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A MINER’S DAUGHTER a short
story by Georgia Lloyd |
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What’s
that noise ringing in my ears? “Elsie…
Elsie May for goodness sake stop day dreaming”
Oops that noise is my mum shouting me from the house. Now what was it mum sent me out side to
do? Ahh yes, I remember, collect
eggs. It was so warm out I sat to watch
the chicks, I must have lost track of time.
I’d better dash off quickly and take the eggs to the house. “Elsie May get your head out of the
clouds”. This is the lecture coming now
I think to myself; I really must show that I’m listening”. So like a good girl I stand quietly, not
smiling but putting on a very good listening face. Lecture over mum sends me to walk the
dog. Great; it’s a sunny day so I can go
up Lordshill.
The
clouds in the sky are fluffy, they look soft.
If only I could fly and sit upon a cloud, then it would be my carriage
and carry me around the world. I could
look down on the pyramids, wave to the Statue if
………..It
is so cold in this bedroom. When I went
to bed I was in the middle, between my older sisters, but now I’m on the
edge. I’d better get out of bed and pull
the old army blanket and flannelette sheets in my direction. I step out of bed and fall flat on my face,
my winceyette nightie is so long I keep tripping over in it. My sister Hilda is two years older then me
and taller so every thing that passes down to me is two years too big. Trying to hold up my nightie and pull the
blanket is not easy but I do it. Back in
bed I am cosy… for a while. Now I need a wee.
It’s too dark and cold to go out side to the lavvy, so out of bed again,
carefully so as not to fall over my nightie.
I am on my knees fumbling around looking and feeling under the bed for
the chamber pot. “Why can’t some one
invent a switch on candle then I could see”.
“Our Elsie is that you messing around”. Oh no, now I’ve woken up Hilda. “It’s alright I’m using the chamber pot, well
I would if I could find it,” I reply, “it’s by Annie’s side of the bed”, Hilda
says, “so hurry up then get back into bed”.
You would think that it was a simple task, but no. It’s dark and cold and I can’t see my hand
in front my face and I’ve got to find the chamber or wet myself. You can bet our Annie has left the pot in the
middle of the floor. On my hands and
knees I carefully fumble for the pot, this damn long nightie doesn’t help. Found it at last, I hope it’s not too full,
because now I’m finished I’ve got to put it back under the bed or else our
Annie will step in it when she gets up.
I’m cold and crawling on floor boards in the dark is scary, as I know
there was a spider in here yesterday.
More fumbling and I’m back in bed.
Now
Annie and Hilda have the entire eiderdown.
The eiderdown is heavy as it’s stuffed with lots of feathers, but it
keeps us really warm. After a bit of
tugging and heaving I get my share of it.
It feels like I have hardly been asleep for a minute when It’s time to
get up, I know this because our Annie is bouncing all over the bed. We try to get dressed under the bed covers to
keep warm but it’s impossible. I quickly
(well as quick as you can when there is so much to put on) dress myself,
starting with my knitted vest, pants, petticoat, skirt, blouse, cardigan and
finally my knitted socks. I feel warmer
already. I go over to the window to look
out but Jack Frost has been and the window is covered in lovely icy
patterns. Using my finer nails, I
scratch a picture in the frost. “Elsie,
breakfast”, that’s mum shouting me already and the day has only just
started. Today is Saturday, so no
school.
Saturday
breakfast is porridge with a sprinkle of salt on top and a nice cup of
tea. Dad has already gone to work at the
mines, he went at 6.00am this morning.
Mum makes him a bottle of tea wrapped in paper and placed in an old
woollen sock to keep it warm for a while.
Dad takes his lunch in a tin box and today mum gave him bread and
dripping and the last bit of bacon from the pig we slaughtered a while ago. He has to walk to Huglith Mine, it’s a long
way to have to walk before you start to work.
In summer we run to meet him after work, Fridays is the best day to meet
him as its pay day and he gives us a penny.
We go straight to the shop in Snailbeach and spend it, some times the
ice cream man would be there and we would have ice cream, a real treat.
“Elsie
May there’s jobs to be done”, it’s me mum again. That’s the one thing about Saturday, there
are jobs to do. Annie and Hilda are so
organised, they have already bought up two buckets of water from the well. Mum said its best if I don’t get the water so
I do the fire grates instead. All
because the water just seems to jump out of the bucket when I fetch it and it
might take me a bit longer cause I have to look at what’s about, just in case I
miss something. Mum passes me the old
sack apron, as if I would forget to put me apron on. With my two years too big passed down shoes
on, I dash to the out house to get the bucket for the ashes. The fire has to stay in; it’s our cooker and
heats the house and water. The ashes at
the bottom of the grate have to come out to let some air in. Shovel in hand I start, a few ashes at a
time, I’m doing well today cause no one has shouted “Elsie May” for at least
five minutes!
