Interesting Stories and Notes

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 'A Life of Lily'

 CHAPTER 6 

Went to Live with Gran

 I went to live with my Granny (Rosina (Rowe) Adams) when I was about 11 years old.  I stayed with her and Grandad Thomas Adams until I started work at 14. Granny and Grandad were my Mum’s parents.

Gran was a bit taller than grandad who had been ill for sometime. He had a stroke when he received the sad news that his son Tom had been killed in the Battle of the Somme in 1916. Another son was injured and had a plate in his head and was never the same.

Grandad had been a master-builder and had done a lot of work in London. He smoked a pipe and liked to have a sixpenny bet each week.

Granny Adams was his second wife but they were a very devoted couple and had many children.  Apart from Tom and Harry they had a son called Judy, who loved playing the concertina, and an adopted son called Jim. Two twins died soon after birth.   My Mum, Annie, was the only daughter.

Gran used to do a lot of sewing for us.  She always made our nightdresses and petticoats, embroidered around the neck and with frills at the sleeves.  Whenever she was sewing or working she would wear a white apron.

During World War 1 my Mum used to take us to Granny Adams if there were Zeppelins over London.  We would shelter in the coalhole in the basement.

Granny and Grandad Adams lived down in the 'airy', the basement section of the house. There were two flats above hers, reached by a flight of hearthstone steps from the pavement.

The toilet was shared by all the flats and was outside in the yard. The upstairs tenants had to come down the back garden stairs to the toilet whilst Granny and I had to go up the back steps to reach it.

The washing had first to be carried down a few steps into my Gran's scullery where the copper was. The clothes were given a good boiling, with Borax powder to soften the water.    They were then scrubbed on the scrubbing board with sunlight soap, before taking them over to the mangle.  This was a great old-fashioned iron mangle with very large wooden rollers, which used to squeeze the water out until the washing was nearly dry.   Then up the steps again to the yard where the washing was hung on the lines to dry. I must say that it was a treat to see it all blowing in the breeze.  It was worth all the hard work to see this.  Then bring it in again down the steps to the scullery. All the aprons and pillowslips had to be starched and then ironed.

The washing facilities were also shared with the other tenants. Since Granny's scullery housed the copper and mangle so the other tenants would take over the scullery on their washdays. They would be up and down all day, backwards and forwards from their flats to the garden, from the garden to the scullery, back up to the garden with the wet washing, etc.

Granny Adams was very strict, but very nice and kind to me.   My Gran taught me quite a lot of things, which I'm grateful for.   She taught me to do washing and ironing, and to cook and make pastry.    Apple and sultanas tarts were our favourites.   On Saturdays it was kitchen day. What a palaver!   Everything on a large dresser such as plates, ornaments, had to be taken down and washed.

Also a large coloured glass box, I think it was an old Sailor's chest, had to scrubbed, but did it sparkle when I had finished with it!

Since there were no Hoovers in those days we had to brush the dust into dustpans.

I used to hearthstone the main flight of stone steps, then descend and do round the railings.  After this I would do the flight of steps leading down to the airy. Gran gave me sixpence for doing this (a lot of money in those days).

The bread bin was a large red earthenware bowl.

Eventually, when I was fourteen, I had to leave my Gran and go back home again to go out to work. I had a very happy time with her.

When I was about 14 I returned from shopping for my Granny Adams and found my Dad there. He was tying a white silk scarf round my Grandfathers neck and head.  "What are you doing that for Dad?" I asked.  He replied, "He's dead and I'm doing it to keep his jaws together."

Later my Grandmother placed two pennies on his eyes to keep them shut.

When the funeral day arrived they had to carry Grandfather in the coffin up the airy steps to the pavement.  Since the steps were curved they couldn't manage it so he had to be taken up the back steps and out down the larger front steps. He was buried at Morden Range Park Cemetery aged 79.

Some time later, Granny found that her flat was too big for her and she moved to a room in the Falcon Road.   One night my sister Hilda went to see her and rushed home to say that   Granny wasn't very well. Mum rushed round to her and immediately called the Doctor.  Unfortunately, she had a stroke and passed away soon after, aged 82 years, and was buried with Grandad

My first meeting with a death was when I was about 5 years old.  My Dad took me to see Aunt Edie and Uncle Bob whose young daughter had just died.

"Go upstairs and see her Joe," she said.  Dad and I went upstairs to see Winnie in her little white baby coffin.  Aunt Edie was sobbing her heart out and said to me, "Go and kiss her." I did as I was told and then said, "Oh she's all cold and funny."  That didn't go down too well, but my Dad said I was only a child and didn't realise about death.

I never knew my Dad's father (James Bond); he died before I was born.

My Dad's mother (Granny (Petterson) Bond) was very short and deaf and she used to shout. She wore a cloak and bonnet, like Queen Victoria. Every week she used to go to a Mothers' Meeting   and afterwards she would come to see us for tea; she would never sit near a fire, but always sat by the kitchen door near the coalhole.  We had to take her home, as she had to cross a busy road with tramlines; none of us really wanted to do it but she was our Gran.

Later when I was married and living nearby, I had to pass Granny Bond's house quite often. She would be sitting in the front window and would shout out to me, "Are you going to see your Dad?"  If I replied that I was she would shout, "Tell him to come and cut my corns." I know that she was deaf and old, but I would try to dodge past her without her seeing me if I could.

Eventually she moved to Speke Road, Battersea.   I went to her funeral at the Lonesome Cemetery Streatham along with all my Aunts and Uncles.

My Dad had two brothers, Jim and George, who like Dad also worked on the railway; Jim was a bachelor, liked his pint of beer and lived at home with Granny Bond. The three sisters, Edie, Jess and Nell were often there when we visited Granny Bond.

Aunt Edie married Bob Nutley, who was very nice to us all, always smiling and made us very welcome.   He had been in submarines during the war and had been sunk.

I always had to go to the funerals, not sure why it had to be me.

When Uncle Jim died they asked my Dad, as he was the eldest brother what they should do with the ashes. "Scatter the bugger," said Dad.  At the funeral Dad had a fit of the giggles but Jim would have liked that. After the cremation we went back to a cousin's house for tea. Aunt Edie said, "Joe, if any money is left you should have it." My Dad was most annoyed, "No Edie, I don't want any of it."  Aunt Edie then said that she was entitled to it as she had always looked after her brother Jim. "Don't forget Joe, he only ever thought about your children."

Then I put my foot in it, "Oh no he didn't, he only thought about your children."  

"She's right, she's only letting you know the truth," said my Dad,

That didn't go down too well at the time but later in life Aunt Edie said to Dad that I was the best of the family.

Aunt Nell and her husband had a stall in Battersea High Street selling vegetables and were very wealthy, she had rings on every finger. When she passed away she had a very large funeral because she was a costermonger and all the other stallholders went.   There were large black horses with black plumes pulling the coaches and coachmen dressed in black suits with   top hats.  It was quite different from all the other family funerals.

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