The Xmas It Rained Money

Imagine walking down a cobbled street, late December mid 1960's. It's at a the time when the average wage for a woman was approx £12 a week, for men £23 a week. You aren't the first and certainly wouldn't be the last wishing  you had a little more money at Xmas.

Suddenly something flutters in front of you and lands on the cobbles. lt looks like a tube of paper. You pick it up and unroll it ... it's a 10 shilling note! Wow! ... you can't believe it. Then you notice other tubes lying on the street. lt can't be, surely? ... but it is! More 10 shilling notes and even £1 notes! ... and there's more fluttering down. Oh my god, you really can't believe it now ... your Xmas's have all come at once! (Pre-decimal days, 20  shillings = £1)

Ok, l'll come clean ... l made some of that up. The truth is that my kid sister, who was 6 yrs old at the time, was playing in my grandmother's bedroom at the pub l've just talked about. lt was late Dec and it was 1966. She was found by mother rolling up 10 shilling and 1 pound notes from the drawer that my grandmother kept the pub's takings in (no, there was no safe). My sister found that when these notes were rolled up they were just the right diameter to go through a little hole in the glass of the bedroom window ... SO SHE DID!

How long she'd being doing it no-one knew or ever found out but my sister said lots!. The takings hadn't been counted yet as it was from the midday takings and pubs closed at 3pm in those days. My grandmother wasn't even mad at my sister when my mother told her what had happened. She said it was her own fault for not getting the window fixed ... and whoever found it would probably spend it in the pub anyway. She still used to laugh about it whenever it came up for years to come.

Merry Xmas Nan, you were the best!


6 comments:

  1. Love it, the things kids get up to, most of the time you just can't be angry with them.

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  2. ... especially when they're your grandchildren. chero

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  3. Someone had a happy christmas but by the sounds of your grandmother l bet you did too. What a wonderful outlook on life she hsd. Merry christmas to you.

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  4. That'd be the equivalent of 10 and twenty pound notes nowadays. Bet someone did think all their Xmas's came at once. lol

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  5. Though not many were at all rich then there was a better attitude to'money' and the 'easy come...' character of your Gran says it all...merry xmas to you all here in case you are off on another tiling expedition or sommat!

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"In the eyes of the Tribunal the review letter contained several preconceptions, prejudgments and non-sequiturs"

"the absurdity of this reason is demonstrated by simply stating it"

"We therefore find that Mr Sked misdirected himself as to the Policy in carrying out the review and his decision is therefore one that no reasonable review officer could have arrived at."

... commonly known here at N2D as 'Skeds' ... that is to say these are Judges comments regarding UKBA Review Officer Ian Sked's reasons for rejecting peoples appeals against seizures.

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