1924-30

Previous | Contents | Unfortunately I was a young boy, and had to stand on a low box to operate cross-slides etc. However, standing on the box largely prevented me from reaching the treadle, so I had to fasten a big wooden block to the treadle in order to keep the thing going. ... Read more

Previous | Contents | Next I never forgot that particular demonstration and much later in life, when I had acquired a bit of woodworking skill, I tried (just as a personal test) the same joint on a drawer, All I can say is — I was very glad that my mitred dovetails were of ... Read more

Previous | Contents | Next We had books on just about every conceivable subject in addition to a considerable amount of fiction. Every week my father kept us supplied with a good cross-section of magazines and publications — he needed to be kept up to date for his commercial art and we needed to ... Read more

Previous | Contents | Next 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 ... Read more

Previous | Contents | Next I well remember the table-tennis (“ping-pong” we called it) tournaments being played on the big dining-table in a fast and furious fashion. Played with plywood bats covered on each side with glass-paper (sponge rubber covered bats hadn’t arrived yet), and nearly always interrupted by somebody treading on the ball ... Read more

Previous | Contents | Next To be fair, he did show me the value of using tools in the correct manner. He once had me make, with a file and a hacksaw, a 3/4 inch mild steel cube out of 1-1/8 inch round steel, and the sides had to be flat, parallel and square. ... Read more

Previous | Contents | Next I suppose that most of us have, within our characters, behaviour patterns which could certainly be construed as a lot less than virtues. Throughout our lives we are at times maybe covetous, greedy, self-centred, unthinking or just downright bad-tempered and unpleasant – not necessarily huge personality faults in themselves ... Read more

Reminiscences of a happy childhood in the 1920s and ’30s Contents Alternative audio version Introduction: A painting and a poem1. The attic — Dante’s inferno2. The basement — kitchen and cupboards3. In the attic again — the workshop4. Mamma5. Sunday entertainments6. Games and celebrations7. Toys and mishaps8. Reading and chemistry9. ... Read more

Previous | Contents | Next The workshop (as mentioned in the “steaming event” — Chapter 1) was a large attic room sporting a ten-foot long bench equipped with a carpenter’s vice, a small bench fitted with metalworker’s vice and drilling-machine, and a smaller bench with grinding-machine and a gas-ring. A large table served as ... Read more