Dear Lorraine,
I have had a life long interest in macks and wear a trench coat to this day.
In the early fifties when I was about twelve and my sister Penny about ten we spent six months staying at our grandmother's farm house in the Yorkshire dales. My grandmother and "Syd" her live-in boyfriend of many years kept sheep on the moors and cows for milk on the home fields.
My mother was very ill and in hospital for a long time. My father worked for the Ministry of Defence on essential work overseas and could not return to England. So we were lodged with my rough and ready grandmother and "Syd", a wild former shepherd who had befriended gran when my grandfather died in a farm accident.
It seemed it always rained in Yorkshire. Our gran would not let us out to play unless we both wore our "rubbers" - old rubber raincoats handed down by former children on the farm. These were large double-breasted navy coloured raincoats, patched in several places with rubber and cycle tyre repair kit glue. They smelt of old rubber tyres.
Everytime we went out Gran inspected us. The rubber coats had to have every button done up and the belt done up tight. The collar had to be worn up, with the flap over the mouth done up. We always wore wellington boots and a rubber sou'wester. We were not to take them off in case we got our clothes dirty. Gran had no time for extra washing.
We went out in all weathers wearing the raincoats, even on the odd day when the rain stopped and the sun came out. We had to do some work on the farm. Help with milking the cows by hand and taking the milk churns to be collected on the main road.
The one good thing was that that September we missed school until the following Easter. Syd did not hold with school, 'it taught people to be fools'. Indeed visits to animal markets taught us all about business and keeping accounts in your head - how to get a good price and not be ripped off. It was an excellant practical education.
One warm day we were playing on the moors far from the farm. We took off our coats, hats and boots and sun-bathed. We had a terrible shock when Gran rode over the hill and found us. She was out looking for stray sheep.
Gran told us to get dressed and go and wait for her. She and Syd arrived together and gave us a terrible dressing down. Syd wanted to cane us and "lock em in the barn for a week". Gran said no.
She told us to put our coats back on and got a big needle and thick strong thread. She sewed our coats up up the front. She pulled the belts very tight and sewed them in place. She sewed the mouth flaps on the collars up tight. She sewed the ends of the sleeves tight round our wrists.We would have to wear the coats all the time for a week.
Sleeping in the rubber mack felt odd at first - hot and sweaty - but soon I found my self actually enjoying it! I think my sister also enjoyed the punishment. We both started a life-long love of rubber coats. I used to sleep in the coat long after my punishment.
Next morning when we were about to go out to help with the milking we had another suprise.Syd and Gran had a further punishment. Gran got four silk scarves out of the dresser. She rolled one into a ball and pushed it into my sister's mouth and tied a second as a gag round her head. She did the same to me. For a week we were to talk to no-one outside the house. To hide the gags she wrapped long woollen scarves round our faces hiding our mouths.Nothing could be seen of us when our sou'westers were attached.
This has also been an interest in later life for both of us.
Ken
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