大象传媒

HARD TIMES

I remember the good old days. People were helpful and always looked after each other. We had very large families. Sometimes, there were four to five children sleeping in a bed. On cold nights we would take up the clippy mats and put them on the beds to keep warm.

People also filled Fentinan鈥檚 pop bottles with hot water and put them in the bed to keep warm. The toilets were outside; this is what we used to call the mucky middens.

Washing days were on Mondays. Fridays our shopping was done at Thompson鈥檚 Red Stores or the Co-op Society. The contents were, 1lb. of flour, 4ozs. of butter, 2 rashers of bacon, 3 eggs and 4ozs. of lard. Everyone helped and shared with each other.

When anyone died, people were in mourning for a week and always wore black. In the blackout windows were marked with white stripes. In wintertime, kid鈥檚 used to slide down the slag heaps on shovels. Everyone helped each other.

The Miners always went to the Club on Sundays, dressed in white shirts with cuff links. Dinners were left in the oven, heated up. Gas masks were taken to school. I can also remember the Air ships in the sky.

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