Irish migration

[Jim Brady]

Yes Louis the old coal fire (that's when you could get coal to put on it) my father and older sisters would be up and out to work us three younger lads would still be in bed.My mother didn't like getting us up for school until she had the fire going unfortunately, God rest her soul,she was hopeless at lighting the fire consequently we were late for school every day and had to stick our hands out for "six of the best" which didn't half hurt in the winter.The front parlour was always kept for the best,we thought we were realy posh but there wasn't anybody around in those days to tell us that we weren't.Nobody ever got their head around that we were freezing because of the draught,about a half inch gap under all of the doors never mind what came through the window frames.Outside toilet lead pipe burst every winter and had to be flattened with the hammer,then wait for the landlords man to come around and repair it.Did'nt people know about a simple thing like lagging a pipe in those days.Hard times but happy times we knew no better.
Regards.
Jim.B.

[Captain Kong]

We were the same Jim,
We didn't know we were poor, everyone was the same, had nowt. so no one to compare with.
.
Candle Alley where I was born in 1935. It was a condemned slum in the 30s, 2 up 2 down, no bathroom and a toilet, a plank with a hole cut out, over the midden at the bottom of the yard. The Night soil men came around during the night once a week to shovel it out. Candle Alley has all gone. Demolished. In its place, just an empty patch of ground with a large fence around and a sign, “Proposed site for the Al Makkah Mosque”
Just a big iron grate for the fire with an oven at the side that we cooked on, one cold water tap in the back kitchen, Stone floors that were bleddy cold, and a peg rug we made ourselves to sit on. We only had two chairs. the Man from the Parish made dad sell them, kids can stand at the table. said the Man. no electricity, just one gas mantle in the front kitchen, candles in the back and the two bedrooms. No wireless, Very cold with Jack Frost painting ferns in the ice on the windows upstairs. Don't see that these days.
A house brick wrapped in cloth in the fireside oven and take it to bed to keep us warm under the WW1 Army overcoat on the bed,
Had to go to the local bathhouse for the weekly bath old three pennies, five inches of water, a piece of soap and a towel, so three of us in the bath together and using the one towel.
We had no keys to lock the doors, there was nothing to steal, a burglar might have felt sorry for us and left a donation.
No food banks or any kind of benefit at all then. Even a doctor had to be paid if we took sick, Usually a grandma would act as a doctor. A spoon of Brimstone and treacle, a spoon of syrup of figs and you would be OK.
Bad Chest ? a hand full of goose grease slapped on the chest would cure it.
We would scramble over the tip collecting clinker from the furnaces from the mills to put on the fire.
A good taty ash, [similar to blind scouse.] for the evening meal, porridge in the morning. No free school meals then.

The don't know they are born today , I say , they don't know they are born.
Brian.

[Jim Brady]

Brian,nothing to burgle,the saying around where I was brought up was if the house was being left unattended "someone might break in and scrub out"!!!
Regards.
Jim.B.

[Lou Barron]

Yes Jim we was to poor to have anything to steal

[Des Taff Jenkins]

Hi Lou.
When we came over here in 1972 we stayed in a hotel up Kings cross, couldn't stay there long as it was dear, so we rented a house out in a place called Winston hills, but our furniture was stuck on the wharf in Sydney due to a strike. so we bought a couple of mattresses and just used to stand up at the kitchen bench to eat.
Anyway two days after we moved in the neighbors who both worked; came and asked us if we had seen anyone hanging around during the day as they had been burgled, I said no but come in the kids might have seen someone, when they came in they gasped my god they cleaned you out, as the place was bare. We had a good laugh thinking that if they had burgled us they would have left us something maybe.
Cheers Des