1 - The High Street

Do you remember the High Street
When you were about 10 years old?
I used to goo there with me muther
If the weather was hot or cold.

The shops were lit up with gas lamps,
And some were lit up outside,
So you could see in the winders,
Hoping you'd goo inside.

For a start there was Bates's fish shop,
Where you got fish and chips and some peas,
Oh what a treat just to sit there,
It were better than bread an' cheese.

I loved Friday nights, gooing shopping
With me mum and sometimes me dad,
and we'd call at old Billy Keller's
For some oranges - he were a lad.

Then we'd call at Bugby's the fish shop,
For some kippers for me mum and dad's tea
And Snifty Green's they'd get a visit,
For haslet for me brothers and me.
They'd got pork, black pudding and sausage,

Collared head, pork drippin and pies
Homemade lard, belly pork and some scratchins
Oh what a sight for sore eyes.

Then on we would go to the Maypole
For some butter and sugar and such
Then over to Burton's for bacon,
They were dear, so we didn't buy much.

The Penny Bazaar was real magic,
The things there that dazzled your eyes,
Just waiting to be bought for a penny
There was things there for girls and for boys.

Charlie Robinson, he sold some nice things,
Dolls prams, snakes & ladders and toys
Baby dolls and Teddy bears sat there,
To be bought for the girls and the boys.

There was Mrs. Blunt, that rather posh lady
Who sold ribbons an' laces an' such,
You could always get some nice things there,
And they really didn't cost much.

There was the Louvre, if you wanted some ’larstic
For your knickers, or to buy a new hat,
There were aprons and stockings and corsets
That pulled you in so you didn't look fat.

There were the Star and Russell's pork butchers,
And Seckington's selling their plants,
And the Co-op for ladies' dresses,
And Blunsons for men's shirts and long pants.

There were Tailbys and Snelsons and the Pawnshop
And Cartwright's, Oh what a display,
As I feasted me eyes in the winders
I could have stayed there all day.

Then Aber's at the top of West Street
It was like Aladdins cave in there
With all the curtains and ribbons and things,
All I could do was just stare.

There was Roe Bros, a bit of a posh shop.
Where the posh ladies all bought their clothes,
I remember me mum bought a hat there,
How she afforded it no one knows.

Ah yes, I'll always remember
The High Street in days of old,
When I went shopping on Friday,
If the weather was hot or cold.

2 - Starting School

Do you remember the first day
When you started school,
You knew you'd got to behave yourself,
And keep to the golden rule.

I held me mum's hand so tightly
As we made our way inside,
And when she took off me 'at and coat
Well, I thought I should 'ave died.

However, I started to cheer up a bit
When we got inside the hall,
Cos there stood a lovely big rockin 'orse,
With its spots and reins 'an all.

So me mum popped me up in the saddle,
And a huntin I did go,
And the other kids stood there excited,
Just waiting to have a go.

Then came the days of learning
The A.B.C and all that,

And telling the time by the clock on the wall,
And the cat ate the rat on the mat.

And with crayons and lovely clean paper,
I learnt to draw a house,
And with clay and a bit of tuition,
I was able to squeeze out a mouse.

And the sums and other lessons
Like geography and such
And history, oh so boring,
I didn't like that very much.

And 'if all the world was paper,
And all the sea was ink,
If all the trees were bread and cheese,
What would we have to drink'.

That was the dance I learnt there,
All those years ago
With the other boys and girls there,
A swinging to and fro.

And on Empire Day we marched outside,
And stood there straight an' tall,
To watch the Union Jack fly high,
'Twas a sight for one an' all.

And the years went by rather happily,
Until it was time to move on,
To the bigger school down the Hayway,
So me nursery days 'ad gone.

3 - The Palace

Do you remember the Palace,
On a Saturday afternoon,
Where you could sit downstairs for a penny,
Or tuppence, upstairs to spoon.

We'd all be down there in the passage,
In a great big untidy queue,
With our sweets, gobstoppers or Spanish,
Or anything else we could chew.

And the boys would be pushing and shoving,
They just couldn't wait to get in,
And we'd all be choppsin an "ollerin,
It really was quite a din.

Then old Charlie Coles would appear
In his uniform, gilt buttons and braid,
And he'd tell us to 'shut up and be quiet',
As he walked up and down on parade.

At last the paybox was open,
And the money would exchange hands,
Then we'd dash off inside to our seats,
With excitement, we were true movie fans.

Then the orange peel would start flyin,
And the nut shells cracked under y'ur feet,
We were waiting for the orchestra to come in,
As we jumped up and down in our seat.

At last they arrived with a flourish.
The lady pianist with her fancy 'air do,
And the violinist tuned up 'is fiddle,
And the drummer, 'e 'ad a goo too.

When the curtain went up, how exciting,
We knew we were on the way
To see our favourite film star,
Tom Mix, Bill Hart or Alice Fay.

Jackie Coogan, Charlie Chaplin or Buster Keeton,
Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks or Lilian Gish,
Will Hay, Fatty Arbuckle or Gloria Swanson,
Or Gladys Cooper, oh weren't she a dish.

Or Pearl White, Charlie Conklin or Basil Rathbone, Cedrick Hardwick, or perhaps Harold Lloyde,
Laurel and Hardy, Edward Chapman, Tugboat Annie,
Ronald Coleman or perhaps William Boyde.

The picture kept us enraptured,
As the plot started to unfold,
Then one of the boys started larking,
With a bottle, that noisily rolled.

