In the 1930s, 40s and early 50s with people being less well off, it stood to reason that ways of supplementing their meagre income were very important to many families. Even the kids would find ways of earning a few pence and some even became very adept at doing so. I suppose their hardworking parents having to toil so hard to make some kind of a living, became what would currently be described as "role models". However, earning money wasn't the only way that people helped out their family budget, not by any means.

I suppose that it was not surprising that youngsters learned ways of making a few pence, after all in those days there was no such thing as pocket money, or at least, very little of it.

It was a great help to people that quite a lot of the commodities that were required could be made or grown and could be bought locally without travelling too far. One of the blessings was that some traders sold their goods around the streets, greengrocery, bread and even meat as well as milk, logs and coal. Some local tenants even sold these things from their houses to make a living or just to help with the family's costs, such as, firewood, toffee apples, winkles or plants. Horse and carts were a common and regular sight around the estates, conveying all those different wares. There was Groom's the baker with the horse and cart as was Mr Cracknell the greengrocer, Barlow the coalman with his lorry and Henry the butcher in his little van and of course Mr Crolla pushing his old ice cream cart. Quite a variety.

Naturally there have been many different characters that have lived on the estates over the years, all having a bond through their working class roots. The people of our communities were always the salt of the earth, with a sense of community and generally tough as old boots. They had to be, to survive in those hard times. I'm sure that the same sort of situations existed in towns throughout the whole country, after all working class people across the land were living in conditions of poverty and families had to be fed and clothed. Those far off days, sometimes referred to as "the Good Old Days" were certainly hard times for most working class folk. That being said however, different values applied and relatively small pleasures took on a much greater significance then than they currently would. People had different perspectives and although very poor, never the less could find ways to enjoy themselves, a condition that in some quarters was known as "hard up but happy".

It is indeed surprising, just how resilient ordinary folk can be in the face of hardship and growing up in tough conditions gives people a certain outlook on life. The memory of how families had to struggle to survive tends to make a person somewhat grateful for "small mercies". Keeping food on the table has always been the name of the game, but it is considerably easier in these modern times, although some people don't realise just how difficult it really was many years ago. When such circumstances prevail, we tend to discover just how resourceful and indeed talented we can be. I know that older people always seem to talk about the hardships of yesteryear and the social deprivation that folk had to bear. Even if someone had a job, wages were only a pittance, which meant that economies had to be made in every way possible, nothing was ever wasted.

Written by Fred Netley.