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CHAPTER 4 THE TENTH
The tenth was another little boy, John by name. This made five boys and five girls. The first was born February 26th 1897 the tenth May 9th 1913, and still I couldn't go to school with sister Alice. Because I wasn't old enough, and the new baby John was not big enough to play with Fred until the next year, and my first sister it was said, was not at all pleased with our mother for having yet another baby, but, those were the last of the days of large families.
Also of large family bibles with all the children entered in the best hand writing, even though the birth certificates were not always included. One could always refer to that precious family bible, that had the date of the month and the year, entered by dutiful and proud parents, they deserve to be fondly remembered for their endurance in those difficult times. The home and family was what they lived for.
Our family of ten were very lucky because we had a very nice grandmother, and that summer Fred and I had the chance to get to know her, as she came to stay with us we were about the only two who had not had any time before to enjoy her company as she only came once a year in the summer. We liked her very much as she wasn't busy like our mother so she would sit on the sofa with Fred and I and tell us anything we wanted to know. She told us all about the Queen, she said she had a big family too, like we had. Grandmother said she always had a big picture of her over her fire place, and most homes did, but grandmother hadn't got a home any more. So she would give us the big picture of the Queen in memory of her Queen who was Queen since she was a little girl, but now their was a King not a Queen. The king was the son of this Queen, and we should learn all about him, at our school, some days we used to sit on the garden seat with our grandmother, and one afternoon Fred made her laugh so much and she said she would not forget, and I have never forgotten either. And now I am the age that my grandmother was then. We were sitting on the garden seat most fine afternoons but this day we went to collect eggs first in the hen house and now we were going to let grandmother have a rest. But Fred began to fidget and scratch. So grandmother decided to take off his shirt over his head because she said it could be a wasp especially as we were sitting near a tree loaded with ripe Victoria Plums. Still Fred couldn't keep still so poor grandmother was taking no chances, she kept looking for this cause of the bother, until all his clothes were off, and it was then that Fred surprised us by rushing away as fast as he could out of the garden gate. Out into the green meadow, grandmother said "go and get him back, dear". I knew she wouldn't be able to. So I went chasing him, we frightened the sheep they all ran away as if we were the sheep dog. I was very tired when we got back and so was Fred, and we had to get our breath back then I had to help get those clothes back on again.
Grandmother was quite satisfied however, because she hadn't found a wasp in his clothes, but a chicken flea, which she said we must have got there when we went in the hen house looking for eggs, and if she hadn't found it poor little Fred would be bitten all over by bed time.
I can't remember seeing my dear grandmother any other occasion. If I had of done I am sure I would have remembered. But when I did go to school after quite a long time at school, like grandmother said we learnt about the Queen who had the big family. Just those history lessons used to remind me of grandmother, because I realized then, that grandmother thought we all should know about her. Click for Chapter
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