January7th. The day dedicated to my arrival, by all accounts it was cold and snowing (not unusual in those days)

I was delivered as was my brother and sister before me in the front bedroom of my parents upstairs flat, my grandmother was in attendance along with “auntie jean” no relation, but considered as one by all families around, something akin to communities established in the late sixties where everyone looked after each others kids for the common good.

As I say home was a three bed roomed flat with a typical layout for the time it was built around 1875/6.

Stairs from the street climbing steeply towards a landing from which ran the small (back bedroom) followed by the living area next door. The master bedroom and the small front bedroom. Taking up space at the front.

The kitchen area was offset behind the living area leading also to the back stairs into the communal yard which we shared with my Nan who lived below us.

In the yard by the back gate into the alley was the coal bunker and toilet.

We were the middle of a block of 14 houses within the terrace at no8 my Nan being no7 Auntie Jean was no12.

Beyond the alley was a further terrace of 8 houses only which were houses rather than flats.

To the side was a common patch of land acting as a buffer between us and the farmyard.

The main street was a metalled road by the time I was born though when first built would have been cobbled in keeping with the rest of the village.

Opposite the front of the house was the cemetery enclosed by what seemed to be a gigantic brick wall about which I wondered if it was to keep us out or the inmates in?

We lived to the south of the village and as I grew obviously my travels were expanding year on year, the cemetery was the southern boundary while to the north and down the hill was the colliery which my father took great pride in telling me was at I square mile the same size as the city of Westminster.

Looking downwards from the vantage point near the church I could see row upon row of terraced housing with the occasional crescent thrown in for the elder citizens.

The top of the hill was where the church stood (still to this day) having been built around 1225ish.