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We've had a lively topic on here about holidays in bygone years, so how about Christmas memories?
Some of my earliest memories include getting measles just before Christmas when I was in reception class, which meant I had to miss the school Christmas party. I passed it onto to my brother on Christmas Eve and his main present that year was a pedal car, so he had to ride it round the bedroom, all spotty!
My mother was always concerned about the electricity bill and would only allow the Christmas tree lights to be turned on for an hour a day. She was also anxious to make things fair between us five children - we had one advent calendar between us, but she marked our initial on the windows we were allowed to open so that no-one would open more than their fair share! (Being the eldest, I had to "volunteer" to open one less window - 24 not being divisible by 5 - to allow the younger ones equal turns.) It was only when I reached my teens I twigged that the labelling of the windows was fixed so that the youngest child always got the bigger window for Christmas Eve!
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The smell of the Christmas tree at Leyland Motors Childrens Party in the canteen at Thurstan Road, snow on the ground, sugar mice, an apple and an orange. The smell of cigar smoke and the illegal sip of port -- memories, memories. Real Carol Singers, fresh chicken for Christmas Day (not frozen), home made Christmas Pudding with brandy on top, threepenny pieces wrapped up in tissue and baked in the pudding (mind your teeth) and the Christmas morning radio programmes going round with the postman and visiting hospitals, pre-television. Is that enough to nudge some more memories? Regards, William R.
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Thanks for those lovely memories, William!
My grandfather (another William) was born in 1905 and he had a fund of interesting tales of his childhood Christmasses. He used to join a couple of Sunday schools at the end of November purely so that he would be eligible for their Christmas parties! And late on Christmas Eve the poor lads (him included) would visit the shopkeepers of Openshaw (where he was brought up) and have the unsold apples, oranges, biscuits etc. put into their caps to carry home.
My grandparents were born into hard times, pre-Welfare State. My grandad's father and brothers died in the 1919 flu epidemic, so his mother had to take a lodger and take in washing to make ends meet. Things had not been easy even prior to that because of the First World War.
My grandmother's parents' wedding anniversary was Christmas Eve, so they always managed to put a bit by to celebrate that and Grandma used to say her father always had a bit of a sore head on Christmas morning as a result! (Not being able to afford much in the way of drink otherwise, he wasn't used to more than a pint at a time!)
We all seem to moan about the cost of Christmas these days, but we are far more affluent than our predecessors!
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You remind of mid 1930`s, Linda, my fathers side of the family came from Openshaw and lived in the Bradford/Newton Heath districts, Jobling St. and Ten Acres Lane. At Christmas time we used to be treated to a visit to Manchester to see the decorated shop windows and to go into Lewis
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You remind of mid 1930`s, Linda, my fathers side of the family came from Openshaw and lived in the Bradford/Newton Heath districts, Jobling St. and Ten Acres Lane. At Christmas time we used to be treated to a visit to Manchester to see the decorated shop windows and to go into Lewis`s on Market St to see the display in the centre of the store, we used to have something to eat in the Cafeteria on the top floor. We marvelled at the lifts with attendants operating them, and the displays on all floors, it was like an Alladin`s Cave to us. This was a treat to just go to look in shop windows at Christmas, and to travel on a tram up Ashton Old Road to visit Uncle Albert at Droylesden, sometimes we came back on a trolleybus to Stevenson Square to get the train back. We may have been poor as you say, but there were not as many distractions as today, so we looked forward to the Christmas trip. Happy days?? Regards, William R.
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Sorry, don`t know how that happened, Cheers, William.
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Yes Linda, but because we are more affluent we are expected to spend more money.
I have a ready made excuse for not spending. I'm an atheist. Sadly nobody believes me so I still have to shell out more than I earn. My early memories Mr. Daggers at Farington School dressing up as Father Christmas. He was the school caretaker, and we all knew it was him because he smelled of Dettol.
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What's this about tissues round the threepenny bits,Bill-ours just got chucked in as is.
The Leyland Motors Childrens Party was all you say-great memories.
I had a super Christmas morning one year as a student- must have been 1952 delivering registered mail around Fishergate for the week before including Christmas morning.
Mail was always delivered on Christmas Day in those days and I got goodies at just about every stop.
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quote:
Originally posted by noel
He was the school caretaker, and we all knew it was him because he smelled of Dettol.
LOL! School caretakers! That could set off a whole other thread! Whatever happened to kids being sick in school? - when I was at school, there seemed to be a pile of sawdust (to absorb the sick) in the corridor after most assemblies! I don't think that happens these days! [xx(]William, Lewis's was still like an Aladdin's cave to me as a child in the 60's! I was taken to see Father Christmas there once by my grandfather. I was too shy to talk to him![:I] I remember my grandparents treating me to lunch in the cafeteria there too - I remember being very confused as to why they called fizzy drinks "minerals" on the menu - as far as I was concerned it was "pop" ]My grandad's sister continued to live in the old family home in Openshaw, so we used to be taken on occasional visits there as children. She was a spinster so had no toys in the house, but she let us play the piano and make a pretend sweet shop with her box of buttons - simple pleasures! That was Timperley St, where my Grandad was born. My Grandma was born in the adjacent street - Coronation St! Grandad always said if he'd had to go further to do his courting, he wouldn't have bothered! [ ]To return to "pop"..... my grandparents lived in the next road to us and we always went round there for tea on Christmas Day. Grandad would only buy one bottle of pop (and it came in pints in those days!) between us and served it in tiny tot glasses with different coloured bands of frosted glass round the rim. We all fought for our favourite colour! My grandparents are dead now and I have those little glasses - they all survived intact! My siblings and I still smile at how we had to make those miniscule drinks last all evening!
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The piles of sawdust made me smile.They probably use the gadgets that suck up everything these days.The sight of the caretaker rushing to a spot, bucket in hand was always a source of great entertainment.Almost as good as chasing the fire engine on your bike to find it was yet another chip pan in flames.
Linda
Could hardly recognise Manchester when I went back.Loved the tales of Openshaw.
Have memories as a teenager of walking near Picadilly on the way to the railway station-pitch dark except for the odd shadowy movements.
That was sometimes in the middle of the day.
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