Happy 87th Birthday to….
Today we have a guest – the fantastic, amazing and brilliant Lena Orr! This is on the topic: Childhood. She is my Great Granny and it is her birthday today! I interviewed her by video call. As you find out in this interview, many things were different in the 1930 and 40s! When Lena was a child, people probably didn’t know much about the world. Today we have more things but we still haven’t worked out everything!! This shows how much our world has changed. Here is some information about her childhood:
HOME
She lived in Belfast on the Shankill Road. She was born in 1933. The curb stones were painted red, white and blue. Her house had 1 bedroom upstairs, 1 room downstairs. People lived in small houses if they were poor. Not many people had lots of money. There were 6 boys and 6 girls in her family. The also were twins that sadly died. When she was younger she had a toy doll, but she didn’t have any other toys because people didn’t have a lot of money back then. When I asked her about her favourite TV show, she said there was no TV ( I can’t imagine my childhood without it) . 
Her favourite food was chips ( I agree, that they are yummy!). Life as a 9 year old (the same age as me) was mostly helping look after the 5 younger children. I sometimes have to look after my younger siblings but I don’t have to do it much, as I am normally reading. Lena’s favourite memory was the park. There were swings, a slide and a roundabout. Parks weren’t as big as the ones we have today. There were no gardens and not many toys. The war was on. There wasn’t really lots to do during the war.
SCHOOL
In school, there were no dinners or school uniform. You got smacked with a cane if you were naughty. You had to stand out in the corridor to wait for the headmaster. You had a pencil and 1 jotter. They did a lot of writing. She had a desk with a lid, an inkwell and a bag. You left school at 14 to work at the mill. I’m not sure if I would like that! The subjects she had as a child were:
- Arithmetic
- Composition
- Reading
- P.E.
- Cookery
- Little Geography
- Writing
She walked to school since there was no bus or car. An interesting fact is that her school is still being used today but not as a school. Today schools are different. You would have more subjects and there are no canes ( I am glad that we no longer use them!!). We sometimes do cookery, but not a lot. Today most people are fortunate to have resources for school like iPads, whiteboards and classroom equipment, but not everybody has! People are helping others that are less fortunate than ourselves like The Hunger Project UK and many more!!
WAR
When war was on, Great Granny Lena said it was terrible. She had to go to the fields because of the bombing in Belfast. Lena was evacuated, with her sisters, to Warrenpoint. Warrenpoint is small port town in County Down, Northern Ireland. The boys were sent somewhere else. Her Dad was in the submarines. He was rescued when his submarine was bombed. Lena’s memories of VE Day were that the flags were out, there were parties and lots of fun. She was out on the streets.
I hope you liked this and it gives you better understanding of our world during the 1900s. Happy birthday Great Granny Lena!!!!!!!!
Made by www.charismorton.co.uk
Bread Recipe
14 Comments
Aunty Louise
Charis, this is a great report. Your Great Granny’s life was certainly very different from yours! How lovely to be able to talk to her via video link. I’m sure she couldn’t have even imagined doing something like that when she was your age. Thanks for sharing her story with all of us. I really enjoyed reading it xo
Charis Morton
Aunty Louise,
I am glad you enjoyed it. I interviewed her on Sunday afternoon. I agree with you that she wouldn’t think of doing something like doing a video call as a child.
Charis
Great Auntie Frances
Dear Charis
Your report was very good. It’s important that people’s memories are recorded as they form part of a country’s history. Some history lecturers specialise in this and it is known as ‘oral history’. Keep up the good work. Xx
Charis Morton
Great Aunty Frances,
I never knew it was called oral history. Thank you for teaching me something new.
Charis
EDITH MCFARLAND
Charis What a great blog and I just loved hearing about your Great Granny.
There are 2 x Great Grannies on our side of the family
One was called Dorothy Mercer …… She lived in Belfast too and she married just after WW2
They had to save food coupons to buy flour eggs etc to bake their wedding cake.
The other Great Granny was called Jeannie McFarland and she was a farmers wife and lived in Co Tyrone. She had 10 children Granda McFarland is her 6th child and he has a twin brother.
Aunty Jayne is going to post a joke tomorrow xxxx
Charis Morton
Hi Granny,
I didn’t know those were the names of my Great Grannies. I miss you lots!
Charis
EDITH MCFARLAND
Hi Charis
Aunty jayne has another joke for you. She heard it on her Torch Trust cd and thought she would like to send it to you
How do you know there is a elephant in your fridge?
The door won’t close !!
Charis Morton
Hi Granny and Aunty Jayne,
Good joke! What do you give a sick lemon?
Lemon aid!!
Charis
EDITH MCFARLAND
Good morning Charis
This is Aunty Jayne’s joke
What did one wall say to the other?
Answer= Meet you at the corner !!
Charis Morton
Hi Aunty Jayne,
I liked your joke!!! I have got one too!
What did the small jalapeño say to the bell pepper?
Answer= I’m a little chilly!
Charis
Olivia Kirkland
Cool Charis great history of your granny. My last topic in school was about WW1 + WW2
Charis Morton
Hi Olivia
I hope to do a topic on WW1 and WW2 in school when I get back.
Charis
Karen
Hi Charis nice job I love learning about world war 1 and 2
Charis Morton
Karen,
Me too.
Charis