General Chat

My grandparents Charlie & Grace 'got together' after my grandfather's first wife Violet, died in June 1924. Violet had been a friend of my gran, and gran had always fancied Charlie.
When Violet died, Charlie wrote to Grace, addressing the letter just to 'Grace' as he didn't know her surname.

Things progressed rapidly. By July they were 'seeing' each other - not considered 'the done thing' at the time, as a certain amount of grieving was expected.
Gran was 20 and was in service - first in Petersfield, then in Winchester, and had Sundays and Wednesdays off to visit her family in Southampton. Charlie was 27 and worked in the docks in Southampton.
I know all this as I have their letters to one another whilst they were courting.

The following extracts - which I find hilarious - are after Gran had been to the pub (and possibly Charlie's lodgings) with Charlie on a Wednesday, and then gone home:

Late June 1924:
"Well dear Charlie you would have laughed when I got home on Friday evening. Mother asked me where I had been. I told her to the pictures, but did not say who with. She said how red your face is. I said yes that it was the heat of the Pictures. I fell over the chairs and table, made a cup of cocoa, knocked that on the floor. Oh! What a mess. Of course I laughed it off with a joke, something about not takeing enough water with it. I wonder what she would say if she knew the real reason. She has got that to come. A case of ‘break the news to mother’. Well dear I think this is all for the present, more next time"


September 1924:
"I have thought about you all day dear, you ought to have been home when I got there last night, mother call me everything but a christian, first of all she was standing on the doorstep waiting for me, then the concert began (take your seat ladies). I am a deceitful bitch, a night owl. I ought to be ashamed of myself for running after a man whses wife has not been dead five minutes. She cannot get over the fact that one of her children has been led away to drink in public houses. I wonder I am allowed to live being such a wicked creature, but it all rolled off like water off a ducks back, sticks and stones break bones but talk will never hurt me. I reckon I shall have earned a happy married life time I have finished, but never mind my darling so long as we have got each other that is all that worried me. "

Smiles,,,,, oh the done thing,,itsa good job they are not here to see the ways of courtship now days,}}}

I have a lovely old picture photo of Winchester High St c 1900.:}:

Hi Kay,
Has the postcard got the Buttercross and possibly 'Tanner's' the printers?
Gran was the cook to the music master at Winchester College, and lived in Kingsgate Street.

hold on Maggie will have a trawl and find it,in the few hundred:}}}}}

LOL - you mean you can't remember them off by heart?

awww that's lovely :))

Rose xx

Found a little ditty my gran wrote on a postcard - alternative words to 'After the Ball':

After the Ball was over
She took out her false eye
Put her false teeth in the water
Put up her bottle of dye
Stood her cork leg in the corner
Hung her wig up on the wall
And the rest that was left went to bye-bye
After the Ball

Maggie,

I have 3 infact,,!!

one is of (1) Abbey Gardens
.
(2)The City Cross with Allens The Noted Sweet shop in the background.

and (3)the High Street looking down with the Hampshire Observer Office to the left this one is a little higher up the street than no 2...as they both show a shop clock.
NOT A CAR TO BE SEEN AND THE LADIES ARE ALL HATTED:}

Allen's was there later than Tanners - now it's a Montezuma's Chocolate Shop.
The Hampshire Chronicle moved from it's offices earlier this year, after over 100 years - it's now a Zuzzi's restaurant.
The clock's still there - on Lloyds Bank.
Not many cars in the High Street now - it's been pedestrianised!

Maggie,
I know have visited Winchester R/O and walked the streets >:}}}}}}few times plus surrounding villages...

The City Cross looked just the same,,

these are from the time and not reprints unfortunally not written on,

Oh Maggie,

Just found another,,
this one is of the High Street again,,but further up from the Cross,,,,,,,!!

showing.
DK Murray Jewellers shop.
next down is C Bunker a fishmonger,
next door the Royal Hotel with clock.
and down from that,
Winchester School of Music,,
this is a little later ....

Aw Maggie, that is lovely.... I have the letters my mum and dad wrote to each other... but can't bring myself to read them, as they are both hale and hearty!! My mum gave them to me a couple of months ago.

Love

Daff xxxx

Haven't seen that one, Kay!
Wish we still had a fishmongers here!

Maggie
With your great sense of humour I knew you must come from good stock.

How lovely to have the letters to get a real glimpse of your grandparents' characters.

I have a jigsaw puzzle of Old Winchester, ...not sure which era.
Kingdons is nearly opposte the clock and the view is down the hill towards The Buttercross on the right.

Gwyn

Hi Daff,
We found gran's letters when she had to go into a home. I couldn't look at them - out of respect.
Gran passed away a few years ago on 31 October aged 99 - and yesterday being the anniversary of her death, is probably why I thought about them.
Only after she died did I look at them - and typed them out - including all spelling mistakes - in my spare time, which took me 2 years.
Bit embarrassing giving the typed out copies to my mum! Gran wasn't as 'pure' as she made out LOL
I feel they should be published, as there aren't many 'history' type books about the poor in Southern England - but whether that should be as they are, or turned into a story, I'm not sure yet.

My mum says she has now destroyed all letters between her and my dad! LOL