Hi out there,
anyone out there who tried to tell their Grandkids the old nursery rymes we learned as children? How did they react? Tonight I came home at 20.00h ( here local time ), heard my wife in bed with our youngest grandchild Kilian who is staying tonight ( in my side of the nuptial bed of course ). I have to sleep in the spare room with my PC.I knocked and started to recite Wee Willy Winky in German through the keyhole which naturally dosn,t ryhme only to receive the reply. "it,s you Grandpa "
Donald

Yes Donald I do teach my grandchildren the old nursery rhymes. They enjoy them. When they say them back to me it is obviously with a Lancashire accent.
Speaking of Rhymes/poems I remember one that we use to recite when we were little. My uncle Tommy , who's funeral I went home for the other week, used to come to my granny's on a sunday. He used to make our Dorothy, our colin, our Thomas and myself all sit on the settee when we were being a bit noisy. Sometimes he would sing "one finger one thumb keep moving" with us and we'd be getting up and sitting down etc. Other times he use to get us to recite a poem called "wee Hughie" It goes like this:
Wee Hughie
He's gone to school wee Hughie,
An' him not four,
Sure I saw the fright was in him
When he left the door.

But he took a hand o'Denny,
An' a hand o' Dan,
Wi' Joes owld coat upon him -
Och the poor wee man!

He cut the quarest figure,
More stout nor thin;
An' trotting right an' steady
Wi' his toes turned in.

I watched him to the corner
O' the big turf stack,
An' the more his feet went forrit,
Still his head turned back.

He was lookin', would I call him -
Och, my heart was woe -
Sure it's lost I am without him,
But he has to go.

I followed to the turnin'
When they passed it by,
God help him, he was cryin',
An', maybe , so was I.

Actually when I think back we never said wee Hughie....we said wee shughie.
Anyway that's how uncle Tommy kept us quiet on a Sunday afternoon. Oh no there was something else he used to play with us....A dummies meeting. You can obviously guess the rules of that one.

Maureen
Mr Woodende in Hilden school taught us to recite Wee Schuhie, still brings tears to my eyes.
Donald

Just remembered the old childrens begging song at Halloween.
Gangs of us dressed up and wearing " False faces " went from door to door singing it and hoping for a penny, it normally worked. Wonder if the children still do it?

Halloween is coming and the geese are getting fat
Please put a penny in the old man,s hat
If you havn,t got a penny a hapenny will do
If you havn,t got a hapenny, God bless you

Donald

You set me thinking Donald of oul rhymes we use to say and I remembered a couple.
The May Queen one
To be ..to be..to be the queen of the May,
The darkie said he would marry her
marry her....marry her
the darkie said he would marry her.....
to be the queen of the May.
Actually when you see it written down it doesn't even make sense...and obviously it is not very politically correct.....

But never mind I've remembered another one.
My Aunt Jane.
My Aunt Jane she called me in
she give me tea out of her wee tin
half a bap with sugar on the top
three black lumps out'a her wee shop.

My Aunt jane'as a nice wee shop
sells brandy balls and lime juice rock
half a bap with sugar on the top
three black lumps out'a her wee shop.

She called me in and I wouldn't go
she shut the door on my big toe
oh dear oh, my big toe
fell in the buttermilk and I didn't know.

I can't actually remember all the words...perhaps someone else can. I remember two lines of another verse...my Aunt jane, she's awful smart
she baked a ring in an apple tart...........

Maureen
And when Halloween comes around
She even puts in a half a crown
Donald

And when Halloween comes round,
Fornenst that tart she is often found.

Liz

what about the old skipping songs,

Bobby Shafto,s gone to sea
When he comes back he,ll marry me,
Pretty Bobby Shafto!

or

The wind,the wind, the wind blew high,
the rain came scattering from the sky
Maggie Murphy said she,d die,
if she didn,t git the fella
with the two blue eyes!
etc etc

I’ve just come back from supporting my daughter-in-law, who was doing a charity run for breast cancer, G8 is on the tele, as well as Wimbledon, and where do I head first? Yup!
At first, I thought this is a bit daft for me to join in, but yiz ‘ave got me. I distinctly remember Charlie Dougherty’s gravelly voice saying, “ Christmas is comin’ and the goose is gettin’ fat, etc.

