Childhood Holidays

A Memory of Dinnington.

My father grew up in Dinnington. He lived on The Crescent with his mum, dad and 2 older sisters. Once married, he settled in Manchester, where my 2 sisters, my brother and myself were born. Having no family car, visits to my grandma and grandad in Dinnington were limited but every June we would travel by train for a fortnight's holiday with them. Though I was unaware at the time, this must have been very hard work for them, putting up 2 adults and 4 children in a 3 bed semi.
My grandma was very strict. She was a wonderful cook, producing tasty home cooked meals and baking every day for us. My grandad was a real softy. I remember climbing on his knee as he sat in his armchair by the fireside. He smoked a pipe and had a collection of pipes, hanging from a gate-like ornament on the mantelpiece. He kept his tobacco in a beautiful blue pot next to his pipes. I still have this pot today. My grandad had white hair and a white moustache.
There was a horse hair settee which scratched our bare legs as we sat on it and a wooden clock which ticked away the hours comfortingly from the huge, highly polished and ornate sideboard. On that sideboard was a very special jar, the highlight of the holiday. It was filled with threepenny bits, which my grandparents had been saving for us all year since our last visit. Every day we were given a whole threepenny bit each to spend. Since that time, the threepenny bit has always been my favourite coin. It was a fortune to us as we normally considered ourselves to be very lucky if mum could spare us the odd penny to spend. I can remember us all running gleefully down the passageway from The Crescent to Lordens Hill sweetshop, where we would pore over the penny, tuppenny and threepenny trays trying to make our minds up what to buy.
My grandparents had a huge garden overlooking the miners' welfare, where we children used to play on the swings etc while dad and grandad played billiards inside. If we had a spare penny or two, we would venture inside to the dark mysterious, smokey atmosphere of the billiard room to buy sweets.
My grandparents kept their garden immaculately. Red salvia, blue lobelia and white alyssum adorned the borders in the front garden, dahlias and carnations in the side garden and fruit and vegetables in the back garden. There was also a rockery, which we children couldn't resist climbing despite being constantly in trouble for doing so. We only had a backyard in Manchester so it was a delight to play in the garden with lovely countryside views all around.
In the evenings, after walking down the lane to feed the pigs, we would all play cards sitting round the dining table together. No TV in those days, just good family fun! We usually played rummy, then grandma would pick a cauliflower from the garden and make cauliflower cheese for supper.
I could go on and on about my wonderful childhood holidays in Dinnington but I have already written far more than I first intended to.
I will always have a soft spot for Dinnington, my dad's home town, in my heart. ❤️

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