I was the female version of a writer named Incredulous. I would like to thank him for the inspiration his story gave me to write down some of my childhood memories.
He has written his own early memories.
I was born and brought up in Middlesbrough. Much similar story to that. of 'Incredulous' I even liked Superman comics but liked "The Bunty" too.
I had the suitcase for trips around the block on the occasions I 'left home', but I didn't have 'his' butties.
Further back in my younger days I remember:
Rope around the gaslamp at the end of the street, to use to swing around the post. The taller lads in the street tied it up for us.
Pickle factory at the top of the street. Corner Shop, just like on "Corrie". Cobbled streets too.
Chasing the rag'n' bone man as he rode his horse 'n' cart, bumping over the cobbles. I carried my dad's 'new jacket'....to get a tortoise...only to find when I got home....mam was a bit mad and took off after the rag 'n' bone man TURTLE IN HAND to get me dad's jacket back. She gave the rag 'n' bone man a 'piece of her mind' too.
He avoided our street for a couple of months after that.
Lining up at a house on Fancoat street, penny in hand. Boys one side of the lady's door, girls the other side.
A penny to watch Children's Hour. She had the only t.v. in the area, and WE helped to pay for it as we sat awestruck, crowded together in her front parlour, watching a small black and white telly being entertained by Muffin the Mule.
Free milk at school. Sitting in a circle on the classroom floor as the teacher brought us our daily tumblers of orange juice with castor oil floating on the surface.
I had the bullies too, during High School, but never fought back coz I knew I'd be flattened.
I held back the tears when I was thumped in the right arm by a lass at High School coz she thought I'd used the ticket her EX boyfriend wouldn't give her when they broke up just before The Beatles concert in Stockton in 1963.
I told her to 'Grow up and stop acting so childish'. She became frustrated because I didn't fight back and we had an audience, girls from our school AND across a strip of grass, boys from the Boys Tech. next door. She walked away.
I stood my ground because I couldn't think of anything else to do. I wasn't brave. I was terrified.
In fact I had bought my own ticket and was just standing with him in the queue to the concert, with a bunch of our mates. He couldn't even GIVE the ticket away...no takers because no-one believed that ANYONE would GIVE AWAY a ticket to see The Beatles. After all, people had slept outside the theatre overnight, waiting for the tickets to go on sale.
That 'sleep-over' probably spawned the ones we have today.
We sat at the same dinner-table, this girl and I, at Middlesbrough High School For Girls, Prissick Base, in the Hall at High School the atmosphere, immediately following the 'incident' was terrible. No-one spoke during meals.
After what seemed like an eternity, but could have been only a week, she eventually wrote a note apologizing to me for her mistake and had it hand delivered by someone else on the dinner-table.
Strange coincidence, she was a year 'above' me and I just happened to get HER history text book the following school-year. Lo and behold! There, tucked between two pages was the ORIGINAL apology she had written. It wasn't the version I had received. It was MUCH nicer.
I never did tell her I eventually received that 'original'
letter.
Years later we became neighbours in Acklam, Middlesbrough.
Memories! Yes they WERE INDEED the GOOD OLD DAYS.
