Genealogy Chat

Ooooh! We don't have Sky TV!! Can I get a handout from somewhere........???? Merry

It must have been the way my mum told them! I'm sure she dressed the stories up much more (or should that be less?) than they really were! She also told a story about sanitary wear...but perhaps here's not the place for that one!

Mandy- loved the floorcloth story by the way!! It must have added a 'special' flavour!!!

When my grandmother was a child she lived with her aunts, they were as poor as the proverbial church mice. One day, not having any food in the house, and no money to buy any, the aunts suggested checking all the coat pockets and down the back of the chairs for stray cash. Luckily this trawl led to a few pence being discovered, so they managed to buy bread & jam for supper. Whilst this is not a particularly exciting story it really brings it home to me the real poverty of not knowing where your next meal was coming from, and that finding a few lost pence meant the difference between eating & starving. Thank Goodness that few people in this country have that worry anymore, makes you grateful to be living now and not then!!!

My mum used to tell me a story about her family. She was one of 7 and they were on the poverty line. She would often have to take something to the pawn shop to get money for food. She used to wear cardboard on the inside of her shoes when they got holes in them. My grandad used to use the soot from the fireplace to draw lines on my aunty's legs to suggest she was wearing stockings! The best story had to be the one where my Nana had spent most of the day making a stew for the family. The baby at the time, my Uncle Alf, threw the dirty floorcloth into the stew. She had nothing else to feed the family, so took the cloth out and served it up to them, only telling them the story of the floorcloth at a later date.

Today I visited a local history display in the area my Dad was born. The most interesting part of the day was chatting to a 93 year old Lady who remembered my Dad & Grandmother. 'Oh poor Lily (Grandma) she said, always running round that yard with a jug & all those mouths to feed. We were all poor but always helped each other'. This made me think of a few tales my Dad did share with us ; Dad & his brother had to share a pair of boots so would go to school on alternate days . All eleven children would have to wait until their father had eaten then they would divide up what was left. He wouldn't talk to much about it as he said there was nothing to tell but hunger & hardship but fun & community spirit was there. This has got me thinking as today poverty seems to be not having Sky tv ! Would love to hear anybody elses tales of poverty

mo...