Right down to the front with a rattle,
And it made a heck of a noise.
The the manager come in all important,
To try and sort out the boys.

He wore a black suit and a topper,
And a white shirt, oh so very nice,
And his voice was full of importance
And believe me, he didn't tell you twice.

He'd have had 'em out if he'd caught 'em,
But I don't know if 'e ever did,
I was too busy watchin' my fav'rite film star
To be bothered with some noisy kid.

At last the show was all over
An¹ the doors were flung open wide,
And we dashed out like steers from a stockade,
As we met the fresh air outside.

Gooin' 'ome, 'ow we all 'ad a natter
About all the good things we'd seen,
And hoping we'd be there again next week
To see our fav'rite, up on the screen.

4 - Washday

Do you remember the Old Days,
On a Monday, oh what a to-do,
It was washday and muther was busy
Wi' soap, soda and Reckitts Blue.

The copper was filled on a Sunday
From a pump from round the next yard,
Because it was lovely soft water,
Well me mum said she didn't like hard.

Me dad was up early next mornin',
To get the fire goin', you see.
And with the dry sticks and newspaper
He attacked it on bended knee.

The fire got going quite nicely,
But it made a horrible roar,
Then he put on the leather bits quickly,
And with a clang, shut up the door.

The small coal, that went on a bit later,
While we was drinking our tea,
Cos by then we'd come down to breakfast,
Me mum, me brothers an' me.

Then me dad went off to the fact'ry,
With his lunchbag of bread and cheese,
While we 'ad a wash in the kitchin,
And inspection of ear 'oles an knees.

Then off to school we all scampered,
Shouting ta-ta as we went through the door,
Leaving muther alone in the kitchin,
To tackle the week's washin once more.

Come dinnertime everywhere's steamy,
Cold meat an' boiled rice was the fare,
But of course, it weren't no good moanin',
Well not when your muther sat there.

She'd been in the kitchin all mornin',
A slavin an' rubbin away,
With the copper an' mangle a workin,
She really had had a hard day.

By teatime the washin' was folded,
And some was on the clothes 'orse,
But mum sat there readin' the paper
Cos she'd taken it as a matter of course.

5 - Tea Drinking Day

Do you remember tea drinking day,
All those summers ago,
When we all got dressed in our Sunday best
An' our 'air tied up in a bow.

An' the boys wore their celluloid collars,
An' knee britches an¹ their straw boaters,
An' we all lined up outside in the street,
Well you could then, there weren't any motors.

When the band struck up, how exciting,
For that was the signal to go,
An' with our cups tied up in a hankie,
We were off to the show.

We marched along there so gaily
With our teachers, who kept us in line,
An' we 'ad to make sure we be'aved ourselves,
Then everything would be fine.

We arrived at the field all excited,
For we were ready to show
How clever we were in the races
And we were so eager to go.

What with the egg and spoon race an' the sack race,
And the three legged race, it was fun,
But I'm afraid I didn't win any prizes,
Out there in the blazing sun.

Then the band struck up with their music,
While we tucked into cake and iced bun,
As we sat on the grass with our tea there
We really were 'aving fun.

When your 'aving fun how the time flies.
And then alas, your parents appear,
To take you back home 'cos its bedtime,
But your hoping to be back next year.

6 - Rushden Feast

Do you remember Rushden Feast,
When you were about sixteen,
And you got all dressed up on a Saturday night
And thought you were the village queen.

And the boys all wearing their Oxford bags,
And their collars an' ties so smart,
With their 'air brushed down with violet oil,
They were out to break a heart.

And we'd goo on the 'elter Skelter,
Feeling ever so daring an' brave
As we dashed down there to the bottom,
Giving everybody a wave.

Then we'd 'ave another walk round the fair ground
To see if we could win a prize,
Then buy a ball on 'larstic,
So we could chase the boys.

Then we'd have a ride on the motors
And we'd sit there, oh so grand
In the luxury of those red velvet seats
As we listened to the band.

And we all sang to the music
Like 'Charmaine' an' all the old songs,
And the figures up on the organ
Beat time as we all sang along.

Then we'd stop at the stall for some spit rock
Or some nouget, oh what a treat,
Then we said farewell to the fairground
As we dashed outside in the street.

Goin' 'ome, how excited we all were,
Thinking of the things we'd done,
And hoping we'd be down there next week
So we could 'ave lots more fun.

7 - All for a Tanner

Do you remember the Saturdays
When we used to goo  down Ock and Dough
On British Rail for a tanner,
It was a long, long time ago.

We'd all scrat 'ome from the fact'ry
Get a bite an' a bit of a wash
And get all dressed up in our finery,
Trying to look ever so posh.

We'd dash down there to the station,
Cos the train left at half past one
And when it came in what a scramble,
We were determined not to be outdone.

At last we were off on our journey,
As everyone got on board,
And with the air of excitement,
You would think we were going abroad.

When we arrived, what a journey,
That great long treck up Midland Road,
By the time we got to the market
Me legs felt that they'd really bowed.

Still, we bought some nice things round the market,
Then we went up to see me Aunt Mag
And me uncle was smoking the 'ouse out,
He must have been smoking shag.

So we 'ad a quick cup an' a natter,
And exchanged all the family news,
But when we went back, 'ow me feet hurt,
That's the worst of them black patent shoes.

At last we got back to the station
With our parcels and bargains galore,
And arrived at Rushden exhausted,
But hoping we'd be gooin once more.