more life in Portsmouth+Hospital+Toffee apples+Railwaylines

Go-carts. Hospital . Toffee apples,

　

This is a Photograph of my brother, Peter Ralph and me, it was taken just outside of the Iron work's just in front of our flats that we lived in , I spent many a day playing in there when I was young .

　

　

　

One day being kids we made a go-cart ,we found some old pram wheels , knocked the axles from the springs and was left with two set of wheels with axles ,we found a suitable plank and fixed one set of wheels to one end , using some rusty nails and half a brick to hammer them over the axle ,we placed a wooden box on the plank and fixed it with nails ( that we found at bonfire corner ), fixed the other set of wheels to a piece of wood (2"by 4") and using a metal bar , heated it up in a fire until it was red hot , and burnt a hole through the plank and the 2"by 4", then fixed it to the plank using a nut and bolt ,the box was positioned on the plank so there was enough room for the pusher to jump on when we gained enough speed .

It was my turn to push ,off we went ,me pushing my feet into the gravel to get up some speed , I was just about to jump on when my foot slipped on the gravel ,well I went down fast , laid flat out with my arms out stretched , the wind knocked out of me ,my knees grazed ,and a god awful pain in my right wrist and hand ,blood dripping every where ,I had neglected to remove two large nails sticking up at the edge of the plank , they had dug into my skin about half way up my forearm , cutting , jumping ,and slicing it’s way to my finger tips ,holding my wrist I ran home to mum ,then off to the hospital , I still have the scars to prove it .

Normally if I hurt myself ,grazed my knee , I would go and see Irene Mc Kenssy ,bottom flat left side ,she had a wall just outside her front door ,she was nice ,friendly , she had a dog, a long haired black thing , very friendly ,it would often lick the blood off my knee until the blood stopped bleeding , well the dog was either friendly or he just liked the taste of my blood .

It was a Mrs Mc kendrick, or Mrs Kendrick that used to make toffee Apples, one veranda down ,one flat along , the smell used to hit you first , one minute I was a happy and content child playing a game , the next I was a spoilt child ,"Mum can I have a toffee apple " "no " ,and then it started , I knew she did not have the money , but it was only 2p , she must have 2p , well she never did , so I never did ,pay for it that is ,I would sit on the stairs and cry ,the water work were always at full flow , and there coming round the corner was Mrs Mc --- Kendrick with a toffee apple in her hand ,she was a vision ! very pretty and again there in her hand a Beautiful Toffee Apple , the quiet was amazing .

Nora Monahan , she lived in the flat at the right hand side of the arch in the centre of Privatte house , she was more of a friend to my brother Ralph , but we Peter and I got to know her and used to go into her house ,we hope she is still alive and kicking .

More School and places you should not go .

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We were coming home from school one day , ST, Luke's , School , the other side of The Guildhall , were we used to sit on the Lions , we had come through the tunnel into Victoria Park , we could hear other children playing , we went to investigate , near the railway line , through the fence , other kids were playing and looking for conkers so we joined them , looking for conkers slowly working up the bank , one of the boys got to close to the line , we shouted at him to come away from the line because it was electrified , to late he fell , we all cried out in fright , he was laying across the railway line , hands out stretched to stop his fall , he was screaming , he stood up , his face and arms were black his eyes were wide and staring , he walk away from the line , sort of stiff , like a robot , making these scary noises from his throat , We RAN!! , out through the hole in the wire fence , across the park and all the way home , it was some time later that we realised , that the electrified line was the one in the middle of the twin rows of railway track .

STAY WELL CLEAR OF RAILWAY LINES!!

Its funny what we remember , I remember my brother Edward standing on a chair with his thumb in the light bulb socket saying "BOMBS AWAY", and pushing the terminals ! , I think we were playing Bombers , luckily the light was switched off’.

KEEP YOUR FINGERS OUT OF LIGHT SOCKETS .

Sometimes there were very bad lightning storms , my sister Rita my youngest sister , would hide under the table, whimpering , I would stand up in the window and wait for the lightning, when it flashed I would hold on to my chest , wait for the bang , pretend to get struck and fall down to the floor, I had no fear of lighting it was all a game to me , I just laughed and did it all over again .

Peter my brother , introduced me to a new game of darts , you stand opposite each other and throw the dart either to the right or to the left , about 4 inches from your feet , taking turns until one of you can’t stretch any more , all went well until peter threw the dart into my shinbone, it was just sticking there ," Gotcha" he said and ran off laughing , it funny ? ,there was no pain ,there it was just the dart sticking out of my shin bone and me with an amazed look on my face,so I just pulled it out , no blood just a hole where the dart went in , and more importantly no pain .

I STILL LOVE MY BROTHER.

Ralph one of my older brothers was chasing peter and myself from the bedroom through the living room into the hall landing and out to the front door , we had to escape from our brothers grasp , now I’m in a headlong rush towards the door and I think to myself , if I grab hold of the doorknob , after peter has followed me through , I will slam it behind us , stopping my older brother from getting us , I SLAMMED the door !! , from behind me there came a mighty whale , Peter had run right in the doorknob , I HAD CLOSED THE DOOR TO QUICK.!! there were some words spoken to me that day that I can not print.

Now in those days the door handles used to big and round and of solid wood,Peters eye was black and blue for about two week, I do not think Peter liked me to much, after that we argued a lot.

On another occasion my dear brother Peter and I were arguing again about nothing , he started chasing me , putting his fist up , on the way past the table I picked up a plate and looking over my shoulder threw it in his direction , yes I know , I should not have done it , luckily the plate only smashed into his shin , just a little bit of blood .

My Brother , Ralph was told by our mother, to walk Peter and myself to school in the morning , he would walk behind us all the way to school to make sure we did not play truant , he never used to say anything , he would just follow us until we went into the gateway of ST Luke's school , once we were out of sight he would go on his way , and once he was out of our sight we would go on our way , we would hide behind a corner of the school building until he left , then so would we , we would go out of the School gate and then on down the road and play hooky for the rest of the day.

On the way home from school one day , we came through Victoria Park , Peter and I were doing our usual arguing , only this time it got a bit more heated , by the time we reached the navy barracks in queen street ,( H.M.S. Nelson , I think ? ,) it got bad , Peter threw this punch at my face , I can still see it coming , the walls there were made of rough stone , if you are not careful you can hurt yourself very much , I had my coat in my hands , seeing that fist coming I flung my coat over his head and dodged to one side , how awful the sound his fist made when it hit the wall , I saw the pain on his face the blood and the state of his knuckles , his intention was murderous , I laugh at him and took off running like the wind , I lost that coat , I told mum it was taken from school.

Just behind the Guildhall there used to be a swimming pool , my brother and I used to go there when we could afford to , one day I was being cheeky and started chasing a girl around the pool , whoops I slipped up and bumped my head, ( "serves you right I hear you say",) I just laughed at the girl and dive in after her , I woke up the next morning ready for school ," your not going to school today " my sister Shirley said , "you have been acting funny and asking the time of day since you came home yesterday",I do not even remember to this day what happened after I dived in.

DO NOT RUN IN THE SWIMMING POOL.
more to follow .