Living in poverty

I am writing to comment on your article about living in poverty during the Sixties.
Donkey stoning the stepDonkey stoning the step
Donkey stoning the step

I was born 1951 and grew up in Heeley. I never felt we were in poverty but knew money was very tight as my dad earned a low wage.

We had no bathroom, just a tin bath, and an outside toilet.

I looked at the photos and strangely the first thing I noticed was the lady sweeping in front of her house.

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My mum’s life was harder than we experience today, (no washing machine, no hoover, open fire), but she always kept our outside toilet spotlessly clean, (squares of newspaper neatly hung on a hook with string).

She washed and donkey – stoned our steps, window sills and bin slab and swept outside our front and back doors.

Today when we see poverty areas on TV etc. they are usually dirty homes, with rubbish outside, kids looking underfed and non too clean.

My mum was not an exception, our neighbours were the same – they did the best they could with what they had.

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Ours was not a big family, just two children, so I did realise larger families were overcrowded, but that never stopped them being clean and keeping their homes clean .

My mum made most of my clothes and was excellent at recycling.

I remember my childhood as simple but happy, parents used to play games with children and take them to parks and on walks, not rely on technology to amuse them.

L Shaw

by email