Childhood Memories

A Memory of Oldham.

I was born at no 3 Sussex Street off West Street, Oldham. Our house had one room downstairs one upstairs. No back door you had to go up the street and down an alleyway to use the tippler toilet. The downstairs had a large black fireplace with a oven that was heated by the fire, my mother used to make bread in it. It had a brass fender round it that was always kept shiny. We had a 2 ring gas hob and the lights were run from gas. My mother used to make the rugs on the floor, I think they were called peg rugs. I also remember the knocker upper who used to bang on the window with his stick in the mornings. My sister and I slept in a large double bed next to my parents double bed. We had a tin bath - this was used once a week. When I was 5 years old we moved to Limeside - luxury - we had a bathroom and a kitchen with a gas cooker. Even though we hadn't a lot of money my parents always managed a holiday every year, I remember the excitement of waiting for the coach to take us to either Blackpool or Great Yarmouth and one year we went to the Isle of Man.

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