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send off. My mother lost a son at 9 yrs & a baby at — I think — 18 months or so,
I'm supposed to have
pulled her out of her high chair & she fractured her skull, I'm said to have been 2-3 yrs old myself, Oh! dear, the
mark of Cain so young, I
was sure to come to no good!! Her name was
Elsie & said to be the only child with jet black hair like
Dad.
Aunt Laura lost a boy of 9 yrs with a brain tumour & I
vaguely remember this as a
very sad time, with great drama & many visits home & sitting by his grave by Laura
Food was
variable we always had eggs
from our own hens & there was always a hen to raost or an old boiler & many people had a pig which would
eventually be slaughtered in the
back yard & sold its various parts, so home fed bacon & offal, sausages etc., cheap to come by, lard &
dripping, bacon & joints, pigs
feet, all in plenty. One grew ones own vegs, as gardens were usually quite long — because of the middens I
think, & fruit a plenty.
Oranges & grapes came from abroad. Oranges were cheap 4 for 1p. grapes a luxury & I don't remember bananas as a
small child. Other fruits
were grown in the garden. Most people had plums, apples, damsons & all the berries. My first