Winter is almost upon us, and I worry at this time of year for our elderly friends and neighbours, especially so this year with the winter fuel payment not being paid. Please keep an eye out for anyone you feel may be vulnerable, things have changed in society. In the old days in the streets people looked out for one another, not so much these days with everyone so busy with modern life.
My grandad was a miner, and all miners got free coal delivered to their houses – I remember as a kid shovelling the coal into the cellar. My grandad always gave some coal to elderly neighbours who weren’t very well off. This was quite a common thing looking after each other in the tight knit communities. My grandmother used to go round the streets with a hand cart selling beer just to make a few coppers to help with the cost of bringing up thirteen kids, of which my mum was the oldest. At the age of 13 she would look after her 12 siblings, bathing the kids in a tin bath and cooking for all the family. She would feed, bath, and have all the little ones in bed before her mum came home from selling the beer. I often wonder where all the kids slept in a two-bedroom back-to-back terrace house.
On the antiques front, the shop is doing well, and we have had some really interesting items recently including a harness for a pit pony. It is a head harness and rather a strange shape, a lady asked if it was a Victorian chastity belt which I found quite amusing!
I also had an assortment of WW2 German paperwork which included German maps of Europe showing the Maginot line, lots of documents from 1933 onwards to the 1940s and letters from ordinary people about the war. I am trying to get the letters translated just to get the point of view of the man in the street. I also had brought into the shop some really interesting old books from the Hunslet Engine Company showing all the different steam trains that they manufactured. Leeds was a significant engineering city with several steam locomotive works and was renowned for its engineering. Sadly, most of Leeds manufacturing has now gone.
If you have anything interesting and old, please call into the shop for a no obligation quote. Also, please do pop into the shop for a look around at all our antiques and unique items from over the years.
Please see advert below for contact details and opening times.