Dabbler
Please say you don,t mean THE BLIND CHARLIE DOUGHERTY who used to come to Hilden every night and sleep in the " Buildings" outside Hilden Mill. He used to walk to Belfast every morning to beg his excistence, then in the afternoon back to Hilden to sleep, Summer and Winter , clad in a black overcoat, cap, pullover, open necked shirt with grey chest hair protruding, with a blind man,s cane tapping at all the doors and enquiring " How are yis all the night?" I think he was related to Dougerhtys from Hilden and Tullynacross, one of whom was a carter in Hilden Mill,had an accident and received compensation. He was knocked down in Belfast and buried in a paupers grave, I remember a few Hilden men going to Belfast for the funeral.
If so then you have awakened more memories Dear Dabbler, but how do you know him?
Donald

Donald,Charlie Dougherty used to come around the doors begging when I lived in the Co. Down. He was quite a noticeable person with his big white beard and his old clothes.there again, he was just one of the many characters that knocked around Lisburn.

Yeah, poor oul Charlie. One of you mentioned him here a while back, and shocked me into remembering him. He used knock on our door, on everybody’s door with his stick, and my ma always gave him something. God knows what she gave him, cuppa tay, pennies or what, but he kept knocking. I’m surprised we didn’t ask HIM for money, as we were so poor.

Dabbler
do you know if Charlie was born blind or how he went blind? When I was young there were so many tales about why or how!
Do you remember the air raid shelters in and around Hilden? My Aunt Peg once told me a story about the estranged husband of one of the inhabitants of the houses in Bridge Stree, who suffering from a terminal illness was brought back to Hilden and while his family refused to take him in was deposited in one of the air raid shelters and died there. I remember on the ground between the backs of Mill and Bridge Street there was a concrete base where an air raid shelter once stood. Also two pumps where the inhabitants of Bridge street drew their drinking water. The Mill Street which was inhabited by foremen , fitters and other tradesmen, had drinking water in the houses.Donald

Hi Maureen, I woke up in the night thinking of the song you mentioned, My aunt Jane, she brought me in, she gave me tea outa her wee tin - and trying to remember the verses. Which then made me recall that you mentioned a while back my mum being linked with the song "we go to church on Sunday". I must have known it but have forgotton, but I am fascinated to know what the words were! Perhaps you would give us a verse?

Liz

Hiya Liz nice to have you back on the forum. Really nice to hear how Aunt Betty is.
I'm trying to remember the words of the song you mentioned!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Here goes....
I go to church on a Sunday,
The vows that I make
I break them on Monday.
The rest of the week
I do as I please,
But come Sunday morning
I'm down on my knees.

CHORUS De-ar God
I know I'm not worthy,
But I need you so,
Please won't you hurry,
And help me turn back
from the path I have trod,
You'll never be sorry
dear God.

That's all I can actually remember of it Liz....perhaps it may be enough to jog your memory.

Ladies
My aunt Jane was another of Charlie Dougherty’s.
It goes on:
Half a bap with sugar on the top
And three black lumps out of her wee shop.

Dabbler
Charlie was a very adaptable person and sang for the Hilden inhabitants, us being more affluent " half a bap AND a wee snow top ( snow top being a milk scone, covered with icing and sprinkled with grated coconut, hence the name snow top! ) To be honest Dabbler I had to look up and translate grated coconut from German as I never had it in Hilden.
Donald

Thanks Maureen, for the 'I go to church on Sunday' song. No, I can't say I ever heard it before, but what a nice little song about the realities of life.

Liz

Donald
Not sure if you’re kiddin’ again, about Charlie’s versatility. Those words that I wrote are definitely, exactly the words he used at our door. I never knew, still don’t, and doubt that he, knew what the three black lumps were.

Dabbler
I was indeed kidding about Charlie, the wee snow top and especially about the affluency in Hilden, but what I said about wiping the half chicken with the lemon saturated tissue was indeed so. It,s still possible today in a Munich resturant or "Biergarten" to spot a British or American person while they eat chicken with a knife and fork. If you see Lowroader anywhere tell him his comments and contributions are sorely missed.
Donald

Dabbler,

The way I recall that Nursery Rhythm is " Half a Bap with sugar on the top and three black balls, out of her wee shop "

I think the black balls were " gubstoppers " which were in vogue in those days. However, I may be wrong.

Fortycoats
OK – I give in. Thanks for the explanation. I could swear Charlie said ‘lumps’, but it IS long ago.

Dabbler I have no idea what Charlie Dougherty said but I know that in the County Down we said "Three black LUMPS outa her wee shop." So , ....you know what that means don't you?.........Three black LUMPS is the true version!!!!!!