As a border town Newry was able to offset the worst effects of rationing. This was accomplished by trips to the shops across the border or bus trips to
Wartime Joyriders!
Reminiscence
Bygone memories
I have fond memories of
The Turning bridges: there were five such on the town section of the canal: at Sugar Island; Monaghan Street; Ballybot; and Buttercrane, where the rail crossed the canal; and Dublin Bridge. This was to allow barge traffic bound for Portadown. A bell would sound in the Harbour Master’s Office to alert people. School children used the cry, ‘The bridges were closed!’ as an excuse for their lack of punctuality.
Newry General Holiday
The Newry General Holiday was held in the past in September and the various transport services ran cheap excursions to other towns and cities. One of the most popular was the Great Northern Railway Special to
Omeath
When I was about eight years old my aunt Margaret, home on holiday from
Throwing out the baby?
My brother P J was notorious for his obsession for unscrewing things.
One particular day when I offered to take the baby out for a stroll in his pram, I suddenly learned how lethal P J’s tinkering could be. It was not until the pram was angled off the horizontal, literally when I took it off the footpath’s kerb in order to cross the road that I discovered what he had been up to!
Nan Rice
Nan Rice’s pub is still there in
As well as a pub and a farm, Nan Rice kept a local dairy. It was said she could afford it for she was famously tight-fisted.
Put the flag out
My father with his foibles was not always ‘great’ with the local retailers. This made it awkward during the war and after when rationing persisted for many years, for one had to be ‘in the know’ to be sold contraband or ‘under the counter’ items.
Light a penny candle
My mother was a huge believer in the efficacy of prayer. Often in the local
At one of these times she asked my brother John if he would do this for her. Candles were then one penny each. She had no change only a shilling. He was instructed to call at Ross’s shop and ask Nellie for change.
Home Alone Kid
My parents lived in a small two-up/two-down terrace house in Peter’s Place. It was not as it is today – mostly refurbished and surrounded by desirable residential properties. Then there was no bathroom and water was supplied by means of a water tap in the back yard. The terrace though did then back on to houses of the local ‘gentry’ which had huge back gardens. My aunts always referred to my mother’s house as the ‘Neuk’.