No.204

WISE MEN SAY

Perhaps the world's second worst crime is boredom. The first is being a bore.
(Cecil Beaton)

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THROUGH THE CAMERA LENS

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POETRY FOR PLEASURE

The Rose
by Amanda McBroom

Some say love, it is a river
That drowns the tender reed.
Some say love, it is a razor
That leaves your soul to bleed.
Some say love, it is a hunger,
An endless aching need.

I say love, it is a flower,
And you it's only seed.
It's the heart afraid of breaking
That never learns to dance.
It's the dream afraid of waking
That never takes the chance.
It's the one who won't be taken,
Who cannot seem to give,
And the soul afraid of dying
That never learns to live.

When the night has been too lonely
And the road has been to long,
And you think that love is only
For the lucky and the strong,
Just remember in the winter
Far beneath the bitter snows
Lies the seed that with the sun's love
In the spring becomes the rose.

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JOHN’S GALLERY

Salisbury Cathedral from the Bishop’s Garden
by John Constable (1776-1837)

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This slide show "King of the Fairies"has been devised and uploaded by the Hungarian folk artist Arany Zoltan



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A QUOTE FOR 80 PLUS

The older I grow, the more I distrust the familiar doctrine that age brings wisdom. (H.L.Mencken)

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No.203

WISE MEN SAY

I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next. (Gilda Radner)

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This is typical view of what became known as “Miners’ Rows.”

One part of the village where I live consists of former miners’ houses. Nowadays they’re all privately-owned, and most have extensions, conservatories and additional rooms built in the attic space.

My great-grandfather George was a miner. He died long before I was born, but I remember the area in which he lived. The pit houses of his day are long gone of course; many would consist of just a room and a kitchen, and with big families common then would certainly be overcrowded.

Later my grandfather, who worked in the pit, first as a train driver and then as a power station attendant, lived in one of those houses.

People were lucky if they had an inside toilet. Often outside toilets had to be shared with other families, and sometimes they were situated at a distance from the house. Not good if a visit during the night was needed!!!

Electricity didn’t come to general housing till much later. It wasn’t till 1936, when my father bought his own house, that I lived in a place where the flick of a switch lit up a room.

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JOHN'S GALLERY

The String of Pearls
by William McGregor Paxton (1869-1941)

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POETRY FOR PLEASURE

Have you seen but a bright lily grow?
by Ben Jonson (1572-1637)

Have you seen but a bright lily grow
Before rude hands have touched it?
Have you marked but the fall of snow
Before the soil hath smutched it?
Have you felt the wool of beaver,
Or swan's down ever?
Or have smelt o' the bud o' the brier,
Or the nard in the fire?
Or have tasted the bag of the bee?
O so white, O so soft, O so sweet is she!

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This slide show - Glasgow, Scotland's Biggest City - was uploaded by glasgow1234



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A QUOTE FOR 80 PLUS

As we grow older, we must discipline ourselves to continue expanding, broadening, learning, keeping out minds active and open. (Clint Eastwood)

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Now online
PIANO PLAYTIME
http://pianoplaytime.blogspot.com

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No.202

WISE MEN SAY

Man is the only animal that laughs and weeps; for he is the only animal that is struck with the difference between what things are and what they ought to be.
(William Hazlitt)

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THROUGH THE CAMERA LENS

An Edwardian schoolroom.
It's difficult to count the pupils but I think there may be more than 50.

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By the beginning of the 20th century every child in Britain was entitled to a basic education. The accent of course was on the three Rs, but geography and history were important as well, and in some schools 12 year olds were beginning Latin.

Part-time schooling was common in certain areas. Where it was necessary for children to earn money for the family budget, those pupils attended school in the morning and went to work in the afternoon, or vice versa.

Many women in impoverished circumstances continued working after marriage. Some went out scrubbing and cleaning for wealthier folk, and others, staying at home, took in washing.

The people who could afford domestic help were those who had their own shop or business, doctors, teachers, lawyers and the clergy.

