The Garden Fence - proper Old Style support and chat!

MingVase

Yes. If there were any left

Nargleblast

There are definitely ghosts haunting the Fence, especially the big-eared, long-nosed, grey-skinned variety.

pollyanna_26

MingVase said:

The Fence knows it has to watch its Ps & Qs or it might accidentally........ get burned to the ground.

know wot I mean?

*sinister cackle*

Behave yourself Woman.

Been a bit busy but can tell you I know where my brother was buried. I spoke to the cousin my age who lived near me when our firstborns were babies.She's the youngest of all my cousins who lived in the horrible two up two down house.

She didn't remember littleTom at all but said leave it with me I'll ask our Marie she's been tracking all the ins and outs of the extended family. Your mums brother married my mum so if anyone knows Marie will.

Marie is her much older sister who travelled on the cheap package to Australia the day after her wedding and is still there all these years on.

She sent an email. Ask her does she remember another cemetary, not the one where her mum and dad were buried but one Auntie used to take her to when she was little.

Instantly I remembered being in a cemetary in the area our prefab was in and asking my mum about a very long grave/memorial. She explained many of the people killed in the Bootle blitz were buried there. She didn't explain why so it was years later i read of the full extent of the bombing of Bootle and how many victims were beyond identification hence the mass grave.

Years later Helen Forrester wrote of walking all the way down from the city to her job in a welfare office in Bootle after a raid stepping over fire hoses and bomb damage as the trams couldn't run and houses were still ablaze. I coulld walk every step of the way when I read that as I knew all those areas and what a long journey it must have been for someone so badly fed.

We were there to visit a grave. My brothers grave. I used to watch mum change the water in the vses and fill them with flowers but still couldn't remember anything between my brother leaving in the ambulance and me at a street party.

Thanks to marie I now know my mum was in a terrible state, my dad was ill with his old friend Pneumonia so I wasn't living there. I was sometimes with my aunt,uncle and cousin in their prefab identical to ours. That explains all the photos of us in the garden on our three wheeler bikes.

I also was with my youngest and favourite auntie a lot. The memories of that came back including Grandma mums mother visitng. She would sit very upright. She would take her coat off but keep her hat on and hold her gloves in her lap. I always found her quite scary.

It was years later i heard how she the Lords daughter and a titled lady eloped with my mums dad the groom on the estate. Travelled steerage to New York in terrible conditions and decided she'd changed her mind by the time they landed at Staten Island . They had to on to NewYork then grandad had to earn the money to go back to England.

By the time the ship docked in Liverpool they had no money to go back to Ireland so ended up in a two up two dwn in Bootle and had 8 children.

She would visit the markets to buy second hand clothes she'd remake into coats and other clothes. Kept an immaculate but tiny home and cooked and fed her family well. Brought them up well to be clean hardworking and polite.

When I read Round about a Pound a Week I thought of her. She had the Knowledge but I've no idea where she got it from. Until she'd eloped her life had been fine emboidery, painting and dinners and balls.

I heard from Marie a few days ago. Did you find Wee Tom? Oh yes i did I said and i can't thank you enough.

She explained the day of the street party was the dayI went back to live with mum and dad. They thought it would make things easier for me  to choose a day when there was lots of fun.

I've since remembered pushing my firstborns pram as mum and I visited the grave. Grandma was with Tom then. Another relative was also buried there. I think it was my poor abused aunt, Her husband made sure she never had a penny to her name and I remember my mum saying she wouldn't see her sister having a paupers burial so she was the last.

Some years later my cousin told me something I thought was a joke or an urban myth. her mother with the dreadful house, life and so many children had died. They couldn't afford a proper burial so under cover of darkness some of the offspring buried her ashes near the foot of Toms grave. It turned out they had. my mum said Wee Tom always liked company and no more was said!

I have to thank you all for putting up with my wonderings and ramblings lately. We were always a family that shared memories but there was blank space for a period in my early life when no one was talking and I didn't know where i had been during that time.

Take care all.

pollyx

Eta It was Ellis Island not Staten. Was where hopeful immigrants were assessed before going on to New York.

MingVase

Some people had such hard, sad lives. And then you see those awesome ones like Marcus Rashford who are determined to help stop that.

pollyanna_26

MingVase said:

Some people had such hard, sad lives. And then you see those awesome ones like Marcus Rashford who are determined to help stop that.

Marcus is my hero and not only because I'm a ManU fan. He's a young man with the world at his feet who never forgot his roots or how hunger hurts.He's spoken of how you feel excluded and looked down on by fellow school mates and their families.

Man U taking him into the academy when he was young helped him and now although he's rich he continues to help those struggling. Many in his position now would leave the past behind but not him. He's the first Premier League footballer  to take on a Government refuse to be silenced and win. The appalling racist abuse he and some of his England team mates experienced actually highlights the difference between a decent young man and pure scum.

pollyx

burtha

morning all , 
love reading about your history Polly.  

poverty and hardship should be history only now . anyone who is challenging the government or doing any thing to help someone deserves massive amounts of respect .

it's a beautiful day here atm , forecast is rain later and I've got 2 of the grandkids straight from work , hopefully taking them to an art thing in Newcastle .. hope the rain stays away till we're home . 

right coffee done , off to work I go hey ho hey ho hey ho .... 
Enjoy your Tuesday everyone 

ttfn
 x

Florenceem

Very quiet at the fence lately.
Lots of people are wearing a mask on buses and in shops here.
Not much happening here - more jellyfish and snakes to go in the makes bag.

greenbee

Florenceem said:

Very quiet at the fence lately.

Probably scared of the arsonist... 

Hard_Up_Hester

Hi fencers

We spent a couple of days at Froxfield where there is no wifi, phone or tv signal so I've been unable to post.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/froxfield

Hopefully it will be better now we've moved on.

MingVase

greenbee said:

Florenceem said:

Very quiet at the fence lately.

Probably scared of the arsonist... 

Oh now tsk tsk GB. One was merely pointing out what might possibly happen.