (st). 22 st. = 1 hundredweight (cwt) and 20 cwt = 1 Ton. Half a ton = 10 cwt. (10 bags). The above is obviously totally confusing to those bought up with decimal weights and measures but we kids went to our Secondary or Grammar schools, at 11 years of age, knowing not only up to our 12 times tables (by heart, no calculators then) but also up to 24 to include the 14, 16, 20 and 22 above. The money was different then as we had farthings, halfpennies, pennies, three penny bits, sixpences (2.5p), shillings (5p), two shillings (10p), half a crown 12.5p), ten shilling notes (50p) and pound notes. (Imagine having £1 of farthings, 960 of them) There was also a five pound note which was a very large piece of white paper and I didnt see many of them. You will be aware of how shops etc try to make prices look lower by showing £99.99 as it looks cheaper than £100. Back then shops used to advertise in guineas = One pound and one shilling. (£1.05). So 99 Guineas equalled £99 + 99s = £103.19s.0d (£103.95). Measurements were 12 inches (in) = 1 foot (ft). 3 ft = 1 Yard (yd). 22 Yards = 1 chain (ch). 6 ch = 1 furlong (f). 8 f = 1 Mile. (There were also rods, a poles, a perchs and fathoms).
Posted on: Wed, 13 Nov 2013 21:40:10 +0000
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