People of Conwy: James Curran
People of Conwy: James Curran
James Curran, a native of Llanrwst, has had many jobs in his career, from post office employee to woollen mill worker and even fireman, where a large bell above his bed would go off in the event of a fire. As ‘first responder’, living closest to the station, James would rush to open up the fire station and prepare for the team to arrive.
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Transcript:
… I was born in Scotland Street, 1931, and were there for about 1937, 38, and we were all transferred to Cae Person, brand new houses …
… the state of the houses in Scotland Street was terrible …
… it was very, very poor there. There was no inside toilets, the tap was out in the yard, wash in the tin bath, in front of the fire, with the Lowlan iron stove and fire grate with a bin on the side of it for cooking, everything had to be cooked on that …
… the lantern was coal gas, from the gas works, there’s rats everywhere, bugs, and it was an everlasting job there the women had to do there to try and keep the place tidy and up to standard. And the one thing they all done, although the houses were you know, appearance were in a state, they all had polished doorsteps, and you see them in the morning, you could get a black polish called Sebo and the brush and do it and they would shine it. They used to do that every day …
… if they had the sandstone step, they’d be holly stone and they’d be rubbing it with a rough stone to get it up …
… all the women and men there, us kids we used to call them ‘auntie’ or ‘uncle’; they’re no relation, but it was ‘auntie this’ or ‘auntie that’ and ‘uncle this’ and ‘uncle that’ …
… if anybody was short of food, especially if there was a wedding coming on … and all the people used to put cakes and a bit of sugar and a bit of tea … like a wedding breakfast for the family not to be embarrassed you see, but not often hospitality. Yes it was the hospitality, everybody shared and shared alike.
… The spirit, in Scotland Street, was everybody was for everybody.