Some workers were fortunate in having very good employers. An example was the Cadbury factory in Birmingham, where the owners built houses, schools, libraries and churches for the workers and their families.

The “top” class of people were the aristocracy of course. Their way of life, which seemed to be a continual round of parties, balls, theatre outings, hunting, fishing and shooting, would experience a serious upset in 1914 - a setback from which it never fully recovered.

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JOHN'S GALLERY

Sleeping Girl with Cat
by Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919)

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POETRY FOR PLEASURE

Daffodils
by William Wordsworth (1770-1850)

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed - and gazed - but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

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Thanks to DeereK13 for this slide show.
After watching it though, I played it again pausing on each picture.



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A QUOTE FOR 80 PLUS

The secret of staying young is to live honestly, eat slowly and lie about your age.
(Lucille Ball)

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Now online
PIANO PLAYTIME
http://pianoplaytime.blogspot.com

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No.201

WISE MEN SAY

We learn wisdom from failure much more than from success. We often discover what will do, by finding out what will not do, and probably he who never made a mistake never made a discovery. (Samuel Smiles)

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JOHN’S GALLERY

The Highland Wedding
by David Allan (1744-1796)

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POETRY FOR PLEASURE

The 8.15 was almost due,
He had no time to spare,
He licked his face and cleaned his teeth
And combed and brushed his hair.

He gripped his collar savagely
And fumbled with his tie,
Then tried to do his shirt-front up,
No buttons could he spy.

He dashed down to the breakfast room
With curses that could hurt,
“How often have I asked you, girl,
‘Bout buttons on my shirt?”

His little wife said “Oh, but dear,”
“Don’t dear me!” he replied.
“There’s no time to be funny, girl!”
Belinda simply sighed.

“I’m sick to death of telling you
‘Bout buttons on my shirt,
It’s dastardly to treat me thus,
I’m not a lump of dirt!”

His little wife just looked at him,
Her lips began to pout.
“You see, my dear,” she sweetly said,
“Your shirt is inside out!” (Anon)

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VINTAGE CARDS AND POSTERS

Only a Halfpenny by Adelaide Burgess

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A Vintage Greetings card

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A Victorian Trade Card

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A 1900 poster by Albert Truchet

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A Victorian Trade Card

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The Gentleman

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Thanks to http://www.vintageimages.com for those cards

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This video, taken by a visitor at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, shows how one patient tries to overcome her incapacity.



Uploaded by OneSnappy

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A QUOTE FOR 80 PLUS

As you get older three things happen. The first is your memory goes, and I can't remember the other two. (Norman Wisdom)

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Next post here Monday 26th March

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No.200

WELCOME

TO THE 200TH POST AT 80 PLUS

This blog’s first appearance was on 3rd July 2008.
Since then it has had more than 5,800 hits with just over 7,700 pages looked at.

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WISE MEN SAY

Forethought we may have, undoubtedly, but not foresight.
(Napoleon Bonaparte)

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In my young day some fathers, clever with their hands, were able to make things like stilts for their children and “bogies” constructed out of a wooden box and four pram wheels.

I doubt if my father could have managed anything like that, although he once made a kite which succeeded in staying airborne for a couple of minutes.

A few boys in our street went to the local blacksmith who made a “girr” (hoop) and “cleek” (iron rod) for them. There was very little traffic where we lived and so the place was ideal for running with those toys.

Searching for good chestnuts was a popular pastimes in autumn, but I don’t think I ever played conkers and although I had a collection of marbles I can’t remember playing “bools” with them.

My Saturday penny often went to buy another toy soldier for my tin fort. Made of metal, about 4cm in height, they were brightly painted - black busbies, red jackets and dark blue trousers. Unusually the fort was also home to one or two cowboys and a red Indian.

Like most boys at that time, I had a number of Dinky Toys. Modelled on real cars, vans, lorries and buses, those were much more expensive than the soldiers, and so it was only occasionally that one was added to my collection.

