Meadows memories


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This is a memory I have of visiting my paternal grandparents down Wilford grove and later in the old house we had on Bathley street,there was always a pot of tea on the table with a wooly hat on,a tea

We certainly did, Rog. So much springs to mind. I have very few memories of my maternal grandad but what I have are from around there. We used to walk round the memorial gardens, I remember him once o

We lived on Bathley street near to Bunbury street,number 47 Bayford cottages (sounds nice dunnit) anyway when I were a kid of about 5-6 my uncle worked as a curator at Nottingham castle and as such wo

Apparently they taste crap,all tough meat,local farmer shot one round here,took ages to cook,not worth the effort

 

Rog

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Oh well!  I thought it was a good idea at the time.  At least you've saved me the effort of bumping one off and trying to cook it. LOL.

 

As I was leaving our subdivision for church this morning there was a bunch of Buzzards messing around in the ditch next to the road.  Now there's a bird I definitely wouldn't suggest eating.

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#142, TBI, Thank you for the link. I had a good study and through the Main Arch you can actually see the black and white timber on one of the houses. I love that place, we lived in Gedling but because we had cousins who lived in the Meadows, we spent a lot of our childhood at the Embankment. I don't miss the fish in the ponds because I never liked them anyway, especially the big ones.

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Ayup, new member here.

In the early 1960s I worked as an apprentice electrician at W.H.Tew`s on Bertram St. Off Crocus St.

One day I was sent to a house on Mabel Street where the old lady who lived there had lost power. The old brown twisted flex on her living room ceiling light was so old it had cracked and blown a fuse. I took the fuse out of it`s box and put it to one side while I replaced the flex but the old lady moved the fuse and it fell down a crack between some floorboards. Taking up a couple of boards I felt for the fuse but there was nothing below, I shone my torch down but saw there was a drop of several feet to what looked like builder`s rubble. I needed a ladder so I fetched one and climbed down and was amazed to see in all directions more rubble and pools of water with many brick pillars supporting the roof, which was of course the road and houses above. I found the fuse, fixed and replaced it and was about to leave but was then stopped by the lady who insisted on giving me a tip of 1s /3p, worth about the price of a pint! In return I did`t report the price of the flex.

I have repeated this story many, many times to Old Meadows residents but no-one seems to have any knowledge of this "underworld". Did I dream it? 

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Welcome Gemcorma,you are quite right about the cellar,we lived on Bathley street and as you went through the back door straight in front across the kitchen was the living room door,to the right of that in the kitchen was one door leading to the upstairs and to the right of that door was another door leading down the steps/stairs to the cellar,there was about a dozen steps so they went down maybe 12-15 feet,when you got down there the area covered the same dimensions as the kitchen about 12x12 feet looking towards the front of the house or the road side there was an opening leading under the road,well half way across the road of roughly the same diamensions,the height of the ceiling would be around 7-8 feet,ours always flooded when the Trent rose so NBL could be right about the excess water.

 

Rog

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The padlocks on "Spenny bridge" are "Love Locks" according to the NEP from some time ago,it's a craze that started in Paris,Vienna. or some other Iconic place like that so why not Spenny bridge,pretty iconic to us Notts folk,the bridge is owned and maintained by Severn Trent and they state they have no plans to have the locks removed.Apparently you have your lock marked,engraved or whatever with your loved ones names,wife,husband,partner,lock it to the guarding and throw the key in the river as a gesture of you love for each other,

 

Rog

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Certain streets in the Medders had cellars and some were built on solid foundations like our house was. Terraced houses of the back-to-back variety were often constructed where the walls were sunk into the ground, this providing the foundation. Floor-boards on the lower floor would usually be indicative of this. Underneath would be a void of varying size, as Gemcorna found and this could be connected to other houses along a row, as Denshaw's mate on Bunbury St. Some were actually constructed with a proper cellar, or the void dug out later to provide one. I remember my grans house on Commercial Rd in Bulwell had a huge cellar, it seemed bigger than the actual footprint of the house.

 

The cellars weren't for flood purposes, on the contrary, houses with cellars or voids weren't recommended for floodplain areas, simply because flooding is a very bad thing for a building. The Medders of course was originally drained and reclaimed before building commenced, there would presumably have been some variance in ground stability, accounting for differing foundation types.

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Working also as a gas fitter I too remember the hidden cellars,tell you I was taught to do when lifting floor boards before going down throw a pebble or something first,why, because you could be dropping into water  because of the layers of dust on the top of the water looks like solid ground...

