Celebration Days in the 30’s

St. Georges day was always a very religious occasion with church parades and service. The big celebration day for us was "Empire day" when we all lined up in the school playground waving our "Union jacks"

Easter has some lovely memories. On Good Friday the local bakery was allowed to open in the morning for the sale of hot cross buns (that was the only time they were sold). Saturday was when we got our chocolate Easter eggs, one from our parents and one from our aunt Maud.

Easter Sunday was church Sunday school. Easter Monday was when the girls wore their pretty frocks (dresses in today’s language) it was also the day we were given a sixpence coin (2,1/2pence) to pay for a visit to the "big" pictures. The only film i remember starred Shirley Temple.

Later in the year we had Guy Fawkes day when we would make a guy out of old clothes with a face mask, prop it up against a wall in a busy road and ask “penny for the guy“ to passers by. Later in the evening our parents would light a bonfire in our garden, and we we would have our fireworks display which was very low key by today’s standards but we loved it.

Now Christmas was really special, we made our own paper chains with coloured strips of coloured paper stuck together with a paste consisting of flour and water forming a chain' our Christmas tree was from our greengrocers next door. No tree lights but lots of decorations.

Just before Christmas day "mum" would buy the turkey and all the family would join in plucking the feathers from it (no turkeys prepared for the oven then). On Christmas eve the open coal fires in all the rooms were lit giving a warming glow to the whole house.

Going to bed was an exciting event, hanging up the stocking, and trying to sleep in anticipation of the contents of your stocking in the morning. The contents were pretty predictable, some newly minted one penny coins, an orange, some sweets, nuts, comic paper books, the main present a cowboy outfit with hat, sheriffs badge and cap gun. To my young mind "heaven".

Because we had a small gas cooker the oven was too small for the turkey, but our friendly local baker cooked it in his bread oven. The evening was party time, with friends and relatives descending on our humble abode, and as the radio was it's usual bland self, the entertainment was party games and a singsong.

At bank holiday time a day trip to Epping forest with fish paste sandwiches and lemonade with no grownups.