When playing with toys, I had a vivid imagination. While my pals all knelt down and pushed their little cars along the pavement, I remained standing, holding my car at eye level, for I could clearly see the imaginary road along which my car was speeding.

Both my sister and I were pretty good at “make believe”. When very small, she would sit for ages on the floor playing with papers and telling stories aloud to herself. As for me, a couple of clothes pegs (not the kind with metal hinges) could become people, the little round bit being the head and the two prongs their legs. Also if one of the pegs was fitted in to the other at right angles, the result was an aeroplane.

When I was very young, I could content myself with an old biscuit tin full of discarded buttons, arranging them in different patterns on the carpet.

Who needs toys if you have a good imagination?

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JOHN’S GALLERY

Children
by Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1526/1530–1569)

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POETRY FOR PLEASURE

The Lamplighter
by Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894)

My tea is nearly ready and the sun has left the sky,
It's time to take the window to see Leerie going by,
For every night at teatime and before you take your seat,
With lantern and with ladder he comes posting up the street.

Now Tom would be a driver and Maria go to sea,
And my papa's a banker and as rich as he can be,
But I, when I am stronger and can choose what I'm to do,
O Leerie, I'll go round at night and light the lamps with you!

For we are very lucky, with a lamp before the door,
And Leerie stops to light it as he lights so many more,
And oh! before you hurry by with ladder and with light,
O Leerie, see a little child and nod to him tonight!

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The music video I’ve chosen today is really quite astonishing -
four very young children from Chongjin City in North Korea, playing guitars!!!
Uploaded by Chojiro22



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A QUOTE FOR 80 PLUS

He who is of a calm and happy nature will hardly feel the pressure of age,
but to him who is of an opposite disposition youth and age are equally a burden.
(Plato)

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Next post on 80 plus Music Mix - Thursday 22nd March
Julian Lloyd Webber, Charlie Kunz, Vera Lynn
and the Johann Strauss Ensemble
http://80plusmusicmix.blogspot.com

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No.199

WISE MEN SAY

I have a simple philosophy - fill what’s empty, empty what’s full, scratch where it itches.
(Alice Roosevelt Longworth)

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JOHN’S GALLERY

The Girl in White
by Arthur Hacker (1858-1919)

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POETRY FOR PLEASURE

Sweet Garden-Orchard
by William Wordsworth (1770-1850)

Sweet Garden-orchard! of all spots that are
The loveliest surely man hath ever found.
Farewell! we leave thee to heaven's peaceful care.
Thee and the cottage which thou dost surround -

Dear Spot! whom we have watched with tender heed,
Bringing thee chosen plants and blossoms blown
Among the distant mountains, flower and weed
Which thou hast taken to thee as thy own -

O happy Garden! loved for hours of sleep,
O quiet Garden! loved for waking hours.
For soft half-slumbers that did gently steep
Our spirits, carrying with them dreams of flowers.

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THROUGH THE CAMERA LENS

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Uploaded by agnesfashionart, La Belle Epoque is a collection of Victorian and Edwardian photos.



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A QUOTE FOR 80 PLUS

Should we slow down because we’re getting older, or hurry up because we’ll not get any younger? (Anon)

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Next post Wednesday 21st March

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No.198

WISE MEN SAY

A lonesome man on a rainy day is one who does not know how to read.
(Anon)

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THROUGH THE CAMERA LENS

Stivan Beach on Cres Island, Croatia

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POETRY FOR PLEASURE

It Couldn't Be Done
by Edgar A. Guest (1881-1959)

Somebody said that it couldn't be done,
But he with a chuckle replied
That maybe it couldn't, but he would be one
Who wouldn't say so till he tried.

So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin
On his face. If he worried, he hid it.
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn't be done, and he did it.

Somebody scoffed: "Oh, you'll never do that -
At least no one ever has done it."
But he took off his coat and took off his hat
And the first thing he knew he'd begun it.

With the lift of his chin and a bit of a grin,
Without any doubting or quiddit,
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn't be done, and he did it.