The
ashes have to go down to the bottom of the garden, to make a path from the
lavvy to the house. This bit is
bad. I try to slowly tip the ashes but
as always the breeze blows them in me face.
Spitting out ash and rubbing me eyes I go back to the house. “Elsie May”, there she goes again, me
mum. “How many times do I have to tell
you, see which way the wind is blowing before you tip the ashes, then stand
with your back to the wind and the ash will not go in your face”. All well and good but how can you see the wind.
Mum spits on her apron and starts to rub ash of my face, ugh why do mums fuss
so much. I finish brushing the hearth,
now it’s the fenders turn to get it. The
fender is mums pride and joy, its brass from my nana and it goes in front of
the fire and makes it look posh.
I
use this smelly and I mean really yucky smelly stuff in a tin. I put it on an old rag then wipe it all over
the fender. It turns white when it’s
dry, so when mums not looking I make patterns in it with my finger. Then the hard work begins, you have to rub
all the white stuff off until the fender shines. This all seems a waste of time to me, putting
stuff on then wiping it off. I really
would like to fetch the water but I’m not allowed. It was an accident when that bucket of water
tipped itself over Annie and anyway water doesn’t smell. Oh no talking about smells, I’ve got to empty
the chamber pot. My sisters are feeding
the pig and the hens, that’s a good job as the boiled up peelings and pig meal
smell lovely.
Here
I go walking slowly, the last thing I want is to fall and have to clean up all
Annie’s wee. I have to go all the way
down the garden to the lavvy to empty the pot, our lavvy is a posh one and we
have two seats, one for us kids and one
for grown ups. Which is just as well,
cause our Annie once sat on the big one and almost fell into the bucket
underneath. I’m supposed to check the
paper while I’m here; there will not be enough newspaper squares so I will have
to go get some. Dad brings a newspaper
back from work every now and then, when every one has read it; I rip it into
squares and put it in the lavvy. So here I am sitting by the back door on the
stool to rip up the newspaper.
“Elsie...Elsie May” there goes that ringing in my ears again, “Just what
do you think you are doing, the newspaper is blowing all over the garden”. And it was, just as mum said. Oops I must have been day dreaming, “Get it
all picked up now and finish what you started”.
All this wouldn’t happen if mum would let me feed the pig. Anyway we have some proper toilet paper, but
that’s for visitors.
Jobs
all done at last, we sit at the table for lunch. Today its rabbit stew, mum and has had the
pot on the stove all morning. Dad is
good at catching rabbits in the snare and we are good at eating them. Saturday afternoon passes quickly, me and my
sisters play outside on a rope in the barn.
Hilda has a rag doll; we all take turns at playing with it, I’m sure
soon it will be my turn to have a toy of my own. Mum shouts to tell us its three o’clock. Great, my sisters and I go down towards
Huglith to meet Dad. He finishes at
3.00pm and we walk back together. Dad is
very dusty and we walk slowly as he’s got a bad cough. Working down the mine makes a lot of the men
ill. Most of my friends at school don’t
have a dad as one way or another the mines have taken them. Last year there was
a big accident and men were killed, it was a very sad time for everyone. By the time we get home, mum has got the hot
water in the bath ready for Dad in front of the fire. We girls have a quick bath first; three girls
in a tin bath by the fire is great fun.
After Dad finishes, we bucket the water out, I’m allowed to take water
out, but not bring it in. Anyone would
think I might spill it.
After
a tea of bread and jam, we sit and talked about what would be planted in the
garden as soon the morning frosts would be gone. We listened to the radio for a while and then
it was bed time again. Me and my sisters
ran to the lavvy together before dark, you never want to go in the dark as the
candle goes out and them two round holes look like eyes staring at you. And no one wants a wee with a boggle eyed
monster watching. While we were in bed
we could hear Mum downstairs putting out pots and pans to get Sunday dinner
ready. Mum and Dad didn’t work Sundays,
so Mum peeled all the spuds and stuff on Saturday. “It’s no wonder they didn’t work as we spend
all day walking to and fro from chapel”.
No
frost this morning but this nightie is still tripping me over. Today we can put on our best clothes, its
chapel. Hilda and Annie look very
ladylike but me, huh…in my two years too big skirt and blouse I look like me
old gran… I can’t wait until I grow into my sisters best clothes, then I’ll
really look something. Mum looks lovely because she makes all her best
clothes. I watch her after tea, she sits
by the oil lamp carefully sewing. Mum
has a silver thimble on her finger, it was a gift from my gran and one day I
might have a shiny thimble. Well here we
go, breakfast over and we all walk over Lordshill to chapel, at least it’s a
dry day. Dad looks fine and handsome in
his Sunday best, I look quite something myself.
