As Tony & John remember ; except this is Preston, so central Lancs ; and mi
nan used to scour not only t'steps, sills & outside toilet but also the
slate or schist paving outside (what we used to call the "sidecoaster") -
this was called "doin mi flags" & was religiously observed once a week. No
self-respecting terraced-housekeeper could afford not to do it, as she would
have been immediately branded as a traitor to the community. Indeed it never
entered their heads not to do it.
Mi nan called it "donkeystone" and she got it from the rag 'n bone man ;
tho' I think the corner shop also kept it along with the paraffin drum (with
hand pump), the firelighters & kindling, the aspro & the pump of off-license
Bass.
Ian Cowburn
----------
>De : John Ambler <[log in to unmask]>
>À : [log in to unmask]
>Objet : Re: Hearthstone
>Date : Sam 27 Mai 2000 23:48
>
> In article <[log in to unmask]>, Tony Brewis
> <[log in to unmask]> writes
>>Re the current enquiry regarding the sources of hearthstone.
>>I too remember it being widely used for front doorsteps and
>>window sills in south-east Lancashire. It was supplied by the
>>rag-and-bone man, who had handy-sized blocks of it on his
>>horse-drawn cart. In return for a suitable quantity of old
>>clothes, you got a piece of holystone.
>
> We also had it in South Yorkshire in the late 50's - until you mentioned
> getting it from the rag and bone man, I had completely forgotten that
> was where it came from, but yes that was the source I remember too. The
> term for applying it was "scouring the steps" - even the outside toilet
> (the only one we had until I was 8) was given the treatment on a weekly
> basis - any able bodied woman who didn't scour the steps weekly was
> looked own on as a sloppy housewife!!
> --
> John Ambler
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
|