Cabra History.Com

‘Isn’t it a funny thing all the same, when I looked at this picture I couldn’t help thinking about my sister and her husband. You see, she was the first in the family to get married and she was working in a sewing factory and her fella was working in Tonge and Taggert on the East Wall Road. Now, they had a grand wedding and all that, even though I wasn’t there because I was in hospital getting my appendix out, and they went to England on the boat for their Honeymoon. Anyway, they settled down and were sharing a house with one of his pals and his wife and they were getting on great together. Then one night, while we were all sitting around our fire at home the Ma’ ups and says to the Da’ “Do you know what I was thinking…”. The Da’ looked at her over the top of his glasses and says “Well, what have you decided now“. “…Well…” says the Ma’ with a little grin coming out of the side of her mouth, “…I was just thinking that we could have them move in here with us”. I remember the Da’ taking off his glasses and giving her one of his “What are you on about” looks. Then the Ma’ says “Sure haven’t we got the Bed Settee in the parlour and it’s not in use. It’s only till their house is ready”. And that was the end of that conversation. There was no family Pow Wow to discuss it, the Ma’ had decided and that was that. I remember the brother saying to the Da’ “Sure what did she get married for if she has to move back home”? But the look on the Da’s face said it all. The Ma’ had the rest of the sisters cleaning and polishing our parlour and the brother got the job of cleaning the windows and the Da’ was given the task of fixing up the Bed Settee. And so in next to no time the sister and her new husband moved in with us, lock, stock and barrel. So now, back to the picture, on their first morning of waking up in our parlour there was about eight or nine of us all standing around the Bed Settee gawking. Now, the poor Brother-In-Law didn’t know what to make of it at all. The sister let out a roar at us “Get out of my bedroom”. Then the brother reminded her that it was our parlour and not a bedroom. So it was at this point that the Ma’ appeared and we all scattered back up to our own beds. “You two don’t pay any attention to them, you have yourselves a little Lie-On…” says she as she shuts the parlour door and went into the kitchen to join the Da’ for a cup f tea. And to this very day I’m sure I heard the Ma’ and Da’ having a little giggle in the kitchen…’