There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done,
There are thousands to prophesy failure;
There are thousands to point out to you, one by one,
The dangers that wait to assail you.

But just buckle right in with a bit of a grin,
Then take off your coat and go to it;
Just start in to sing as you tackle the thing
That cannot be done, and you'll do it.

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JOHN’S GALLERY

A Distinguished Member of the Humane Society
by Sir Edwin Landseer (1802-1873)

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I chanced to pass a window
While walking through a mall
With nothing much upon my mind,
Quite blank as I recall.
I noticed in that window
A cranky-faced old man,
And why he looked so cranky
I didn't understand.
Just why he looked at ME that way
Was more than I could see
Until I came to realize
That cranky man was ME!

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Make sure the volume is turned up for this item.

Uploaded by sakura4250

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A QUOTE FOR 80 PLUS

I will never be an old man. To me, old age is always 15 years older than I am.
(Francis Bacon)

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Next post Monday 19th March

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No.197

WISE MEN SAY

Today is the absolute day, the only day in the eternity of time.
Every day is fresh and new, just as one’s life is new every day.
(Anon)

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JOHN’S GALLERY

On the Threshold
by Edmund Blair Leighton (1852-1922)

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POETRY FOR PLEASURE

The Market Girl
by Thomas Hardy (1840-1928)

Nobody took any notice of her as she stood on the causey kerb*,
All eager to sell her honey and apples and bunches of garden herb;
And if she had offered to give her wares and herself with them too that day,
I doubt if a soul would have cared to take a bargain so choice away.

But chancing to trace her sunburnt grace that morning as I passed nigh,
I went and I said "Poor maidy dear! - and will none of the people buy?"
And so it began; and soon we knew what the end of it all must be,
And I found that though no others had bid, a prize had been won by me.

*causey - a paved pathway

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THROUGH THE CAMERA LENS

I found this photo on the internet. There was no information about it, but it was said to be Scottish dated 1848

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DO YOU REMEMBER -

Nelson Eddy

In this YouTube uploaded by MusashiTzu he sings a popular ballad from 1909 “When you come to the end of a perfect day.” The words by Carrie Jacobs-Bond are shown below.

When you come to the end of a perfect day,
And you sit alone with your thought,
While the chimes ring out with a carol gay,
For the joy that the day has brought,
Do you think what the end of a perfect day
Can mean to a tired heart,
When the sun goes down with a flaming ray,
And the dear friends have to part?

Well, this is the end of a perfect day,
Near the end of a journey, too,
But it leaves a thought that is big and strong,
With a wish that is kind and true.
For memory has painted this perfect day
With colours that never fade,
And we find at the end of a perfect day,
The soul of a friend we've made.

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A QUOTE FOR 80 PLUS

The principal objection to old age is that there’s no future in it. (Anon)

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Tomorrow on 80 plus Music Mix
Kenny Ball and his Jazzmen
Natalia Kartashova
The 12 cellos of the Berlin Philharmonic
http://80plusmusicmix.blogspot.com

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No.196

WISE MEN SAY

Only as high as I reach can I grow,
Only as far as I seek can I go,
Only as deep as I look can I see,
Only as much as I dream can I be.
(Karen Ravn)

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JOHN’S GALLERY

The Admiring Glance

by Auguste Toulmouche (1829-1890)

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ON THE STREET WHERE WE LIVED

Kerr Street was one of contrasts.

Bisected halfway down by Oxford Street, the upper part where we lived consisted of well-kept tenements, 4 villas near us, a primary school, a church and 2 more private houses.

My pal Andrew lived in one of the bigger tenement flats across the road. He was one of a big family, and each time I called to ask if he was coming out to play, his mother, having answered the door, would go off to fetch him. That was when his siblings one by one would peep out from the kitchen door to inspect me, each head appearing at a different level.

