Three quarters of women think they are as good as men at DIY

[The Natural Philosopher]

Oh don't be naive. Its mostly the bit between the legs for younger women.

[Nightjar]

ISTR I was the only one in the house with a sewing kit, or the knowledge of how to use it.

Colin Bignell

[Owain]

My mother could use a sewing machine, but I was the one who had to thread it.

Owain

[ARWadsworth]

No, that's what we think of three quarters of the time.

[Nightjar]

I was always given the job of filling and fitting the bobbin in the shuttle.

Colin Bignell

[Owain]

Gawd, bobbins. I spent hours of my childhood sitting, turning the handle on the old Singer and pretending to be an electric motor.

I was also allowed to 'help' my father by sitting on things while they were sawed so they didn't move.

I think I'm grateful we never had a coal fire.

Owain

[S Viemeister]

We did. One of my jobs was to sift the ashes for any unburnt bits.

[jgharston]

I got snapped repairing a tear in a pocket:

sewing is just basic life skills, like being able to cook or wipe your arse.

JGH

[ARWadsworth]

Nice jumper mate:-)

[John Rumm]

Mine could thread it and use it, but it was me who worked out how to do freehand embroidery with it ;-)

(i.e. how to disable the cloth push mechanism under the foot by moving the leaver someone had told mother never to move!)

[Owain]

Did you also have to cut up squares of newspaper for the cludgie? ;-)

Owain

[S Viemeister]

That would have worn the edge of the scissors. We _tore_ the newspaper into squares.

[whisky-dave]

You don't know how lucky you are, we couldn't even afford the newspaper ;-)

[Nick Leverton]

"Tha'll go down the pit like tha brother. And when tha finds him, tell him to come on up for dinner.

Nick

[S Viemeister]

Yesterday's papers, from the friendly man at the local shop, were free-for-the-taking...

[Dave Plowman (News)]

We did. And bringing in the coal from the cellar was 'men's' work. So as soon as we were old enough, my brother or me.

And having to get coal in from outside on a frezing day when you've been sitting by the fire makes you learn to do such things in time.

[tony sayer]

In article , Nick Leverton scribeth thus

Joking apart this site makes for interesting and rather sobering reading as to what life was like for those who had to go down 't pit back in the good olde days of yore..

Not a lot of fun for the young ones it seems;!....

[ARWadsworth]

after the Husker pit disaster.

[dennis]

We used to collect them up and sell the ones we didn't use to the local recycling place, about 1/2d a pound IIRC