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Oh! how I wish I could write down
more
Of what went on in the days of
yore
In that tiny village so dear to
my heart
Of which I still think that I'm a
part
We children all playing at hide
& seek
And being told off by Mrs. Speak
Or getting caught for pinching
peas
By Jack Marsden spying behind the
trees
And all going down the chimney
brow
To jump the Lostock and Oh what a
row
If you missed your footing and
fell right in
And had to go home to confess
your sin
"Never again must you go
down there
Or when you come home - with
bottom bare
Over your father's knee you'll go
And be sent to bed with it
hurting so"
In the Spring all playing at top
& whip
Or catching tadpoles in a net on
a stick
Or playing with an iron hoop and
a scale
'Cos wooden ones were far too
stale
Daring each other to blow very
hard
Up Benny's drain pipe in the back
yard
Or rubbing your forehead down the
back door
Making Benny & Janey come out
and roar
Another trick we all thought was
really great fun
Was a button attached to a piece
of black cotton
Which was fixed to the kitchen
window frame
So the button tap tapped on the
window pane
Of course all was dark on a
winter night
As the village only boasted one
street light
So 'twas ideal for us all to be
playing these pranks
But if we were caught there were
plenty of spanks
In those days with nothing at all
like T. V.
Our own amusement it had to be
But sometimes to Brinscall
pictures we'd go
About seven or eight of us all in
a row
Then on the way home with a bag
of chips
We'd all discuss what we'd seen
at the 'flicks'
And two miles then didn't seem
very far
'Cos we had to walk home - no
chance of a car
I remember the day we all got
W.C.'s
At the pull of a chain it went
down with ease
No longer the smell of the old
tin tub
Or the dread of the "Muck
drag" we all used to snub
Electricity too - I remember that
coming
The village just then was
virtually humming
With pride - no more gas mantles
to need
Just a switch and behold the
light did heed
There are so many happy memories
I have
But thinking back I have to laugh
About some of the things we used
to do
That children these days would
think "pooh pooh".
I'm glad I've lived through this
wonderful age
Of marvellous inventions all
taking the stage
Of cars and planes and very fast
trains
Enabling us to see all the
world's remains
And Oh! what a wonderful world it
is
In spite of the wars and the
bitterness
If only the people would just
enjoy it
Instead of doing their best to
destroy it
But time marches on and changes
must come
To that little village that once
was my home
And to go back there and to see
the mill gone
Makes me feel rather sad, but -
time marches on.
And one day no doubt, where the
mill used to be
It will all be set out so
beautifully
All the pot holes in the road
will be a thing of the past
But the character of the place
will for ever last.
The chimney I hope will stand
there for ever
And be a reminder to all, so that
never
Will anyone forget that once
could be found
A mill of which the villagers
were mighty proud.
So this little book I hope will
convey
To all who read it that they in
some way
Have learnt quite a lot about
Withnell Fold
And what went on in the days of
old.
It's just a few things that stick
in my head
About some of the folks who are
long since dead
But will always remain in my
heart so dear
So thank God I've done it while
I'm still here!
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