The lower part of the street, which stretched down to the main road, had a picture house, a bus garage, and a small hall which may have been used by British Legion members. Quite a few of the houses were of the room and kitchen type with outside toilets, and the families who occupied them seemed to have a large numbers of children. I was inside one of those houses only once, and that was when I was teenager. I had to deliver a message to a semi-professional musician who lived there with his wife and 3 or 4 children. Where they all slept I don’t know, but Bob’s double bass took up valuable space in the bedroom!!!

There were two “sweetie” shops, one of which was really the living room of a house. Another one was used by a shoe repairer for his shop. We children had a morbid interest in the fact that he had just one leg and got about on crutches. A member of the Salvation Army band, he taught his two sons the trumpet and when they grew up both were well-known locally as dance band musicians. The younger one for a while worked in London with some of the country’s top dance bands.

I must say a little bit more about our picture house. Of the two cinemas in the town, the one in our street was the least attractive. The films shown there were often unknown and the brightness of the screen seemed to dim every twenty minutes or so.

In those days it took years for new films to come to a local picture house. However that didn’t stop many folk being enthusiastic cinema-goers, and, with each picture house changing their programme every two days, it was possible to see a different show six nights a week!!!

Most children in those days went to the Saturday matinee, but that was not for us. There were two reasons - first, my mother’s upbringing as a Baptist gave her serious doubts about picture houses and theatres, but more important than that was the terrible tragedy which occurred in Paisley on the afternoon of December 31st 1929.

Nine hundred children between the ages of eighteen months and twelve years had gathered in the Glen Cinema, when a fire broke out in the projection box. It was quickly brought under control but as smoke filled the hall panic ensued. Some of the exits couldn’t be opened and tragically 70 children were crushed to death in the stampede.

On rare occasions we went to the local cinema as a family. The films we saw were usually stories about children and starred either Freddie Bartholomew or Shirley Temple.

This video “Baby Face” is a tribute to Shirley Temple devised by afrenchindublin. The song is played by Art Mooney and his Orchestra.

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A friend has sent me this YouTube video and I'm pleased to to be able to show it here.
From it, you'll gather that there's a proposal to build houses in our village.
Naturally we're doing everything possible to oppose the scheme.

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Now on 80 plus Music Mix
The New Zealand singer Hayley Westenra:
Waltz II from Jazz Suite by Shostakovich:
Song of India by the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra.
http://80plusmusicmix.blogspot.com

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A QUOTE FOR 80 PLUS

Old age comes on suddenly, and not gradually as is thought.
(Emily Dickinson)

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No.195

WISE MEN SAY

Sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same (Anon)

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THROUGH THE CAMERA LENS

Thanks to http://www.freefoto.com

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POETRY FOR PLEASURE

On a Tired Housewife
Anon

Here lies a poor woman who was always tired,
She lived in a house where help wasn't hired:
Her last words on earth were: “Dear friends, I am going
To where there's no cooking, or washing, or sewing,
For everything there is exact to my wishes,
For where they don't eat there's no washing of dishes.
I'll be where loud anthems will always be ringing,
But having no voice I'll be quit of the singing.
Don't mourn for me now, don't mourn for me never,
I am going to do nothing for ever and ever.”

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JOHN’S GALLERY

“The Expectant Wee Things”
an engraving by William Miller after John Faed

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This fun video was filmed in Bukit Bintang, Malaysia last July



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A QUOTE FOR 80 PLUS

Old age is like everything else. To make a success of it, you've got to start young.
(Theodore Roosevelt)

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Next post here Monday 12th March

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No.194

WISE MEN SAY

To talk without thinking is to shoot without aiming. (Anon)

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THROUGH THE CAMERA LENS

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POETRY FOR PLEASURE

The Quiet Life
by Alexander Pope (1688-1744)

Happy the man, whose wish and care
A few paternal acres bound,
Content to breathe his native air
In his own ground.

Whose herds with milk, whose fields with bread,
Whose flocks supply him with attire;
Whose trees in summer yield him shade,
In winter fire.

