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01/11/2022 at 9:04am
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I think it's important not to get too mawkish about the past - where I grew up we walked to primary school and had a bus to secondary school as it was 6 miles away. As for "whatever the weather" our daughter (who walks to school) has had fewer days off than I did as a kid - she has had only one or two from memory.
On a hard frozen snow day we wouldnt go to school - we'd be over the farm making sure the livestock were ok and could get food and water, or we'd be digging tractors out of snowdrifts. Driven by market forces (what the public is willing to buy and pay), farming isnt like that any more and the average tractor is about the size of our house, so doesnt need digging out if we ever have that weather again.
Slightly difficult to tell ours to be home before it gets dark as we have street lighting everywhere so we set a time, and we've got an app which tells us where she is anyway. Its less of an issue as well as where I grew up was a remote village, dad was a farm labourer so worked crazy hours, mum couldnt drive (and we wouldnt have been able to afford the car anyway) so all we had was scrumping and hanging about. Now, we are on the edges of a town, she's got dance classes, music classes, drama groups etc etc - we can afford to do it and it's practical, and builds a wide range of skills I never had the opportunity to get at that age.
We used to go and buy cider from local farms (Dad originally made cider for the Crossways in North Wootton), until my teens when we'd go out to Roger Wilkins - still a bit of a legend but I think there is noone to take it on when he finally hangs up his pint glass.........
Which leads me to my next thought - apart from my homemade stuff it's farm shop for cider round here. Our farm shop is bonkers - only notionally is it a farm shop! Look it up - whiterow farm shop beckington. Its impossible to walk in then back out again without spending 50 quid on a loaf of spelt bread and some organic Italian olive oil. People drive over, stock up on ridiculously expensive endives, have a cuppa and a scone, let the kids play on the adventure playground, maybe buy fish and chips to take home, wander round the gift shop looking at throws for £100.....I think theres an antique furniture shop(pe) there now too......
That this isnt money going to Tescos etc can only be a good thing - and I can actually get hold of caul fat, kidneys and liver, good pork, etc etc but god is it expensive.
In Wells we had International Supermarket, which then became a Gateway supermarket, then Somerfield, then a Coop - I think its a clothes shop now. It was right in the middle of town. I seem to remember a bloke used to come round to our village and sell fruit and veg off his van (did that happen??), and of course the kleeneze man.
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01/11/2022 at 9:52am
Location: East Herts
Outfit: 1992 Elddis Wisp 450CT + X Trail
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Yes indeed times have changed Mitchamitri. Where I lived was in North London, so very much an urban area. We did have to go to school in all weathers, although I must admit there was the odd occasion a couple of us bunked off to play in the snow over the park. Had to keep a sharp lookout for the park-keeper though as we knew he would "shop" us to the school if he saw us. Very few people had cars where I lived, and even fewer women drove. Those that did had probably learnt in the military, as it wasn't that long after the war.
Scrumping was a thing for us too, but you always had to keep an eye out for the local copper on his bike. He knew where he could usually find us.
I walked to primary school, about a mile each way, and even came home for lunch as the school meals were awful. Secondary school was about 4-5 miles away so normally I went on my bike. I could go on the bus, but there wasn't much advantage as it was about a mile walk to the bus stop, and another good half-mile walk from the nearest bus stop at the school end. There were no school buses as such as there was plenty of public transport. That meant my parents had to find bus fare for me though.
When I had grown up and had kids of my own we lived in a little village in Norfolk. My kids walked to primary school in the village, and went to secondary school in the nearest town, about 9 miles away, on the school bus which I occasionally drove. That was very isolated with virtually no public transport and my wife has never driven. If I wasn't at home nobody in the family went anywhere as the only alternative was a very expensive taxi. That is why we eventually moved to Hertfordshire. We still live in a village, but we have a railway station on a busy commuter line and about 4 bus routes pass through.
Going back to my childhood, quite a few things were delivered. I do remember the lorry that came round delivering fruit and veg. My mother preferred the shop down the road for that though. We also had the milkman (we still have one of those now), the baker, the Corona drinks man, the Betterware man, and the ice-cream man who had a motor-tricycle. When I was very young the milkman had a horse and cart, but later got an electric float. The baker's van was electric too, so nothing new about electric vehicles.
I just remembered, several coalmen came down our street too as virtually everyone had a coal fire.
Post last edited on 01/11/2022 09:56:11
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Best Regards,
Colin
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via mobile 31/10/2022 at 1:23pm
