Take out a few minutes from your busy day to tell us about your memories of Ushaw Moor and Deerness Valley, am sure you have a story to share.
Which street did you grow up in ?
What do you remember about going to school ?
What was your first job ?
What were the special things that happened to you as you were growing up ?
What was family life like when you were growing up?
How did you celebrate holidays and special occasions?
What are some of the traditions still carried on by your family?
What changes have you noticed during your life in such areas as fashion, morality and technology?
Some snippets from the original archive
I have a vivid memory of time I spent in this village, as a child I remember hardly ever being in the house, I was either up the woods, near ushaw college, or down the beck, "catchin minners". Life seemed so much better then. Well those were the days, by the way,, great site....:) posted by ushaw @ 6:15 PM
I don't know if it's the same enid greenwell as dated queensland Feb. 2003 but we used to be great friends till she moved to australia with her family when she was 11 she also had a younger sister .we used to go to a place called broadgate i have only just found this sight i was born in the village and have lived here all my life i went to ushaw moor infants & junior school then the secondary school i was born in 18 dale street .we used to go on the ushaw moor club trip some times on coaches or on the trains from ushaw moor station my mother rhoda hird sill lives in the village if any one can remember her but sadly my father died a albert hird .if you are the same enid greenwell did you live in ushaw terrace and if you visit this sight again i would like to hear from you i have found this sight very good as a lot of the people i knew when i was growing up in the village. posted by ushaw @ 6:15 PM
I read the "Autobiography of Frank Proctor" some time ago and I thoroughly enjoyed the book. I would recommend this book to any of the older generation in Ushaw Moor.
Frank was a very strong character who went as a very young man with a number of friends to work on the farms in Canada. He suffered homesickness as one by one his friends returned to the Ushaw Moor area and he was left alone in a strange country thousands of miles away from his home. posted by ushaw @ 6:12 PM
I enjoyed reading about Martin and Ruby Gallagher. My Gran and Grandad lived at 28 Arthur St. and as a child I was often sent to the little shop. It was a happy place, Ruby was always singing. My Gran never called her Ruby Gallaher it was Ruby Deaton. Also in Arthur St. were Mrs. Quinn, Mrs. Jolly , Mrs. Nanncarrow and the Wallige family. They were friendly with the Young family who lived in Whitehouse Lane. posted by ushaw @ 6:11 PM
One of my childhood memories.....when there was a wedding the local children would go to stand outside of the bride or groom's house. The bride's house was much more popular, we got to see the lovely outfits! When the car carrying the bride or groom pulled away, coins were thrown from the car, a mad scramble ensued to collect as many as we could! When my uncle Robert married in the early 60's my sister and I were the only ones to collect the money, we were thrilled! My aunt Pauline married in the mid sixties..we were excited to be bridesmaids but miffed that we couldn't collect the coins as we'd already be at the church!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your memories Denise,,throwing coins, can't say I have experienced that at a wedding before !
ReplyDeleteYes is was a done thing. If you knew there was going to be a wedding the kids always watching for the coins being thrown from the wedding cars. Maybe that is why a lot of people don't get married now, they can't afford to throw money out the wedding cars, Ha!Ha!
ReplyDeleteHi Alf....I don't remember getting any coins at your wedding ....we'd probably been taken to the church...yet again ;)
ReplyDeletei remember the custom of throwing money out the wedding car window kids from the streets around would gather for this harvest of coins. apparently the throwing of the money was meant to gain good luck!!
ReplyDeleteCan not believe that the Guru has never heard of this most traditional behaviour. Is he familiar with the 'Ginger Beer Plant' or has he ever ' Slept the Caller' Seriously though so many things us none youthful persona regarded as part of life are completely alien to our kids and especially out grandkids - this is why this site has such great value.
ReplyDeleteHi Denise, I threw out notes and the wind must have blown them away.
ReplyDeleteAah, moneybags, Alf! Coins not good enough for you ;) I'm glad Tim Woods commented to confirm the coin custom.....I was beginning to wonder if it was our family only!
ReplyDeleteHi,, Percy,, no I hadn't come across it in my 43 years I guess I may have been to a dozen or so weddings but never seen it happen.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Percy Clarke, for your supporting comment. (Are you related to the Turnbulls?) To the Guru...the last wedding I attended in Ushaw Moor was around 1966, maybe the 'coin' tradition was starting to disappear by then, young 'un! ;)
ReplyDeletei definatley remember 2 weddings in bracken court in the early seventies where money was thrown and my dad always saying if someone moaned about a small amount of money he would tell us he threw more out of his wedding car window!! this is certainly a localised ritual as i now live in the south and have never heard of it down here.
ReplyDeleteI will have a word with my "oldies" am sure they will remember this.... :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments.
Found this info. after quick search on Google.
ReplyDeleteIt was a symbol of the groom not needing his bride's dowry to take care of her so he threw the coins (specifically to the children) as part of his generosity -- how he felt so honored with his gift from his new father-in-law (his bride) that he must spread it out to the community. Many cultures have done this -- Scotland, Ireland, Germany, even Iran. You can make a nod to this today by tossing those chocolate coins during the reception -- a good option if you wish to skip the garter toss, like more and more people are doing these days, and a great way to involve the kids at your wedding.
--- From a wedding coordinator
The tradition of tossing a handful of coins to the wedding guest is thought to bring good luck and prosperity to the groom and his bride. Likewise, individually wrapped candies can be tossed to the children to ensure "plenty" through the years.
Well I can confirm that Alfy threw loads of notes out of his wedding car window, I managed to grab one before they all blew away and it said, " Tough luck youngen."
ReplyDeleteI can remember as a kid in the 70's growing up in skippers meadows waiting for coins to be thrown at weddings, usually as the bride departed for the church. I can also remember ginger beer plants, most of us in the street had them, they were kept in a jar or something like that
ReplyDeleteThanks Denise for helping start off a great conversation, really got them interested.. Keep up the good work.
ReplyDeletei can confirm percy clarke threw lots of coins at his wedding as i was his best man and he got them off me
ReplyDeleteI've still got your I.O.U. for £1" 2s "6 1/2d, next time I come through to Durham I'll bring you a Peter's pasty and lets call it squits.
ReplyDeleteI was married from Holly Park in 1978 and can remember my Dad throwing coins - it would have seemed rude to let the kids down when they were all waiting for the money!
ReplyDelete