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On the way to school, it was a journey that had all sorts of problems, one had to avoid stepping on the lines of the pavement. Or going through the lane, where the big dog barked at you. Not stopping to long watching the butterflies on the purple flowers of the budliegha, and be late. I can smell the purple blossom now. Once in the playground you were all right, you were not late you could watch the Avon and Frome mud dredgers doing their work in the river. If you went to school early there was always something going on. Lorries delivering was one. Maggs Motor with musical horns, we used to sing Maggse鈥檚 Motor cockeyed bloater, the milkman with his float. Horse drawn with a horse with quiet shoes. I think it was some kind of rubber- the float had rubber tyres as well. Marbles were played if it was raining- if it was raining it was matchstick boats down the gutter. Sometimes it was elaborate made from fag packets, or match boxes. Coming home from school we looked for shrapnel and anti aircraft shell nose cones (very collectable) because mum did not want it in doors, we stored it outside where it got damp and rusty and eventually thrown away.

Then came the day when we were evacuated the time I cried the most. With a small case with my clothes and a label tied to my coat, my gasmask over my shoulder. My brothers, sisters and I were pit on a train to Frome we did not know at the time I ended up at Nunney my sisters in Trudoxhill. Three of my brothers ended up with Mrs Grimes a picturesque place that backed onto a small stream. A very old house with flagstones. They were not happy.

The school was in small classrooms, no dividing walls, a couple of tortoise stoves for heating, it was warm and interesting. Eventually we were sent off with our foster parents to settle in our homes away from the bombs. We could see the red glow in the sky if Bristol had had a bad raid. We knew people were talking about it. We looked forward to the postman bringing news that our parents were alright. I was moved to a church hall that was changed into a school across the road from Nuney castle. There was a stream between the castle moat and the road- it had a kind of pebble bed, and it was our delight to watch the gun carriers wash their caterpillar tracks and mud off in the stream. I was located above Nunney and could look over the village. My favourite past time was on the farm. The farmer was very kind to us; we used to feed the calves with milk and the cattle cake. To do this we had to put their heads in a bucket of milk and mixture, with our hands into their mouths. You could feel the bits of cattle cake being sucked past your fingers. Cattle cake used to be in a sheet. It measured two foot six inches, by about eighteen inches. It had to be put in a machine like mothers mangle, only the rollers had little pyramids along into the rollers that used to break. The cattle cake was split into little bits.

Hay making was the best time of the year. I learnt how to harness the horses and was good although I say it myself at horse raking and starting the tractor. The tractor ran on kerosene but had two fuel tanks with a tap on each. It was painted blue and orange with Fordson cast into the radiator. It had spiked wheels, except when it went on the road, then some wooden looking strips were put on the wheels, not very comfortable on the road, the front wheels were metal as well, with a big ridge in the middle, that marked the road where it had been.

The milk was delivered by bicycle with a small churn in the carrying frame above a small front wheel. A pint measure would hang inside the churn under the lid. Customer鈥檚 jugs with clothe covers and heavy beads draped over them to keep the flies off and the cats.

I had this job once, I cannot remember why, perhaps the milkman was not too well. The last job of the day was to close the hen houses two fields away, to keep the foxes out. At the end of the day I slept well. Then back to school, with packed lunch, not very interesting those days jam, cheese, meat or fish paste-well you could not get much else. I could go on but I will save it for another time.

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