Some years ago when I was the director of a national centre producing technology for people with disabilities, I employed a very talented engineer named Jim. Like me, Jim was from the UK and had grown up in the post war austerity period.
Because the centre ran clinics in different parts
of New Zealand there was plenty of time during road trips for conversation. During one of these trips, Jim shared with me some of his childhood memories of growing up as part of a large Catholic family in a tenement building in the North of England.
"We were really poor, but I didn't realise it at the time because all our neighbours were in the same boat. One memory I have is of the priest visiting one evening. Mum had sent me and my brother to bed early with the message to keep quiet and behave.
"Because we were always short of money the house was cold and to help keep warm we used old coats to supplement the bedding. It was always a battle to see who could score the most of the covers.
"Just before the arrival of the priest, mum came up to see what all the noise was about and I told her that my brother was trying to pinch all the coats.
"She said, 'I don't want you making any noise while the priest is here. And I don't want him to know that we have coats on the bed. Only poor people use coats.'
"I asked, 'What do rich people have on their beds then mum?'
"She said, 'Rich people have eiderdowns. They're warm fluffy things filled with feathers.'
"Peace restored, mum went down the stairs, and a short time later we heard a knock on the front door and mum welcoming the priest. I was just about to fall asleep when my brother rolled over and took all the bedding with him. This started a tug of war between us and a great deal of noise. Mum's voice came up the stairs wanting to know what the problem was and why we weren't asleep? "I shouted back that my brother Ernie had pinched all the bed clothes, and he'd also pulled one of the arms off the eiderdown."
I don't know whether Jim was telling me a true story, but he was good company, and it certainly helped to pass the time.
