Memories of Lowesby
by Yvonne Oliver

We lived at Cherry Tree Cottage, and my parents worked for Mrs. Kirkpatrick (fondly known as Gytha) at the Hall, so I often got the chance to just wander in the garden there and help my father. One of my school friends lived there, as her father was the groom. Next door was one of my teachers, whose husband was the head gardener.

Village life was much the same as in most places. Cars were a rarity, so it was a treat when some of the produce from the Hall gardens was take off to Leicester to be sold in greengrocers, people took the opportunity to go along too to do some shopping. Otherwise there were various vans that came with goods for sale. One being the co-op from which most things were bought, another sold egg and lemon shampoo I remember. The favourite for us children was the ice cream van which came every fortnight in the summer and we took our threepenny bits to buy ice lollies to school, and were given special leave to go out to the van when he came.

The infants school was in a room in Mrs. Leadbetters house. When I visited the village a few years ago I saw the old cedar being removed from the garden there. We had 'Music and Movement' outside beneath that tree when the weather was nice, and our playtime was there so that we wouldn't be hurt by the rough games of the'big ones'. When I became a 'big one' I didn't think the games were rough at all. British Bulldogs got banned because whoever ended up on the end of the line always got swung into the school wall, ending up with cuts and bruises, which were treated with the big brown bottle of iodine. My mother said I always had totem pole legs, being black and blue with bruises and orangey yellow with iodine.

One of our greatest treats was in the summer when the farmer came to say that the silage was in. We were allowed to climb over the iron railed fence that separated us from the farm and up into the silage pit, which was filled with soft grassy hay, we could tossle and have hay fights, covering the school and our clothes in hay. There is nothing like the smell of new mown hay!!!!!!! On the other hand there were other smells! Our toilets were outside, boys and girls being separated by a wall. They were wooden seats with big buckets underneath, and once a week the 'lavender wagon' came to empty them. QUITE a different smell!

The school and church were operated as almost one entity. We had prayers and hymns at the beginning and end of each day. Sunday school was a must whether you wanted to go or not, then on a lovely summers afternoon we all walked across the fields to the Scrambling, to watch the motor bikes on the local track. We all had our favourites and cheered them on loudly. Not that anyone would hear us over the noise of the engines.

At this time of the year we would be combing the hedgerows and fields for fallen wood and building the village bonfire in the field across the lane from the back steps of the church. A fairly easy task because the autumn hedging and ditching had been done and piles of 'forgotten' unwanted wood was left around. Mums would make toffee apples and sticky spicy biscuits. At school we were all taught again and again about the 'traitor' Guy Fawkes and all cheered loudly as he was burnt every year on the top of the biggest bonfire we had ever seen, and ate our spicy treats and baked potatoes cooked around the edge of the fire. Hallow-e'en was not really celebrated, but All Souls Day was. It was a day of going to church and wearing white, of praying for the souls of all those that had died that year we knew, and special thanks given for the souls of those who had died bravely in the war to keep us safe. Probably nearer to the original ancient festival than today's commercial one.