First Holiday

A Memory of Newburn.

This was around 1950. Me Ma had a sister who was my Aunt Lilly, she married a Yorkshire man from Leeds who was my Uncle Jack and they had one daughter called Jean who was a year or so older than me and they lived in Gipton, Leeds (I've mentioned them before). Every summer holiday they would come up and stay at me Nanna and Granda's. They would come up by train, steam of course in those days, then get the bus from central station to bottom of Millfield Bank and that was a chore carrying luggage up there. I always got excited waiting for them to arrive and would sit outside Jacksons shop at the top of the bank waiting for them to appear, then run and greet them and help with luggage. They would stay for two weeks and always complained that they couldn't get much sleep with the steel works steam hammer going all night, we were used to this and couldn't understand what the fuss was about. This year was to be special because they were taking me back with them for two weeks' holiday as we were in the middle of the summer school holidays. This was going to be lush, a long journey on a train. I remember the carriages had a corridor and the seating area was a compartment just like you see in the old movies. When we got to their house I was introduced to the large family next door who were called the Monaghans and there would scarcely be a year between them, I'm sure there was about ten of them, some my age, some younger and some older. They were all nice and made me feel welcome. It was a house that the door was always left open and you just walked in, as with most of the family's back then, we had nought so there was nought to pinch. That night I slept well with all the excitement and the long travel. Next day we went to visit Uncle Jack's parents so we had to get a tram across Leeds. When we got there it was a typical mother of those times with the shawl around her shoulders and sporting a white pinny around her waist, a mop cap and sitting in a rocking chair by the fire, his dad wearing navy blue trousers, white shirt tie and waistcoat with pocket watch and chain and the proverbial cloth cap. It was a summer's day but the fire was blazing as it was always kept on because of the big range which used to keep the water hot, dry the clothes and do the baking. Above this was a mantelpiece with a rough embroidered cloth straddling over it and on that sat two white china dogs. Jack's dad decided we would have a sing song around the fire so out came the concertina. He did a few songs and the one that sticks in my mind was 'Buttons and Bows', it's been with me for 61 years. So after the sing along the hot home made bread and scones came straight out of the oven on the range, piping hot, then it was on with the butter which melted straight into the bread and scones then me favourite blackcurrant jam. I was full to bursting  when we bid our farewells and headed back to Gipton on the tramcar travelling about 5 miles an hour and shaking like a boneshaker, the next 2 days got serious as I was suffering badly with home sickness and nothing anyone could do or say could change the situation so they sent for me Da by telegram this is where a post office worker would turn up on his little red motor bike and deliver this brief letter as there was no house phones then, well not in working class families. He came to collect me on a Friday afternoon as he had been night shift and the weekend was his, I remember going to Roundhay Park with him and uncle Jack to watch a cricket match which made me Dads day as he was cricket mad. I wasn't, and had become a bit fidgety, when this kid who was sitting with his parents started to pick on me, he was older and bigger but I didn't want to fight as me Da was there and I might get into trouble off him. This went on for a while when me Da who had been watching the situation said  "get him" like you would tell a dog to do, "that was it", I was proud of my strength and had a great neck-lock technique so I battled him to the ground, got the neck lock on and had him screaming. Da then gave his parents a tongue lashing as they had been goading their son on and it was all to do with my accent. That was it, 1.0 away from home, did I have something to tell me pals when I got back. The following day it was back on the steam train standing in the corridor as it was full and watching the scenery go by, at times me Da would get the broad leather strap that you used to operate the window and let the window down so we could see the engine as it went around a bend, good job we had handkerchiefs as our eyes got full of soot off the steam. Then it was the bus to Millfield Bank which I ran up as I was so happy to be back. At the top opposite Jackson's was the rope swing hanging from a tree and all me friends "and enemies". That was it, me Ma and Da never seen me again till bed time. This was the summer holidays and where I lived was my huge adventure playground where I went out early mornings and came back on a tea time straight to me Nanna's for a cup of tea and me bread and jam.   

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