We finally moved from the awful flat to a house we all called ’76’. My brother could now come home to be educated. 76 was close enough to 88, my grand- mother’s house, for her to help out when Willie had to work late. Unless one has never lived in a terrace house on the… Continue reading Pre WW2, 1930 to 39, in order, The Terraced Wedge
Month: May 2007
Pre WW2, 1930 t0 39, How Schools Mould Character
I was on board a corvette in Belfast Harbour; while repairing a set and talking to the wireless operator, an officer stuck his head into the office and said “Williams…” and then he stopped. “I thought you were Williams, ” he said, “You sound just like him.” I smiled, he left and I got on… Continue reading Pre WW2, 1930 t0 39, How Schools Mould Character
Pre WW2, 1930 to 39, in order, The Secondary School 1
Oxbridge and ex-Public School staff ran our school on Public School lines – as closely as one could for a day school. We had PT every day, vaulting over boxes, doing running somersaults, walking the high beam and everything one can imagine doing in a fully equipped gymnasium, including a shower afterwards. We played seasonal… Continue reading Pre WW2, 1930 to 39, in order, The Secondary School 1
Random Thoughts No 5, I am sick of Bandwagons
Every week there is something new which demands our attention, affects our lives and causes change for change’s sake. Much is in the cause of appearing to care, rather than caring Gas-Guzzlers are being taxed unfairly I believe, because the government wants to appear eco-friendly. I personally hate them; parking spaces were never painted to… Continue reading Random Thoughts No 5, I am sick of Bandwagons
Pre WW2,1930 to ’39, in order, The Era of Cycle Accidents 2
The Bizarre World Of The Hospital There was one accident which outshone all the rest, it was spectacular, it was predictable and it might have been my fault – concussed I never really found out, I had just sold my cycle and bought another one, once again for a pound, another second-hand one which was… Continue reading Pre WW2,1930 to ’39, in order, The Era of Cycle Accidents 2
Sex and Child Abuse Pre WW2
I often wonder if young people, with shiny new degrees lecturing us on TV, in dictatorial terms, with such conviction, have really had any experience of the problems they are allegedly solving. I have met a number of those problems head on, at a time when they were not thought to be so. From the… Continue reading Sex and Child Abuse Pre WW2
The Demise of the Corner Shop, and M&S
The thought that in the not too distant future Soph and I will not be driving, and will therefore be forced to take taxis to go shopping, brought to mind the corner shop of old. Like farms where the barns had the most pleasant smell of hay, feed, leather and horse, these shops had the… Continue reading The Demise of the Corner Shop, and M&S
Pre WW2,1930 to ’39, in order,The era of cycle accidents 1
I don’t think I ever met anyone, outside of a professional cyclist, who had more accidents within a year than I did and most of them were not my fault – hand on heart! I was about fourteen when I bought my first bicycle and that I’m sure was mainly to save money on tram… Continue reading Pre WW2,1930 to ’39, in order,The era of cycle accidents 1
Do you quesrion our future?
I’m a belt and braces man, where it comes to serious matters. I don’t fly by the seat of my pants, so when I read that Gordon Brown has sold off our gold reserves for a pittance, alarm bells ring. My problem is that I do not understand high finance. I was brought up in… Continue reading Do you quesrion our future?
Pre WW2, 1930 to ’39, in order, A brush with Religion
To most boys coming from my background, religion was a means to an end rather than an end in itself. It was an entre into the Scouting Movement, which, was church affiliated, offered bun fights and picnics’ in lieu of TV On cold wet winter evenings, apart from the Cubs and Scouts, there was the… Continue reading Pre WW2, 1930 to ’39, in order, A brush with Religion