I started life at 12 Mansfield Rd Aston,it had an attic and cellar, 2 bedrooms 2 living rooms and the back kitchen, no running hot water and coal fires.The toilet was outside in the back garden warmed up in winter by a little paraffin heater to stop the pipes freezing.We had squares of cut up newspaper hanging on a hook on the door to use if there was no Izal paper left. at night we had the guzzunder and god help ya if you did anything other than a wee! My Nan and Grandad were Jim and Lil Carpenter their daughters Betty, Pat and Maureen were all brought up there.
My grandsons love to listen to stories of my happy childhood and are incredulous to hear that we had a bath in a tin bath in front of the fire, children first then the women and lastly the men, all in the same water. We girls had to get dressed behind the sofa to preserve our modesty. Remember the Boys Brigade Band marching down the road on Sundays, the coalman, the milkman and the chimmney sweep all plying their trades. The corner shops, the outdoor and the bookies A lost world!! Summer days shelling peas in the garden, running up the entry and playing in the mud .Sunday school and nursery where we each had a little camp bed for an afternoon nap. Saturday at the ABC Minors watching Lawrence of Arabia. Could talk about those days forever , the boys always say "but Nanny you're not a Victorian"