Lisburn Exiles Forum

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The Lisburn Exiles Forum is dedicated to the memory of James Goddard Collins (The Boss) who single-handedly built LISBURN.COM (with a lot of help from many contributors) from 1996 to 29th November 2012. This website was his passion and helping people with a common interest in the City of Lisburn around the world is his lasting legacy.


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hello

I give up on this occasion. I had put on a new topic and several times I must have touched the wrong key. Once a Word Pad appeared. Then "office" came up. However, I continued in my efforts to post and was almost finished when I must have touched another wrong key and the whole bloody thing vanished. This is when my sight problem can get very frustrating. Some other time I'll post what I was trying to earlier. Have a good weekend everyone.

Re: hello

Ann

Sorry you have that frustration. I despair of things going wrong and wearing out as we get older. I have the same thing, dry Macular and find by the time it is evening, reading the paper and watching television gets cloudier. I can't imagine what I will be like in ten years time, if I live that long. All I can say is I hope Pat lives longer than me to see me right! Is that selfish?

Re: hello

Hi Ann and Liz.

I talked to my friend on Friday night, she is the one with the dry kind of "Macular", she has had it for over 15 years. She explains it exactly as yourselves, just an inconvenience, she is 78 and is still driving,she is going back home on June 2nd. She tells me it's her yearly walk round Newcastle that helps her best of all.

Beano

Re: hello

Liz, as you may know, I have the dry type too. As you say, by the end of the day your eyes get tired and strained. As Beano says, it's only an inconvenience if you want to read the paper or do close work. As I said, NOTHING TO DO WITH AGE!!!!!!!

Liz, you're not selfish to want Pat to be there for you. I, too, would prefer to be first to go, but I suppose that's because he does all the bills and paperwork and I don't have a clue. Selfish? maybe. We're allowed to think of ourselves now and again.

Re: hello

As we get to the end of the road or near the end, do you think of the things you would have done if you had your life to live over again.? OR of the things you would still like to do if we had the choice.?

I hate the term Bucket LIst, but I would like to have travelled more to other countries, like America, the names always fascinated me,... Virginia, New England, Colorado, Montana, etc.

Then Spain, Italy, France, visiting country districts with small villages & people living daily lives, staying with them for a while learning the language, Switzerland & Austria sound beautiful with the mountains & forests.

AND of course Canada, my favourite, The Rockies, Blue Mountain terrain, all over that beautiful country, but NOT the far North, too cold & desolate. Loved to have gone by luxury train across the country fro one end to the other, had the chance once, but didn't go, so our own fault.

All a case of "would I should I " but not a bad life, considering.....Pat

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Pat
Remember the gas meters which you had to feed with Pennies or Shillings in the houses around Lisburn? If I could turn back the clock and undo anything it would be not to sneak into the parlour and steal the Shilling that my gran had inserted into the slit in the gas meter in readiness to turn the knob when the gas meter needed to be re-fed. Or at Xmas when there was a small bottle of Whiskey in the scullery, I would sneak a mouthfull and my grandfather got accused of drinking it and got a good ***********
donald

Re: hello

anybody out there ?

Re: hello

Donald, I's here. I remember the shilling meter very well. My mother was always running around in panic looking for a "shilling for the meter" usually when cooking. Am I imagining it or did there used to be penny meters? Do you remember the old silver sixpences and the threepenny bits, the halfpennies, the pennies and I even remember farthings. What about the very seldom seen big black and white five pound notes - a fortune then; the two shilling piece, the half-crown, the pound note and then there was the guinea. In primary school we always brought a penny for the black babies. New money now, and handier. but is it any more valuable?

Re: hello

Loads of people out there, all looking for shillings for the gas meter.

