The Joy Of A Local New Baby

A Memory of Felling.

One of my early memories growing up in Walker was of sitting on the step to the back yard in my grans lane and seeing a group of people all dressed up in their Sunday best. One of the women was carrying the most perfect baby boy dressed in an amazing long lace gown and delicate white shawl and I had never seen anything so lovely in my short life. All of the grown ups started to call me over to them, come here pet they called. Well, I looked down at me mucky frock .. I'd earlier been playing with an old lolly stick, digging in the dirt in the gutter, so I really could have done with a wash and clean dress on. Anyway, these folk kept calling me over so...in the end I slowly walked over to them. I felt a bit shy and all the women started to say to one of the woman who was holding a big paper bag to give me the givings so...she handed me the bag and everyone of them looked really pleased .....but not half as pleased as I was when I looked inside the bag to find a scone, a lovely cream cake, sandwiches and
2 half crowns. I couldn't believe my eyes. I ran into my gran's house and showed her the bag. I thought she might take the 5 shillings of me, she was lovely my gran, but times in the 1950s were hard. But she made me a cup of tea and let me eat everything in the bag - although I did ask her to share it with me she wouldn't hear of it. Then she told me to put the money in my little frock pocket and she took me along to Mr Wisemans and I bought new white cotton socks with it. Eh I thought I was the bees knees! My gran explained to me all about the givings how when a baby boy gets christened its given to the first girl they see and if its a baby girl its given to the first boy they see, to give the baby good luck. We also had an old local woman, and when a new baby was born she always gave a sixpence, an egg and salt. It was meant to ensure the baby would have good health, wealth and a long life.
The other Northeast custom as a kid I loved, was the hoy outs at weddings when folk in the wedding cars would throw out coins to all the kids - eh it was smashing if you got a tanner....2 and a half pence in todays money. The good old days!l

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