The Olden Days

Times were hard in Grandma's day
No electrical appliances had she
A ringer washing machine for washing the clothes
And a whistling gas kettle for making the tea

No electric lighting
Just a lamp filled with gas
That's what I remember
When I was a lass

Kneeling down, scrubbing steps
And not just her own
With a bucket of hot water
And a block of donkey stone

I remember on a Tuesday
Grandma used to make
In a willow pattern bowl
A pineapple upside-down cake

Sunday was trifle day
With custard, cream and jelly
Then at twenty to four we'd settle down
To watch ‘The Golden Shot' on the telly

Grandma used to take washing in
For all the neighbours in the street
Then when it was clean and dry
I’d fold it in piles so neat

We were very poor
And didn’t have much to boast
But we were happier then than people are now
The ones who deserve the least have the most