NOSTALGIA CORNER
Blaxton Village Hall
Finningley and Blaxton Memorial Hall was given to the two villages by the R.A.F. It stood on the corner of the airfield opposite Mr. Robb’s house. A large Nissan hut where many happy hours were spent. Blaxton however wanted its own hall in the village.
About 1948 a local farmer had a tractor garage he no longer needed and approached by Blaxton residents he agreed to sell it. A fund raising committee was formed to raise about £500, which was a lot of money in those days. Favourite events to raise money were, rabbit pie and pea and pie suppers followed by a whist drive. The functions were held in local houses and in the Blue Bell.
Of course this all took some time but eventually we had our hall. The kitchen was built on the side and this is now our storeroom. A pot bellied stove provided heat and the wooden floor was a great improvement on the concrete one. There was no mains drainage so consequently the toilets were round the back.
Many happy times were spent here especially the danced on a Saturday night. Many
home-
Kathleen
Village People
When I was young most goods and services were available in your own or a neighbouring village. Here are just a few of them.
Mr. Anderson was a very nice man who made and sold pegged rugs. He was an invalid and this made him some extra money. He made my mother three big hearth rugs and as she was Irish he put a border of shamrocks all round.
Mr. Edlington was an eccentric gentleman with a garden like a nursery rhyme. It was
a sunken garden with steps down to it, the paths were made of upturned bottles while
his gate had metal tops nailed all over it. We children thought it was wonderful.
His wife gave piano lessons and we always felt it was slightly dangerous to go in
the house. as it was dark and full of bric-
Miss Charlesworth was an unusual old lady who owned quite a large house but lived
in one room with her bed and piano. She had a big brass ear trumpet and we had to
shout into it. I used to spend quite a lot of time at her house.
Mr. Jones lived at
Estate Cottage. He mended bicycles and lawnmowers and was very much in demand as
no-
Mr. Elliott was very nice and mended pans and kettles with metal washers. He also made pans out of large tins, which was remarkable as he was blind. In those days people had their pans mended whereas today we just throw them away.
Mr. New delivered milk with his horse and dray. We didn’t have refrigerators but kept the milk in a bucket of water in a cool place. If it turned sour there would be a batch of scones or soda bread made so that it was not wasted.
Mr. Freeman owned the garage, which has just been knocked down (by the duck pond). He sold petrol and paraffin and accumulators for the wireless. He also shoed horses and was always very busy.
Last but not least I remember Mr. Coggan the undertaker who lived near the pond at “Pond House”. Most people used him to make their coffins and to take them to the churchyard when their time came.
The Vicar looked after the christenings, marriages and funerals and so everything we needed was available within the two villages of Finningley and Blaxton
Kathleen
Christmas Memories
Christmas comes but once a year. At least it did when I was a child. No one thought about Christmas until after Bonfire night and then the excitement began to build up. Writing your letter to Father Christmas was top of the list whilst changing your mind several times before sending it up the chimney. Then there were paper chains and tree decorations to be made. Most people made everything at home as even if you had the money there was not much to buy. The Christmas cake, mince pies, pork pies, cakes of every shape and flavour were made in our kitchen which all added to the anticipation.
My mother also raised ducks geese and hens to sell, so these all had to be killed and plucked. We always had goose on Christmas day.
My older sister and Mum decorated the tree after we children had gone to bed so it was a big surprise on Christmas morning. In our stockings we always had a new coin and an orange and an apple, some sweets and a few toys. Oranges were a treat in those days, as you did not get them all year as you do now. We would also get one or two bigger present, usually homemade. One year I received a fountain pen, which I kept all the years I was at school.
We always had real holly and mistletoe and a Yule log. This was so huge it was too big for the fire and as it burned away it was pushed further on the fire until it was all gone. This was very dangerous and it had to be watched so that no sparks fell out and burnt the rug. Looking back it all seemed to special and I suppose it was. Happy memories of a happy childhood.
Kathleen
Copyright: Len Hornsby 2008