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Canadian geese are very tasty I  have eaten about  10  as good as ordinary goose the only difference is they take some plucking  and theres not as much fat on them

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This is a memory I have of visiting my paternal grandparents down Wilford grove and later in the old house we had on Bathley street,there was always a pot of tea on the table with a wooly hat on,a tea cozy,the pot was brown glazed with a chip in the end of the spout and a tea strainer on a saucer next to the pot,the table always had a table cloth on it a sort of oilcloth material in the week but a neatly pressed linen one on Sundays,the table was the type that had drawers in it along one side and thick wooden legs,in one drawer was the cutlery,knives,forks and spoons,all the knives and forks had bone handles that had yellowed over the years,I always remember the funny shaped spoon with some sort of heraldic crest at the end of the handle,like a minature spade,this was a tea spoon for putting the loose tea in the tea pot,"one spoon each and one for the pot" in the other drawer was the clean tea towels and neatly folded paper bags,granny always saved paper bags,"they'll come in useful one day" she'd tell me,on the table was a bread board and bread saw and butter dish with a knife on the dish,the bread was stood up on it's end (no sliced bread then) and me granny would cut the bread across the top if you know what I mean,she would never lay the bread down and cut it downwards,(funny the things you remember) she always managed to cut each slice the same thickness true and level and always put the end crust back on the top to keep the next slice fresh,there was also a bottle of sterilised milk with the metal cap pushed back on top of the bottle,remember the cork lining to the inside of the cap?,by gum did bread,butter and home made strawberry jam taste good in them days,the chairs that went with the table were pretty basic,wood frame with what looked like woven string for the seat,not very comfortable for bare legs in short trousers,I suppose it was character building to spend an afternoon on them chairs,the pegged rug that was in front of the black leaded fire,oven,hob (suppose you call it a range these days) anyway the old pegged rug which my granny would have made from an old sack and cut pieces of old cloth had burn marks on it from some stray embers from the fire and around the fire was a guard made from fine mesh on a steel wire frame a sort of gold/bronze colour designed to keep small people like myself from getting burned,above that was the mantle piece with obligtory clock that would tick loud enough to wake the dead and above that a mirror that was angled down towards to the floor so you could see yourself in it looking up, thats what I remember of me granny's back room down the meadows in the 1950's

 

Rog

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Could have been my granny's room also. She too sliced the loaf while holding it against her and slicing across the top. Usually a Hovis loaf. She had a pegged rug made of rags too and the old fashioned black leaded fireplace with the guard in front. 

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Lovely post plantfit, as katyjay says it could have been our grann'ys, mine on Vicarage St. The bread would have been an unsliced Bloomer and the butter would be unsalted Lurpak. Every morning I called in on my way to work at Raywarp, she would have a slice and a cup of tea waiting for me. I always wanted another one, but for some reason, I never asked? Treasured memories.

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I remember watching one of our neighbours when I was a child. She buttered the end of the loaf first, then scraped most of it off again, before cutting off a thin slice! She originated in Leeds! I thought it was most peculiar. My mum cut slices of bread first and we had lots of butter on them! Lurpak was her favourite but I preferred Anchor or Friary.

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That's just reminded me of the Hardys who lived near to us and were considered to be 'posh'.

 

Mrs Hardy bought Summer County Margarine...Ben will tell us now much that cost in the 60s...in a round tub.

 

My mother thought it was dreadful. Putting margarine on your bread was what paupers did and she wouldn't have the stuff in the house. Mrs Hardy went down in mum's estimation after that revelation. Almost as bad as having an unscrubbed doorstep!

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Thats right Jill,the bread was buttered before being cut,great reminder thanks,cna't rmember the make of butter,always known it in the dish,can you remember them little net thingy's with a wooden frame you put over the left out food to keep flies and little children off?

 

Rog

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#171

 

Yes, I remember those, Rog. There was similar mesh on the outside of the pantry window to keep flies out in summer. Keep em off your cheese and meat on the "thrall" before people had fridges. Some people had a meat safe...a wooden box with a mesh panel in the door! 

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It was a treat to buy tub butter or "loose" butter. Scooped out of a tub and shaped into a cuboid with butter pats, then wrapped in greaseproof paper. It was expensive though, so we didn't have it very often. Usually, Lurpak, Friary or Creamery butter.

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Jill #170...................in the 60s Summer county came in a wrap like the others,but a posher looking wrap  and was nearly as dear as Butter 2/- rings a bell.....................

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