Hilda said there was quite a resemblance between me and a character in
Little Red Riding Hood. Hilda knows I
don’t read and I don’t know that story, I asked Mum about the story and she
just told Hilda to shush and said “it’s Sunday so think Christian
thoughts”. But I know I heard Hilda say
something about an “old granny”.
At
chapel every one smiles and welcomes one another. We sing lots of hymns, then listen to a
lecture (Mum says it’s a sermon but it sure sounds like a lecture to me). I try very hard to listen, I really do! Just at that moment a blackbird hops onto the
window sill, just asking to be watched so it’s up to me to watch it. He looks wonderful with his yellow beak and
black feathers. Before I know it I’ve sprouted wings and I’m flying. My silly two years too big clothes have
become shiny feathers. Swooping over
trees balancing on branches, this is great.
I feel the wind blowing gently around me, flying is great. Ouch, my ear.
“Elsie” mum says in a loud whisper while holding my ear in a vice like
grip, “You and your silly day dreaming, what on earth you think you’re doing,
flapping and waving your arms when the minister is preaching”. Without thought I quickly said “I wasn’t on
earth, I was flying”. Mum’s face went
red and screwed up then she sat quiet, this meant trouble.
Chapel
finished, children were dashing out to play and I sort of walked quickly and
quietly so mum didn’t see me. Mum and
Dad stopped to talk after chapel as always.
It was my turn with the skipping rope when we heard Dad call us, it was
time to walk home. It hardly seemed
worth going home as me and my sisters would be back at chapel in an hours time
for Sunday school. As we walked up
Lordshill towards home Mum was quiet.
Dad had to stop a few times to get his breath and Mum looked worried. Maybe she had forgotten about “all that
flapping and waving” at chapel. As we
arrived home I could smell the stew pot on the stove. Hilda as usual being the goody goody was
about to start and lay the table. Then
my ears were ringing “I could be a bell, the amount of ringing in my ears” I
said to myself. “Today Elsie will do all
the table chores and the washing up” mother said sternly. My mouth fell open but nothing came out. On this occasion I decided to keep quiet, I
knew this was my punishment for flapping at chapel.
Lunch
was over and the washing up done, so we headed back to chapel for afternoon Sunday
school. Today was a good day for
walking, we heard the cuckoo and then we tried to imitate it. What a sight we must have looked running over
Lordshill cuckooing at the top of our voices.
Back at home again I quietly did my chores, I had to butter the bread
and jam and make a pot of tea. The silly
tea cosy was having a mad moment and didn’t fit at first. Then I realised that I had to put the spout
and handle through big the holes in the tea cosy. Not that easy, Hilda had knitted it and holes
were everywhere but mum said it was lovely.
After tea was finished we went off again to chapel, I was about to point
out to mum that all this walking was wearing out my shoes but I thought better
of it.
Thank
goodness for eight o’clock and bed time.
There are only so many prayers and songs you can sing and today I’m all
prayed and sung out. As usual, bed time
shuffle takes place, I go in the middle, Mum says so, as I’m the youngest and I
might fall out of bed. But no, our Annie
will have none of it, she wants the middle tonight. With all the fuss the eiderdown falls off and
the corner of it falls in the chamber pot, I just know this means trouble as I
forgot to empty it. It’s not my fault
it’s all that praying and singing I clean forgot. “It’s okay Annie” I say quick as a flash so
no one will notice the wet corner, “you can have the middle and I’ll pull up
the eiderdown“, more pushing and shoving and bang……….
“Elsie
…Elsie May, are you alright”, Mum was hovering over me, she seemed quiet
worried. That in itself was unusual, as
she was usually behind me sending me to bed early. “The dog came back home without you, goodness
child look at that bump on you head; let’s hope it’s knocked some sense into
you”. By this time I just know that my
mum has lost the plot, we don’t have a dog, and any way I was in bed. Mum helped me up and, sure enough, there was
a dog licking me and its tail wagging like crazy. Slowly we walked down towards the house my
head was thumping, and my brain aching I was more than a little confused. “Our Elsie you will be the death of me”, now
what was Mum going on about. She’s the
one acting strange. “I’m sure you must
have had your head in the clouds, day dreaming as usual, unless you’re getting
clumsy”.
When
we got to the house, Mum put an ice pack on my bump and said I had to have a
shower. Like the good girl I am I did
so. My head really hurt. When I had finished Mum put tea on the
table. It looked very nice and didn’t
smell too bad either so I tucked in.
“Mum, I thought we were having rabbit stew?” With a crash, a plate fell
on the floor. I thought Mum would fall
too, she went quite pale. “Elsie May
your day dreaming is driving me mad”.
Last revised : 14th April 2006