Arthur talks about selling the Gaunts cottage
before moving to his current house. He had to do some work on the new house as
it did not have a bathroom. He also talks about demolishing the beautifully
tiled fireplace as Gladys didnt want it and he offered the fireplace to a
neighbour on his street. He also talks about how he had to plaster the walls,
ceiling and apply skirting board.
AB: I sold Gaunt's
cottages to somebody from er Huddersfield. Then I-I dealt with it all through
Barnsley Building Society, to borrow money for this house as well. Er, what we
had spare from that house went on to this house, money, and rest of it had to
take cu- over a, a lease I'm not quite sure now whether eight year, or 10, or
12. But er, when er, when we come here of course like I said, we'd no bath, er
no bathroom, no bath and the toilet were pot were broen (broken), so Id
to ave (have) a new er toilet pot and the toilet was down at bottom of
garden. And then er, we had a beautiful fireplace, tiled fireplace in here and
er Gladys says, "Well I don't want that." So
I took that out. I say Ill bricked it, bricked it up and just left
a, a space where I could get ventilator in put chim-
to keep chimney dry. And then she said, "There's cup- top cupboards,
drawers and bottom cupboards in that, that side. And it was never [speech
unclear] be able to use them there. If they'd have been in kitchen sort of
thing you know itd been alright." I says,
"Well that's no, that's no-no trouble." So I
took them all out, all the lot, bare wall, because when I came to take them out,
the shelves, er er, above each saw- shelf were all
different levels er-er plaster, so I had to strip it all down to bare brick.
And er, had to er, er plaster it all up, get all dead, dead straight. And then
at the bottom Id to er, get some er, matching er skirting
board and fit that all in. When that were done, we were able to put that in-in
place then. But er only the t thing you can tell is the ceiling, and that
wi working I hadn't, hadn't time to, it were all, it were all rush job you know. And with ceiling, I
plastered it but I didn't, I-I meant to just rub it
over, smooth it over but I-I haven't got it dead smooth there. But rest of it,
that wall is perfect. And then er I found out that had to er put skirting board
on, new skirting board on front then when I, when I went onto this side there. Oh before I went onto this side there because er, had the
other fireplace like, breaking, breaking it up into how many [speech unclear] bits-bits
down there, at either side. But the-the old fireplace whi
(which) were what was in, as I say it was a lovely fireplace and I asked on
street if anybody wanted it. One ladys come in and had a look says,
"Ooh its lovely that." She says, "I'd
like it very much." I says, "Well you best make your mind up quick cause Ive only-only me- this is my day off and
that- and thats it, I should be back at work." So I said if you're not back in, in quarter of an hour, in
20 minutes rather, says it'll be all rubble. She come running back, it were all in rubble [laughs]. Huh
but
er then I had to er, put er, er cement the top because of the brick work not
being just right. And then I had to put er, boards back, to match floor. I'm
just trying to think what else I had to do.
[00:04:14]