BookRix

for reading my work, real this time. I assure you that although fewer now, there are sgtill Farriers, Blacksmithds (not the same thing apparently - one shoes horse, the other makes things like ikron railings etc) and thatchers around, thought not too many of either. Have seen t,v, prohrammes with all going strong so fear not, they are still kept alive here in goold old England. You could look them up online I bet. But that was an easier time evnbe though we just come out of a war. I have to go back and put in abiout the winkle man coning around on a Saturday and other things I forgot, Thanks again Oh I am writing a new piece to go with my Best In Show story. It will be called 'Feathers and Honey', so look out for that in a littlew while, Evelyn

Evelyn, you have a wonderful way of keeping the words to a minimum, yet expressing a lot. It is a delight to read your works.

Oh for times and crafts no longer with us. Blacksmith, farrier or thatcher all gone from our shores, along with many others. Remembered only by the elders of society.

I wrote the original several years ago which had even more descriptive phrases. I lost that and severa; more in computer changes. Maybe one day I will find a hard copy, maybe. I tried to recall ir as much as possib;e. The war days were dark days indeed and i WASN'T IN THE THICK OF IT. tIME WAS TOUGH, SCARY AND FOOD WAS SHORT, RATIONING WENT ON UNTIL 1953 APPARENTLY. i FORGOT ABOUT THE GAS MASKS TOO WHEN i REWROTE THE PIECE. hOWEVER, THE HORSEY BIT WAS TRUE AS THE REST IO it. Many horse drew carts at that time, milk, bread, coal and so on so a blacksmith in a toen (not countryside) was a thing to have, there was a farm down the road from us too. Not huge. The fact that it was small and shed-like made the smells stronger abd more evocotive. I have a new nail file made of quatz oe something like that and filing my nails gives me a similar, but less strong smell. Thanks for reading this piece. Bluedrago/Evelyn

Review - Living in a world of comfort, it is hard to imagine a life of strife during wartime. You have done an excellent job of story telling, giving us a glimpse into that time period. A 'living' history of sorts. I especially could relate to the blacksmith. I own horses and quite often get to enjoy the smells you describe. Nicely done. Robynn

"And, we, the British, withstood all Hitler threw at us. We came out victorious."
Maybe this is the most powerful line in this lovely memoir. The courage in the face of what might have been a tragic defeat.
I enjoyed reading this, Evelyn. It is from someone who lived in an era filled with real heros and horrific villains. And yet, the smithie at work was delightful. Well done...give us more, please.

nice comments. Evelyn

So I suppose it must be true. Do you remember going into a Sainsburys or other shop where they did 'pats' of butter with wooden paddles (for want of a better word). Maybe they had gone when you were cognisant? I do, and they made the shapes so quickly with the paddles and placed them on special greaseproof wrappers for us customers to take home. So much I did not put in the memoire. Evelyn

Although I wasn't born till 1945 I still remember many wartime things. The holes in the garden wall where the iron railing used to be, the ration books which were still with us in 1950 and the bomb sites dotted about Acton where I lived.

Your story brings back vivid memories Evelyn. Well done on an excellent piece of writing.

Carol x

was hit badly then, fires raging all over but so were other cities. I live about 12 miles west of the centre of London so it wasn't so bad as it could have been. And I forgto to mention the Doodle-bugs, bombs that made a whirring sound so you knew they were coming. I m ust add that to my story (too late for the competition) and then the slightly later bombs wher as my dad said at the time, you could hear this light whistling noise, but you never heard the bomb u ntil it exploded. These were th V 1s and the V2s. From the V2 came Verner Von Brown's rockets, and our journey in to space. Wars usually bring about eveolutionary changes. Evelyn/bluedragon

but age does this, the memory. I had written this piece once before, much more vividly, but it too was lost to computer changes. Glad it evoked some memories for you though. I too played in the Municipal shelters, too scary to go far in though, and too wet.
Paula, yes, they really only show the larger shelters and those who wheltered in the Underground railway stations. Seeing things from my end of life, I forget a lot of how scary it was but just now thinking about it, I used to have chills run up and down my spine for many years afterwards whenever they played those sirens on t.v. and films. I am over that now but it took a long, long time. Glad you too liked the story. Also just thought about when myh dad was working in the local Nestlké factory and it got bombed. Evelyn/Bluedragon