Work for the money

[Dennis McGuckin]

When I was kid in Durham, used to have to get up to serve the six o clock mass. After that I had a paper route.
Then off to school. Winter and summer.
Uphill both ways!

[cappy]

in a second hand shop called honest jacks there was a knife with a deers hoof for a handle ....it was to me the biz sheath and all out of deerskin ....the owner was a old chinese ex seaman ...he lived in the back of the shop no running water no bog nothing .....he said if i came for 5 friday nights he would hold two bob a time for me till i had 10 bob ......the shop must have had 10000 items all to be polished and dusted and windows cleaned .....the old guy had TB and was coughing his lungs up ...he had a bucket to piss in and i had to takethe bucket of phlegm and the piss out to a drain.....i told my old man he went round and told him if i didnt get the knife he would put the bucket over his head ......i got the knife the next time i went but still did the 5 fridays.......had the knife for years much sort after by my mates.......honest jack long gone pigtail and all ......regards cappy

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When I was kid in Durham, used to have to get up to serve the six o clock mass. After that I had a paper route.
Then off to school. Winter and summer.
Uphill both ways!

##think you told me once den were you lived in durham but have forgot ...wasnt shields was it regards cappy

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When I was kid in Durham, used to have to get up to serve the six o clock mass. After that I had a paper route.
Then off to school. Winter and summer.
Uphill both ways!

think you once told me were you lived in durham Den......it wasnt shields was it ....regards cappy

[j.sabourn]

#10 Keith how much did your boss charge for a pair of shoes soled and heeled. Mine use to charge 12/6d plus a Phillips stick on sole on the leather sole. Knowing the different ranges in prices between North and South how much??? I got a penny for every pair of shoes I brought in, had a butcher boy style bike and a bus conducters cap with Albert Bolam displayed on the front of instead of conductor. I also got 12 bob wages for 5 nights after school as wages. That together with a morning paper round used to earn about a pound a week. When left school in 1952 did a couple of months as a butcher boy and was on 37/6d a week about the same as got when first at sea. JS

[j.sabourn]

Re... Early memories ... Cubs..Scouts..Cadets..etc.
For those brought up with what our parents called morals, can they remember the prayers they had to say before going to bed. The one I remember was.... In my little bed I lie, Heavenly Father hear my cry. if I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take. God Bless..... you then went through the whole families names and usually finished up with the dog and cat if you had one. The cubs all I can remember is dibbing and dobbing, but the same as the scouts reference was always given to be true to God, King and country. The cadets I cant really remember any oaths of allegiance as was too keen to get into the hardware , the rifles always being nearly as big as me. There was one theme then which is decidedly not there today and that was Patriotism, today there is a distinct lack of what would have been called in those days Moral Fibre. JS

[Des Taff Jenkins]

Hi John.
Never had a regular job while I was at school, worked on the local farm during harvest but the only thing the cheapskate bastward gave us was an ice cream. worked in my Dad's allotment most evenings, no bright lights there. The local paper shop the bloke did everything himself; delivered the papers, run the shop-cum-post office,delivered the mail, then at night across the road to run the local fish and chip shop. I didn't work but had loads of fun building boats out of sheets of tinplate ; then sinking in the river.
Cheers Des

[happy daze john in oz]

There I was as a young almost innocent lad of 9 working weekends and holidays on my stepfathers pig farm. But it did me good as I spent some time as an officers steward.
Had a paper round and worked Saturday afternoon helping deliver groceries for which I got the sum of two bob.

[Keith Tindell]

Ref 13 John, 12/6 rings a bell for sole and heel, gents heels alone 4/6, and in those days you could get gents heels with a metal half moon piece let into the leather, cannot remember what they were called. Thats where i first wanted to go to sea, a Polish seaman would appear from time to time and tell of where he had been etc, then he would be off again. Within weeks i had handed in my notice and was off to Gravesend, never regretted a minute of it, kt

[Ivan Cloherty]

There I was as a young almost innocent lad of 9 working weekends and holidays on my stepfathers pig farm. But it did me good as I spent some time as an officers steward.
.

Oh! dear, tut! tut!

[cappy]

Ref 13 John, 12/6 rings a bell for sole and heel, gents heels alone 4/6, and in those days you could get gents heels with a metal half moon piece let into the leather, cannot remember what they were called. Thats where i first wanted to go to sea, a Polish seaman would appear from time to time and tell of where he had been etc, then he would be off again. Within weeks i had handed in my notice and was off to Gravesend, never regretted a minute of it, kt

####she was only the cobblers daughter.....but she gave it her AWL.......she was only the fishmongers daughter but she lay on the slab and said FILLET.....cappy

[Louis the Amigo]

Hi shipmates, I was a boy scout 48th st marys, cardiff , I have many great memories of my time as a scout, Bob a job, is where we got our funds for camp and trips, there was a prize for the scout who made the most money, I won it once !!! one kind person gave me a load of camping gear {bell tents} made of canvas and all the extras a large garage full, used on an experdition to some where cold? my scout master, was a great man R.I.P. Mr Evans he was a policeman, pick it up with a black maria , and took it back to our scout hall he made a few trips. as they was a lot of stuff, I helped him unload it with a few other boys , it was in use for many years for scout camps in the summer holidays. I was told years later .