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Authors: Margaret Dickinson
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determined what the family listened to.
‘It won’t bother me, Gran,’ Myrtle said. ‘Besides, I like to hear the news too. Our headmistress says we should take an active interest in everything that’s happening.’
‘By the way, Gran,’ Peggy asked, ‘did you find out if we’ve got to have a Morrison or an Anderson shelter?’
Grace shook her head. ‘Neither. A man came yesterday and inspected the cellar. He says it’ll be quite adequate—’
‘Unless,’ Myrtle murmured, ‘we get a direct hit.’
Grace glared at her. ‘I hadn’t finished. If we get a direct hit, my girl, no Anderson shelter is going to save us. But we might just have a chance in the cellar if, the man said, we have it reinforced. And,’ she added, with a grimace, ‘we’ve to have a doorway knocked through from ours into the neighbour’s cellar so that if either of us did get a direct hit, there’d be a way out. I’ve already been in touch with a builder. He’s sending two men tomorrow. He reckons it won’t take long. A couple of days at the most. So, I expect I’ll have to put up with Letty Bradshaw joining us, as well as Hitler’s bombs, because if there’s an open door there’ll be no stopping her.’
‘Now, now, Mother, Letty’s not so bad. And don’t forget, her lads have cleared the snow for us.’
Grace sniffed. ‘A right pair of tykes, they are.’
When the snow had begun, Sidney and Jimmy had appeared at the back door and asked if they could clear the steps and the short pathway leading to the road and the stretch of pavement in front of Mrs Booth’s house.
‘We’ve done our mam’s,’ Sidney told her. ‘Tha can ’ave a look. We’ll keep it clear for thee if tha wants.’
‘And how much is that going to cost me?’
‘Sixpence a time, missis,’ Sidney said promptly.
‘Thruppence,’ Grace bargained. The two boys glanced at each other and Sidney sighed. ‘Seein’ as you’re our neighbour, all right then. But don’t you tell t’others in street. It’ll be sixpence to them.’
So Grace kept a pile of threepenny bits on the mantelpiece to hand to the boys every time they cleared the paths.
‘Saves us the job,’ she murmured as she stood in the doorway, her arms folded across her chest, watching the boys work. ‘And it keeps that pair of scallywags out of trouble for an hour or two.’
In fact, it kept the Bradshaw boys out of trouble for several days as they cleared several of their neighbours’ pathways.
‘Not so bad?’ Grace repeated now, responding indignantly to her daughter. ‘I feel sorry for her that her eldest lads have got caught up in the fighting – I’ll not deny that – but it still doesn’t stop her being the biggest gossip in Sheffield. You lot – ’ she nodded towards her family – ‘just be careful what you’re saying in front of her, that’s all. And I expect she’ll have those little ruffians with her.’
Ignoring her mother’s grumbling, Mary said, ‘We ought to get an air-raid pack put together and leave it near the cellar door. We’ve had leaflets about it.’
‘Have we had leaflets?’ Grace said sarcastically. ‘They talk about not wasting paper, but all these information leaflets are the biggest waste of paper I know.’
‘How else would folks get advice, Mother?’
‘The wireless.’ Grace was rarely short of an answer.
‘They use that an’ all,’ Rose said, ‘but people don’t remember it like they do when they’ve got it in print.’
‘Then they could write it down.’
‘And what would they write it on, Gran?’ Myrtle said cheekily and was rewarded with one of Grace’s steely glares. ‘You get on with your homework, miss.’
But as the older woman opened Saturday’s newspaper yet again, Myrtle saw Grace’s mouth twitch as she tried to prevent a smile. ‘Actually,’ Grace said, coming back to the original topic of conversation, ‘we ought to do a lot more than just have a pack ready. We need to get the cellar
‘It won’t bother me, Gran,’ Myrtle said. ‘Besides, I like to hear the news too. Our headmistress says we should take an active interest in everything that’s happening.’
‘By the way, Gran,’ Peggy asked, ‘did you find out if we’ve got to have a Morrison or an Anderson shelter?’
Grace shook her head. ‘Neither. A man came yesterday and inspected the cellar. He says it’ll be quite adequate—’
‘Unless,’ Myrtle murmured, ‘we get a direct hit.’
Grace glared at her. ‘I hadn’t finished. If we get a direct hit, my girl, no Anderson shelter is going to save us. But we might just have a chance in the cellar if, the man said, we have it reinforced. And,’ she added, with a grimace, ‘we’ve to have a doorway knocked through from ours into the neighbour’s cellar so that if either of us did get a direct hit, there’d be a way out. I’ve already been in touch with a builder. He’s sending two men tomorrow. He reckons it won’t take long. A couple of days at the most. So, I expect I’ll have to put up with Letty Bradshaw joining us, as well as Hitler’s bombs, because if there’s an open door there’ll be no stopping her.’
‘Now, now, Mother, Letty’s not so bad. And don’t forget, her lads have cleared the snow for us.’
Grace sniffed. ‘A right pair of tykes, they are.’
When the snow had begun, Sidney and Jimmy had appeared at the back door and asked if they could clear the steps and the short pathway leading to the road and the stretch of pavement in front of Mrs Booth’s house.
‘We’ve done our mam’s,’ Sidney told her. ‘Tha can ’ave a look. We’ll keep it clear for thee if tha wants.’
‘And how much is that going to cost me?’
‘Sixpence a time, missis,’ Sidney said promptly.
‘Thruppence,’ Grace bargained. The two boys glanced at each other and Sidney sighed. ‘Seein’ as you’re our neighbour, all right then. But don’t you tell t’others in street. It’ll be sixpence to them.’
So Grace kept a pile of threepenny bits on the mantelpiece to hand to the boys every time they cleared the paths.
‘Saves us the job,’ she murmured as she stood in the doorway, her arms folded across her chest, watching the boys work. ‘And it keeps that pair of scallywags out of trouble for an hour or two.’
In fact, it kept the Bradshaw boys out of trouble for several days as they cleared several of their neighbours’ pathways.
‘Not so bad?’ Grace repeated now, responding indignantly to her daughter. ‘I feel sorry for her that her eldest lads have got caught up in the fighting – I’ll not deny that – but it still doesn’t stop her being the biggest gossip in Sheffield. You lot – ’ she nodded towards her family – ‘just be careful what you’re saying in front of her, that’s all. And I expect she’ll have those little ruffians with her.’
Ignoring her mother’s grumbling, Mary said, ‘We ought to get an air-raid pack put together and leave it near the cellar door. We’ve had leaflets about it.’
‘Have we had leaflets?’ Grace said sarcastically. ‘They talk about not wasting paper, but all these information leaflets are the biggest waste of paper I know.’
‘How else would folks get advice, Mother?’
‘The wireless.’ Grace was rarely short of an answer.
‘They use that an’ all,’ Rose said, ‘but people don’t remember it like they do when they’ve got it in print.’
‘Then they could write it down.’
‘And what would they write it on, Gran?’ Myrtle said cheekily and was rewarded with one of Grace’s steely glares. ‘You get on with your homework, miss.’
But as the older woman opened Saturday’s newspaper yet again, Myrtle saw Grace’s mouth twitch as she tried to prevent a smile. ‘Actually,’ Grace said, coming back to the original topic of conversation, ‘we ought to do a lot more than just have a pack ready. We need to get the cellar
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