Be on your guard
When the knife grinder and the pot mender finished, along with tinkers and raddle men. When tramps and gypsy’s stopped calling, as did the library and traveling shops, It was time to lock the door and leave the valley. In the twilight of my life it will be difficult to go a’wandering. But I’ll not miss the privy, for it could back fire. My family believed the privy was a curse, like a tax man or a politician. Like me they left the privy to the worms and hid valuables in the hedgerows, so don’t dig here.
This Post Has 12 Comments
Ah! Privies are for hiding valuables? All my life, I’ve been depositing the wrong thing there.
Your comment made me smile, thank you Neil
Serves the robbers right to dig through the privies and find only… ahem.
Great story, full of lovely and stinky details.
I did enjoy reading this comment,
Nice piece of rural history, Michael. I’m increasingly astonished at how much our daily lives have changed through my lifetime.
You are right, it also amazes me, the developments over the last century. I recall my gran talking about traveling by a horse drawn carrier and the seeing the first car visiting her town.
Poignant recollections as families and loo waste often combine…
Englands loo’s our worthy of deeper thought by me,
Dear Michael,
That privy sounds like a frightening place. It makes me thankful for indoor plumbing. Well done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
The loo’s of England were worthy of a deeper dig by me
So much change, too much for this chap. And besides, no-one wants a backfiring privy!
Hi drailman, the history of the loo in England was worthy of more thought by myself