Nowadays, domestic light and heating are controlled by the flick of a switch but when I was a boy, it was a bit more involved.
Lighting in the home was provided by gas via a mantle which was lit with a match or taper and, similarly, street lights were also gas lit. Oil lamps, candles [...]
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They haven’t come to see “Old Tom” they have come to see “Old Harry” Standing on the Hamworthy-Poole lifting bridge, I found myself trying to remember the industries that existed there before Sunseeker arrived. Looking from the bridge, along the Hamworthy side of the quay stood: Anyone in my age group will remember the words “Put that light out,” used by ARP Wardens during the blackouts in World War II. All houses had blackout curtains, vehicle headlamps had hooded shades and cycle lamps and torches were dimmed by black paint over half the lens. Even striking a match in the dark [...] Can you remember the ferryman who gave a rowing boat service between the Quay and the Shipwrights Arms on the Lower Hamworthy side and Burdens and Piplers on the Poole side? The fee was 1 penny per trip per person. Winter, 1941. The snow was gradually turning to slush. How many old Poole-ites remember where Corona Soft Drinks (Thomas and Evans) were situated? You don’t? I’ll tell you. In West Quay Road where Westover Motors now stands – opposite Sunseeker. On one side stood Pender Plating, on the other was Blue Boar Lane. The railway ran down the road from Poole Station, along Nile [...] Until he died, my dad would fish or rake for cockles in Poole Harbour, selling his catch to the local pubs. The cockles needed to be fresh, so our tin bath was their haven until sold. However, Friday nights were bath nights so our small kitchen became the bathroom. The salt water was rinsed from [...] From 1940-1945 my schooling was at Henry Harbin School (now Poole High School). The headmaster then was local historian Mr H P Smith. Here’s another story of how well I was looked after as an apprentice at Bolson’s shipyard. |
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