Re: World War 1 sports?
Posted by Luke on February 14, 2021 at 00:59:33
In Reply to: Re: World War 1 sports? posted by Ry on February 13, 2021 at 18:37:53:
Hi Ry. I realise you like a bit of banter having read so many of your replies and all those questions to Kayne & Co.; and now you’ve got us lot to ask about. Quite happy to answer. We’ve grown up pretty much living life outdoors as much as possible as we’ve always had the run of the farm and got involved in helping out whenever we were big/old enough to do so. It is mainly an arable farm but there is a small flock of sheep and about 30 head of cattle, numbers vary from year to year. So we have always helped out at lambing and helped with the calves growing up. Obviously growing up outdoors makes you immune to the cold to a degree.
We actually live in England but Wrexham is the nearest large town, about six miles as the crow flies, and the location of the nearest secondary schools. We went to junior school more locally in England. About a ÂĽ of the farm area is in Wales but all the buildings and houses are in England. We consider ourselves to be English most definitely.
We were taught Welsh as a compulsory language until 16, but it was only as a secondary language on a very limited basis – like an hour a week – I never used it outside of those lessons and obviously not at home. I think only about 25% of secondary schools in Wales do all their lessons in Welsh, and even then it is dual English & Welsh not 100% Welsh. There are moves afoot to make it more of the main language in all Welsh schools from 2022 onwards. Not sure that is a good move. So my Welsh oral language skills are pretty limited and the written skills are even worse. I recognise enough to know when other guys are swearing at me!
Dyna ddigon am y Cymry gwaedlyd!
You can work that bit out for
yourself!!
Some of the guys at school fooled around in the mud and rain during school times but were always punished when lessons started again, so the only legit time was playing football or more so for those who opted for rugby. We’ve had a few good teachers over the years who realised that you couldn’t expect boisterous boys (or indeed girls) to be good all the time but this Head is indeed a d**kHEAD in all senses.
Home life settled down with Billy in charge pretty quickly. We had grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins (there are 14 cousins including us, ranging from 23 to 12 at present) dropping in all the time and they were great when dad died suddenly. Billy was 8½ when mum died, I was 4½ and Annie was obviously new-born. Dad understandably doted on Annie and continued to do so as she got older and got to look more and more a little copy of mum; it must have been very hard for him. It was during that time that Billy and I became very close and that has continued to this day. Dad died almost exactly 10 years after mum so Billy was 18½ when he became head of the household.
Billy was quite domesticated anyway – we all were with helping out around the house – and has always enjoyed cooking, which was just as well as Dad struggled with beans on toast never mind anything like a Sunday lunch. Life could be mayhem and unruly outdoors but I think we all realised that in the house it was always better that we got on well with each other and if we wanted to let off steam or get messy or even have a huge argument, then it was best done outside. Dad always said “If you’re going to fight or brawl, go outside and do it. You’ll soon get tired of it after throwing each other in the duck pond or being face planted in the mud. I don’t care if you come home soaked or covered in mud just do it quietly having made up with each other.” Very sensible.
You’ll get used to all that stuff in Billy’s post, give it time. I’m only just 18 so you have a few years I think to catch me up and maybe get to know more; don’t rush it. (By the way, we have waterproof mattress covers, laminate wood floors and big towels handy in our bedrooms so it is fairly well waterproof with just sheets to put in the dryer.)
- Re: World War 1 sports? Ry 05:09:01 2/14/2021
(1)
- Re: World War 1 sports? Luke 10:40:48 2/14/2021
(0)
- Re: World War 1 sports? Luke 10:40:48 2/14/2021
(0)