Astrid Massey recalls how her father, working on the railway, saw her and her sister misbehaving!
Resource Type: Audio | Posted on 20th February 2012 by Liam Physick
Astrid Massey remembers that she and her sister once played in the Botanic Park lake, which they were not supposed to do: when they got home, they learned that their father, working on the railway nearby, had seen them! She goes on to mention how the NUR Branch Five club had to apply for an extension if it wanted to hold an event after quarter to 11, and even then, it could not be on later than midnight
Interviewee: Astrid Massey
Interviewee Gender: Female
Date of Interview: 17th November 2011
Interview Transcript
Astrid: There was one time when me sister, there used to be a big pond in the park, with a, like, a little island, and we were always told, “You do not go in the water” (Jodie laughs), anyhow, we were down there, me sister and I, and what happened was, she’s, it was a hot day, and she said to me, “Come on, we’ll have a paddle”, I said, “Well, me mother said, we weren’t to”, “Oh, we’ll have a paddle, I’ve got me coat, we’ll dry our feet on that, on the lining of me coat” (Jodie laughs). We had a lovely afternoon, and when we got home, me dad was home, and he said to, me mother said to us, “Where have you been”, I said, “To the park”, “Hope you haven’t been in that pond”, “Oh, no, no, no, we haven’t been in the pond”, and me mother just looked, she said, “Do not tell me lies, your father was watching you”! (Jodie laughs) Cos he was working!
Jodie: Oh, you mean . . . (breaks down with laughter)
Astrid: He was working on the line by the park!
Jodie: He was watching you in the pond!
Astrid: And he, he seen us! So, that was, we got told off for telling fibs!
Jodie: Yeah. (laughs again) That’s funny, so it wasn’t necessarily for getting in the pond, if was for telling fibs that you were getting told off for!
Astrid: (whispers) We got a belt . . .
Jodie: (laughs) Aw!
Astrid: . . . for being disobedient.
Jodie: Yeah, that’s right.
Astrid: And, you see, them days, even the NUR club, them days, they opened, say, seven o’clock, but there was no more drinks served at 10 o’clock, and more or less the place was cleared by a quarter to 11. If they had something on that they wanted, what was known as an extension, they had to go to, I suppose it’ll be the licensing people to get that hour or so extension of having the bar open, but even then you were home, just turned 12 o’clock . . .
Jodie: Yeah.
Astrid: . . . not, not like it is now.
Jodie: No.
Categorised under: Social Life
Comments
Jenny,
This is quite remarkable…
Astrid lived just around the corner from me in Bradfield Street when I was a few years younger that I am now,of course! (she may still live there).
Astrid was a very good friend of our family,and of my Mum.
My aunty Astrid
Oh forgot to mention it was my Grandfather who worked on the railways