Good Old School Days !!!

A Memory of Byker.

I started Walker R C in the 1950's and remember my wonderful teacher called Miss Morgan - she was so sweet and kind. I had very long hair and she would often bring in lovely ribbons for me, I was very shy and she was so very kind to me and every one else.
The playground seemed so big and I felt overwhelmed - I'd never seen so many kids in one place. Many of the boy's boots looked ill fitted and some had the seat hanging out of their pants, and the girls didn't look much better - their clothes looked too small or too big. Times were hard, many kids couldn't go to school because they had no shoes and a lot of kids went to school without a warm drink or any breakfast. Still, most mornings we were all asked for our pennies to buy a baby as they called it in those day they wouldnt dare call it that now thankfully. What the money was really for was to help kids in 3rd world countries. It seemed a bit strange to me at the time that money was being taken off hungry kids in one country to feed hungry kids in another! I know some of my little mates hard a very hard life, no heating and very little to eat, dads that worked in the ship yards and drank their pay before they'd got it, mams struggling to make ends meet.

But if life at home was hard, I hated school, it seemed to me you just had to blink and you got the belt. Monday mornings and the first thing you were asked was did you go to church on Sunday, it was just a yes or no they didn't want to know why you could go whether your mam had made you look after your 5 or 6 brothers and sisters, help with the washing or even if someone close has passed away - makes no difference, you missed church ....so you'd be in trouble. I can still remember the smells of school, the new books, to lead pencils, to the thick yellow stuff that came out of green bottles that most of us had on our hair thanks to nitty Nora the dicky explora!! We hated the nit nurse coming and getting a brown envelope a few days later to take home to mum, and then a few visits to the school clinic for our heads to be coverd in sulyo! Walking into the school first thing in the morning to the over powering smell of boiled cabage! I remember being taught how Jesus fed the many with the loaves and fish so couldn't understand while walking along Church St two nuns turning their noses up when an old man asked them
if they could spare 6 pence for a cup of tea. I dont know why but I learnt a lot that day!!!
Ive been a church goer all my life and I am an old woman now, but its strange that I met more folk that walk in the footsteps of god outside of a church than inside! Back to schooldays, the happiest days of your life......I dont think so.g Girls and boys played in different yards, and the big girls play ground was up on the roof overlooking Welbeck Rd.
I hated going to school! Then we moved house to Tynevale Terrace and I was so worried about changing to a new school, I went to East Walker School, smashing Head, smashing teachers and loads of really good friends. After being there for some time I, as well as everyone else was very upset to hear a boy in my class had drowned at Walker Ferry. To this day I've never forgot little M Carr. I loved the school so much that I also went to the playcentre every week when other kids from other schools would also come and we had such fun. We always finished the night with a dance and there was never any trouble we all got on so. Yes those school days really were the happiest days of my life.
We still done things for poor kids in other countries - we would each buy a hank of wool and knit squares to make blankets for them .