Blest, who can unconcernedly find
Hours, days and years slide soft away
In health of body, peace of mind,
Quiet by day,

Sound sleep at night; study and ease
Together mixed; sweet recreation,
And innocence, which most does please
With meditation.

Thus let me live, unseen, unknown;
Thus unlamented let me die;
Steal from the world, and not a stone

Tell where I lie.

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JOHN’S GALLERY

His Master’s Voice
by Francis Barraud (1856-1924)

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This video uploaded by Aaron1912 is “The Year was 1912.” It lasts five and a half minutes.



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A QUOTE FOR 80 PLUS

To resist the frigidity of old age, one must combine the body, the mind, and the heart.
And to keep these in parallel vigour, one must exercise, study, and love.
(Alan Bleasdale)

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Next post here Friday 9th March

Tomorrow on 80 PLUS MUSIC MIX - the New Zealand singer Hayley Westenra, the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra and a famous waltz by the Russian composer Shostakovich.
http://80plusmusicmix.blogspot.com

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No.193

WISE MEN SAY

There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth;
not going all the way, and not starting.
(Buddha)

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THROUGH THE CAMERA LENS

This vintage photo was among a number sent to me by my American cousin Walter.
It shows whisky being poured down a sewer during prohibition in the USA.

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MORE MEMORIES

When I was very young I suppose I thought it normal to have bad dreams. Looking back, I remember that I often woke up crying during the night, and one of my parents had to comfort me.

I know I had a vivid imagination and suspected that ghosts lived among the coats hanging in the dark hall of our tenement house. During winter nights, with the living room lit only by one gas mantle, my sister and I would often glance up at the window above the door leading to the hall, half-expecting to see horrible faces watching us.

Perhaps much of my fear sprang from the fact that I was really afraid of God, and believed that, if I misbehaved, he would punish me there and then. The words of a children’s hymn were very real to me -

God is always near me
Hearing what I say,
Knowing all my thoughts and deeds,
All my work and play.

Children had to be especially good on Sundays, for it appeared that God didn’t like unnecessary noise on his holy day. We went to church of course, and after the service our parents would go home, while my sister and I stayed on for Sunday school. In the afternoon, if the weather was fine, we might all go for a walk to the cemetery or perhaps along the canal bank.

Where we lived, children didn’t play outside on Sundays. In the public parks the swings were all chained up and no ball games were allowed. I suppose that the only shops open were newsagents early in the morning, and perhaps an ice cream shop later in the day. Cinemas, theatres and pubs were closed, and there were no football fixtures, either professional or amateur.

It’s interesting to recall that most motor cars then were used solely for pleasure, and on Sundays would stay in the garage. I knew of car-owning families who would walk to and from church - in some cases a round trip of four miles. I'm remembering that working in the garden on Sunday was frowned upon.

At home my sister and I could play the piano, provided the music was “suitable”, and what we listened to on the wireless was vetted by our mother.

The war of course was to change all that, and from 1939 onwards, even in our family, the concept of keeping the Sabbath holy lost much of its importance.

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JOHN’S GALLERY

A Scene in Arran
by William Dyce (1806-1864)

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POETRY FOR PLEASURE

I leave my heart in an English garden
by Christopher Hassell (1912-1963)

Breezes in the long grass ruffling my hair,
Hollyhock and bluebell scenting the air;
Nothing in the world can ever be
Such a sweet memory.
Nothing in the world was ever so fair.

I leave my heart in an English garden,
Safe where the elm and the oak stand by.
Though the years rise and roll away,
Still shall those watchmen stay,

Bold in the blue of an English sky.

I leave my dreams in an English garden,
Safe where the breezes of England blow.
When the highways are dark and drear,
I know there's sunshine here,
Bright where the roses of England grow.

