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SUMMER PICNICS ON THE RAMPARTS
Next came Church Path and the old ramparts with those beautiful green banks to roly-poly down, and of
course the moat where we learnt to swim. In summer time they provided an idyllic playground. We used to take a picnic of bread and jam sandwiches and bottle of cold tea. We must have
eaten quite a few ants during those summer days, but we never tasted them!
THE BETHEL MISSION HALL
Then coming back to Lower South Street, there was the old Bethel Mission Hall where I went to Sunday
School. The most impressionable memory of that actual hall was the beautiful scrubbed floor boards, really white 1 Whoever did them made it a work of art. We always had a lovely
Christmas Tea and prize-giving, after this was a concert; singing was done by the Sunday School teachers, also with the help of older children.
THE SUMMER TREATS
And, of course, there was our summer day treat. How we looked forward to that day, with our tin mugs
tied around our necks with tape or string very often, and our ticket pinned on our garment. There was always lots of noise and pushing, all trying to be the first one on>* Eventually order
would be restored, and much to the boys* annoyance, girls would get on first, not, let me tell you on a bus, but a brake drawn by horses* They belonged to a Mr. Tutt, who in later years had
buses. Off we would go, cheering and shouting out to our mums, or anyone else who might be seeing us off from our dear old South Street. You would have thought we were going to Timbuktoo. But
no, we were off to a field in Little Anglesey Road alongside the creek, which belonged to St. Mary's Church, for the day. How we bumped and rocked on that conveyance. I don't know how we
never suffered any broken bones, but X can't remember any. There was always a table laid out with ha'penny sweets at the far end of the field. These ha'penny treats we had saved
for in different ways, doing all sorts of jobs to earn these small amounts. We always bought some small item for our dear Mum, who worked so hard single-handed, to keep us fed and tidily
dressed. She was a lovely woman. We had races to run and different games, and of course there was the tea. Never was there such a lovely cup, often cold, but always sweet, and often
full of floating grass. Then long before it got dark, all tired out, but happy, we all piled back into the brake. This time it didn't matter if girls got on first or the boys. We were too tired
and happy to argue. We all managed to give a cheer for Mr. and Mrs. Cook who ran the Mission. What devoted people they were. I might add if it rained on these outings we all went into a big
barn, and still had a lovely tea.
RATS !
Also during the summer evenings we would sit down along the big doorsteps with our mums, and watch the
rats having great fun running and playing on the roofs of the Malthouse, and indeed on the roofs of the houses as well.
CHILDRENS GAMES OF THE 192Q!s
The games we played during fine winter evenings were various. We played mostly
outside the Brewery wall next to the Robin Hood, because there was a lamp post there. We played leap-frog and hide-and-seek, hiding in doorways, and alleyways, and sometimes running to our homes,-
the doors were always open, wait a few minutes and then run back quickly. Also another game called "Oory, oory, who-can-do?" Don't ask me what it meant ! Someone would put his
hands on the wall and lean down, put his head on his hands, and then we would all put our hands one on top of the others on his back and say the little rhyme, adding something like "where shall this
little man go to?" All this time we were moving our hands, taking the bottom hand to the top. When we finished saying the rhyme the one whose hand was still on his back was told to go
somewhere, like down to the Post Office and back* This continued until we were all told various places to run to and back again« Whoever was the last one back had to put his hands on the
wall, and start all over again. "Oory, oory, who-can-do? Where will this little man go to?"
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