“I would not wish to give the impression that my younger days were monopolised by feeding chunks of coal into steam generators…”
With seven children of various ages it is reasonable to assume that by the time the latest arrivals were at the toy appreciation stage, a large quantity of toys, books and gear was already available throughout the household, and in fact, such was the situation. Needless to say, quite a lot of stuff had been broken or had genuinely worn out, but in spite of that I and brother Angus inherited, or got the use of, a vast amount of wonderful gear.
I have mentioned elsewhere about the workshop and all the engines and tools with which it was equipped, but I also recall a tremendous quantity of model railway material – there was enough track to go twice round the garden path together with lots of points and sidings. Two very nice Hornby 4 – 4 – 4 Special Tank locomotives (much sought after by collectors today) one or two smaller locomotives and lots of wagons, signals etc.
There was a considerable amount of chemical apparatus, consisting of test-tubes, beakers, retorts, crucibles, bunsen burner, evaporating dishes, etc. and goodly supply of chemicals.
The already generous quantity of Meccano was continually added to for years, and by the time other pursuits had claimed most of my time, I had acquired a very substantial amount.
The farmyard was another toy that was added to throughout the years.
The farmyard “set-up”, modelled to the same scale as the railway which was “O” gauge, had a delightful farmhouse of attractive design, a timber wagon with logs and chains attended by a team of four horses, a little two-wheeled tumbrel equipped with detachable hay ladders back and front, hauled by one horse, a large four-wheeled farm wagon with a swivelling front axle pulled by two horses, two horse-drawn ploughs, a little horse-drawn roller, lots of barns and cowsheds with cute little half-doors that opened, a tiny well that could raise and lower the bucket, a dovecot and loads and loads of fencing, gates and trees, horses, cows, sheep and pigs etc.
One little incident regarding the farmyard is perhaps worth telling. We had a little girl friend who lived across the road at No.13, Gwennie by name. She sometimes played in our house with the toys and on this occasion we were playing with the farmyard. Came home-going time and my mother escorted Gwennie to the front porch. Unfortunately it was teeming with rain, so up went Gwennie’s umbrella and out fell about a dozen farm animals. Not in the least embarrassed by the incident, Gwennie simply stepped over them and skipped across the road to home. When Mamma came inside again, having picked up the animals, she was laughing away to herself, yet would not tell we younger ones what it was all about. I only learned a long time after what had happened and we never allowed it to affect our association with Gwennie. Mind you I have often wondered how many trips to the farmyard goldmine Gwennie had made!
I would not wish to give the impression that my younger days were monopolised by feeding chunks of coal into steam generators, or in making lots of free-lance design Meccano models. Throughout my tender years I indulged in many spasms of experimentation which, while satisfying my own curiosity, probably were much less enjoyed by any adult unfortunate enough to be the recipient of the effects thereof. One or two such incidents did give rise to situations which could have had very serious consequences — but there we are, at the time my enthusiasm quite over ruled common-sense I suppose.
At the age of four, or thereabouts, I received as one of my Christmas presents, a small wooden crate of tangerines or clementines from my aunt Polly in Scotland. After they had been devoured, it occurred to me that the wee crate would make a fine lantern. Angus was in on this too, but with me being the elder I expect that I was the leading figure. Anyhow, we placed a candle in the crate and to tell the truth, it did look very well as a lantern — the only snag was that the flame was far too near the top of the crate. So long as Angus and I were watching it, or at least in the vicinity, we would probably have eventually realised the danger and snuffed out the candle. The trouble came when we got called downstairs for tea, and without thinking we left it burning in the bedroom at the top of the house. The next thing I remember was the arrival of the Fire-Brigade, with several appliances and lot of blokes in helmets and armed with hatchets. They charged up the stairs, giving odd whacks at any closed doors which they passed on their way to the attics. I think they must have had a Red Indian fire chief. All they needed were a few feathers and a birchbark canoe!
Angus and I were hastily hustled to a neighbour in case we got in the way of firemen or water, which was by now cascading down the stairs like a miniature Niagara.
The fire was confined, very fortunately, to the one attic bedroom, and although all the furniture and beds were lost and much of the family’s store of photographs destroyed, it could have been much worse. Even so, I seem to recall that the considered opinion of the household was that while the timely action of the Brigade had probably saved the house, the material damage they caused in the process was infinitely worse than the actual fire damage. I expect the above incident somewhat tempered my escapades for a little while anyway, although I daresay the top of the house was due for decorating so perhaps Angus and I just hastened it a wee bit !
Hot-water bottles for cold nights were used by most of the family on occasion, and we employed a variety from stoneware, rubber and corrugated aluminium (which resembled present-day cyclists’ water bottles, although about twice as long). Angus’s and mine would invariably be filled with rather tepid water, which we thought was of little use in providing warmth, so we would hop into the workshop (next door to the bedroom) and give the aluminium bottles a quick heat-up on the gas-ring. This worked very well as regards the length of time the bottles remained hot, but being cylindrical, they had the unfortunate habit of chasing you round the bed and burning your backside every time you shifted position. Sometimes we would sneak supplies of cocoa, milk and sugar and make cocoa in the bottles, unbeknown to the adults. I expect that it had a horrible taste, but who cares when you’re young, and we felt that we were being very wild and daring!