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Thanks to Hilux 188 for making this slide show available. Scottish scenes are accompanied by “Highland Cathedral” played by the Grampian Police Pipe Band

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A QUOTE FOR 80 PLUS

Ageing seems to be the only available way to live a long life.
(Kitty O'Neill Collins)

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Next post here Wednesday 7th March

Have you visited 80 PLUS MUSIC MIX yet?
http://80plusmusicmix.blogspot.com

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No.192

WISE MEN SAY

Chop your own wood, and it will warm you twice. (Henry Ford)

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THROUGH THE CAMERA LENS

Cowgate, Kirkintilloch in 1910

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This peaceful scene would have looked a great deal different earlier in the morning. The street would have been a mass of men and women in a hurry, responding to the first blast of the horn which warned that they had just five more minutes to get inside the foundry gates. Those who hadn’t arrived before the second blast would know that money would be docked from their pay.

Others, mainly women, would have been on the road earlier. These were the domestic servants facing the half-hour’s walk to the big private houses in Lenzie. One or two men would have been among them, gardeners, odd-job men, and perhaps a chauffeur, who later in the day would drive his employer to Glasgow.

An hour later the streets are still fairly busy with shop assistants and office workers on their way to begin the tasks of the day. Many of them are walking on the road for there’s very little traffic - perhaps the doctor’s car or a horse-driven van. Later still, more horses and carts will appear, all heading in different directions.

A good number of local people work in Glasgow and many travel by bus. There are two railways stations in the town, both within easy walking distance for most people.

It’s a dull day and the shops will need their gas lamps lit for some time yet. Looking at the goods displayed in a grocer’s window, we find eggs marked up at 1s a dozen, butter at 1s 2d for a pound, tea is 1s 6d a pound, cheese 6d a pound, sugar 3d a pound, lard 7d a pound, a loaf of bread costs tuppence ha’penny, a pound of bacon is 9d and a pound of onions a penny ha’penny. (For those of you who don’t remember “old money” - one shilling = 5p)

Children are beginning to appear on the main street on their way to school. Some have to walk quite a distance. Most of them are well-wrapped up against the cold, though not all. A few are poorly dressed and one wonders what kind of breakfast they had. They all have schoolbags on their back, containing their books and a “play piece” (something to eat at “play time.”) Those who live too far away to get home for lunch will have been given something extra to eat at lunch time. No school meals or milk in those days!

With the children off to school, most mothers are busy at home, cleaning the house, washing and ironing and attending to the many household chores - and all without the aid of modern gadgets!

Later in the day the opportunity will probably occur to go shopping. And when friends meet each other, what do they talk about? The cost of living, no doubt. One woman tells her friend that the Co-op butcher has meat at 10d a pound, and the other replies that at the fruiterer’s apples are 3d a pound.

But many are discussing last night “at the pictures.” This is of course BC - before cinemas, but every so often a travelling showman visits the town hall to present a programme of moving pictures. Presented by the OK Living Electric Pictures, the show had included the OK Gazette News of the World, two main films, some shorts - and “live acts.”

Many church people were reluctant to give their approval to that kind of entertainment, but they would have enjoyed the missionary night in the Baptist Church, where the visiting speaker showed pictures of Africa and Africans with his “Magic Lantern.”

For most folk it was a long working day, and especially in the winter time it would be great to get home in the evening and do what? Probably not much.

[This article originally appeared in my blog “When Our Parents were Young”]

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JOHN’S GALLERY

Dutch Boats in a Gale
by Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851)

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POETRY FOR PLEASURE

Things
by Joan Dixon

So many things
Everywhere things,
My things, your things,
On-the-shelves and in-drawers things,
Old things, new things,
Useful and trivial things,
Pretty and ugly things,
Treasured and forgotten things,
Not-need-now things,
One day come-in-handy things,
Will keep-for-grandchildren things,
Hate-to-throw-away things,
Oh! Too many things!
Time to shed the blooming things!!!

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A QUOTE FOR 80 PLUS

The denunciation of the young is a necessary part of the hygiene of older people,
and greatly assists the circulation of the blood. (Logan P. Smith)

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Next post here Monday 5th March

Now online - 80 plus Music Mix
http://80plusmusicmix.blogspot.com

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