Thanks Len,
This description refreshes my memory of when, during the war years in
Belfast, our family would visit a friend's farm in Hillsborough - near
the present-day Royal Estate - and assist in their harvest. The farm was
well ordered, but chooks, geese, dogs and cats would roam just outside
the kitchen door. The floor of which was tiled in rough-hewn slate, yet
kept clean daily with a reed broom. Animals were actively discouraged
from entering the kitchen which was the hub of the house, although some
managed to be smuggled in by us kids. We slept in the barn, and I can
vouch that straw can be very prickly! Water was collected daily from the
hand pump in the yard and slops were fed to the penned pigs. The rustic
smell was all-pervasive. The few cows were milked twice daily, but I was
not taught how. I was, however, taught how to churn butter and to keep
clear of the geese as ganders could be aggressive, and I couldn't tell
the difference then. :-). For our services, we would be treated to
somewhat more and varied food than the war-time ration allowed. All the
children went barefoot which, being a townie, I found painful at times.
Try walking across freshly cut stubble.
On arrival in Australia in '48 I stayed for a time with my Aunt and
Uncle on a rural property in western Victoria. When school was out and
on weekends I would assist uncle earn some money by digging potatoes or
stripping tan-bark from acacias. I found it back-breaking work and also
difficult to avoid spoiling the spud crop with the tangs of the fork -
much to uncle's annoyance. (Maybe I was just trying to avoid be asked to
help the next day ;-))
We now have cars apiece, a beautiful home, infrastructure galore, &c,
&c, &c, and more food than is good for us. How times have changed!!!
Gordon
On 26/10/2018 10:32 AM, Len Swindley via CoTyroneList wrote:
Hello Listers;
There has been recent interest expressed in the lives of our Tyrone
forbears (thanks to Elwyn) and here is an extract from the Ordnance
Survey Memoirs of the 1820s-30s that offers some observations on
living conditions in Clogher parish. Having read through many of the
memoirs covering the parishes of Co. Tyrone, this report could be
applied similarly to all parishes.
Len Swindley, Melbourne, Australia
_______________________________________________
CoTyroneList mailing list
[email protected]
http://mail.cotyroneireland.com/mailman/listinfo/
(_internal_name)s
