Mrs Buck

Getting electric lighting to Shotton. Earth closets, mother shocked when took seat indoors to dry. Miner's cottage kitchen, cleaning and possing clothes. Grandmother a stern Victorian, did all the sewing, wanted bought clothes. Father served in world war one, they sent him parcels with chocolate figures and cigarettes. Always there for your neighbour. Grandmother laid out bodies, was a custom to tip a glass of whisky down corpse's throat. Local women had medical knowledge. Everyone in one or another of the churches. Brother wanted to be Pentecostal because they had free lantern shows. Spiritualists and Mormons in the village, mother threatened to "give them to the Mormons" if misbehaved. Children interested in new ways of doing things. Men drank a lot and got into fights. Respect for teachers. Schoolbooks, got cane often, got read stories. "Special class" for less bright. Headmistress rode a motorbike. Got news from "children's newspaper". Needlework lessons. More on clothes. Zeppelin. Sunday school field day to Seaton Carew, travel by horse-driven charabanc. Christmas - guisers, new year first footer. Christmas food; nothing from tins. Botany at school. Home discipline. Child stole from store, disciplined, ended up store manager. Local police. Bang dads clothes on wall. Father a deputy. Women gossiping, and available entertainment, dances. First time she saw a zip, station master's daughter's handbag. Didn't get the chance to get higher education. Went into service for school teachers, work and clothes. Coming of 1920s shorter skirts. Courting in "the chicken run". Workhouse and beggars. Wassail, Easter egg booling, funerals. Various houses lived in after marriage, stayed in Easington. Home deliveries - lamp oil, ice-cream, the store - and local shops, sweet shop, toy shop - describes different toys. Sister was a girl guide. Local operatic society. Sneaking to the cinema. Places where old folks lived, "glass house" for bachelors, miner's homes, hospitals locally. Generally dealt with illness with help of family and neighbours, poultices - first poultice put on father, scalded him. Grandmother had bottles of homemade remedies, limewater, comfrey etc. Sort of things taught in lessons. 1926 strike, had to go to soup kitchen but hated it, kept breaking bowls banging them on the counter to get soup. Made slurry balls for fuel. Sometimes only had dry bread, during war years. Cinema company gave cross to church, in return the choir sang in the cinema, in the "flea pit". Easter parades. People would sit on house steps at night playing hurdy gurdy.

Location: Shotton
County: Durham
AUD1983-222

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Transcript of audio:
War was declared August, me Dad went in the September but it was all going to be over by Christmas you see. But it wasn't. 'Cause me Father was away the whole time. I think we only saw him about twice during the War. All the aunt's use to gather up you know when all these parcels use to go and I can remember these little chocolate sailors and chocolate soldiers, tissue paper their uniforms. And I use to think fancy sending men things like that; we're the ones that should have them. Do you know it's funny, those thoughts I can remember thinking those thoughts and it's still vivid in my mind about them. Cigarettes, was it they sent, yes cigarettes but as a family gathering, why Mother couldn't just pack them up herself and send them I don't know unless they were all giving little bits, that would be it.

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