Re: hello

Tried to reply but it vanished, here we go again. I remember the "gas men" coming around with a hand cart to empty the meters, the meter was opened and the contents tipped into a small canvas bag with a number and then deposited into the cart, at the end of the day the cart was full of shillings, a fortune then but I don´t remember hearing about a robbery. Another phenomena then was wages clerk from Glenmore bleach works, he got the 10 o clock bus from Hilden every Friday to the Bank in Lisburn, collected the cash to pay the wages and returned an hour later in a taxi. Everyone knew this but there was never an attempt to hold him up and steal the cash.
donald

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Donald, what were we thinking about? Can you imagine anyone carrying large amounts of cash round now? They'd be mugged before they'd gone 100 yards. I'd be first in the queue!!!!!!!!!

Re: hello

Donald ,On the same vein what was Mick Sharkey's position in the mill ?can you remember ,Regards Ted

Re: hello

Ted
Mickey Sharkey worked in the main office block in Hilden, maybe Ann or Pat will know more. I heard his parents once owned the ground where the parochial House is now built upon. He lived in Bridge Street about 3 doors down from us and if I remember correctly his was one of the few houses in Hilden which had no electricity.
donald

Re: hello

Mickey Sharkey wasn't working in Barbour's when I was there. However, I believe he was very intelligent and as far as I know he worked in the Accounts Department. Pat will know more.

Re: hello

Ann
Mickey Sharkey wasn't working in Barbour's when I was there. However, I believe he was very intelligent and as far as I know he worked in the Accounts Department. Pat will know more.


I remember mickey comeing behind me and asking if I had an old woodbine on me ,he used to wear gloves and carried a spare one or so I am told and read newspaper under the outside lamps back then

Re: hello

Barney There were many stories told about Mickey I once heard he bought a bag of coal to keep himself warm and it lasted a lifetime ! It was said that when he felt cold he would carry it up and down the stairs to he warmed up I can't confirm this of course .Regards Ted

Re: hello

He was a devout Catholic, always attending Mass, Novena and other activites in the Church. It was said when there was a"silver collection " on Sundays he placed a "Free State Threepenny Piece" on the plate . Lots of stories were invented about him.
donald

Re: hello


I worked in the same office as Mickey, he was a very clever man & clean too though he wore an old cap & worn clothes. He was dealing with orders coming in from the Continent in the metric System long before it came here

I believe my Grandfather had a hand in getting Mickey the job as a young lad as he was quiet & shy then. In Lisburn everyone is a far out friend & the Sharkeys were related or were maybe just family friends in some far flung distant past with the Mc Keowns. I think they lived near each other in Church St. & Barrack St. when Mickey was young.

Mickey worked in Hilden all his life & had a dinner in the Canteen every day consisting of 2 potatoes & soup, cost tuppence then. I saw this myself some days when I was there.

Every morning he came to our desk to borrow the morning paper from my fellow clerk, he was well read & up to date with current affairs, carried on a conversation in a cultured voice & had perfect manners.

When he died most of his pay packets were never opened & we heard he had over 33 Thousand in cash, a fortune in those days. May he Rest in Peace

Pat

Re: hello

Charles Dickens could have been describing Mickey Sharkey when he created the miser Scrooge. I never heard of another miser since Mickey Sharkey. I wonder were there any more about? He was the absolute epitome of one. Poor man, he could have been enjoying life, even in a simple fashion, instead of denying himself the basics. Strange.

Re: hello

Ann/Pat
Maybe because of his experience in International business Mickey was more able to compare the difference between buying and selling and the profit made by shopkeepers then. In my childhood no comparison was made by shoppers between prices charged. I do not remember prices being displayed upon the goods. Most of the women bought on "tick" until Friday and were more concerned that they were given credit by the shopkeeper than the prices charged. Crazy Prices in the 60s was the first discounter in Lisburn and they introduced price comparison and discount.

An old joke comes to mind " A shopkeeper calls down from his living quarters above his shop to his assistant " John have you watered the milk and sanded the sugar"? The assistant answered, " Yes Sir" The shopkeeper then called " John, then come up immediately for evening prayers"!

donald

Re: hello

Ann, Pat, Donald, For some reason every time I see a photo of James Joyce , Mickey Sharkey always springs to mind , I can still see Mickey with his hands behind his back and he carried himself very straight AND WITH AN INDEPENDENT AIR .Regards Ted