Page 57 - recollections of a life in Porthleven

usually had to sit on it for 10-20 minutes or so. We would have to sit on it
without moving and at the same time look at the clock. The time dragged
very slowly, Gran knew exactly what she was doing.

Writing this now it seems funny that one day I had to sit on the chair for one
hour. What was my crime? I wanted to play with the toy my brother had but
he would not give it to me. After a time I pulled his hair and Gran saw what
I did so my punishment was one hour on the chair. I never pulled his hair
again.

Gran always kept us smart, clean and tidy, we had a set of good clothes and
our school clothes. As soon as we got home from church (by the way I was
in the church choir and an altar boy) or school it was off with those clothes
and on with our playing clothes. I know on many occasions Dad or Gran
would tell me off for kicking stones when wearing my best shoes, well what
else do young boys do when they see stones?

Trewarvus was a busy house with friends of Gran, Grandad and Dad always
popping in. Come to think of it the village would be our visitors! People
would come around to the back door, knock and walk in, sometimes just for
a minute or so, often asking how we children were.

In addition to the visitors Gran would also have deliveries made, the coal
man (I cannot think of his name), Billy the milkman, Mr Quinn from the
Spar shop, Mrs Matthews from the Mace shop, Wimpleton’s the butchers,
the paraffin man, Mother’s Pride bakers and the fruit and veg man. Why so
many deliveries? Gran would always say, ‘we have to keep our money in
the village’.

Every day was special with Gran as she made it so. Saint Peter’s Tide and
Gala Week we would get all the flags out and we would dress the front of
the house with them. Obviously not before Gran would get Dad to clean
down the granite outside and snow-cem the garden wall. Things had to be
right for Gran.

We would be out the front to watch the parade pass by. First would come