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OK, who wore clogs when they were a kid ?

I did. Black ones with irons on the bottom. It was great fun to run along the street making them spark. But alas, this only lasted a couple of weeks before they were taken into the cloggers . The irons were removed and rubber ones were put on. Spoil sports !

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Trish ...

I did and I have still got them. They are hanging up in my living room. They were made to measure at one of the two cloggers at Harle Syke, the one which was on the left as you go down the main road towards Burnley. I was most disappointed when I got them at the age of 4 because they were not shod with iron but rubber for I wanted to clatter them, evenso, I loved them. They were, and still are, fastened with a metal stud.

I remember my Grandparents had a pair at home by the hearth and as a child being quite struck by how they were so obviously hand made. Wish I could have them now ...goodness only knows where they ended up.

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The hawk flys round and round, the sky is so blue. I think I can hear the old bell ringing like I rang it to call them home ... Oh I was young then, and I walked in my body like a Queen

My grandfather wore them daily....it sounded so very cool when the mill got out at dinner time and the clatter of clogs heralded the men and women heading home for their middle-of-the-day meal!
And at the end of the day.....not quite so chipper, but just as magical for me as a kid.....my beloved grandfather (James Halstead, 31 Granville Street, Harle Syke) was home for the evening!
By the way, Glenys.....I love that quote at the end of your post. Where is it from, if I may ask?

I'm as old as most of you, I reckon, but didn't wear clogs. I didn't realise it at the time, but I think we were posh ! My Dad worked in a bank (remember Martins ?).

My father did tell a tale, or rather my aunt did, that as a boy (c.1912 say) he came in the house one day and kicked off his clogs as usual, but with a little extra vigour. One flew up and straight through the glass frontage of a picture, or maybe a mirror.

It doesn't work with soft slippers, I've tried.

Rex

Hi Suzy,
lots of people ask me about the quote, you are welcome to ask.
It's the last lines of a book titled 'Fair and tender ladies' by Lee Smith
Lee Smith lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina
She has written numerous books but this one is by far my favourite book of all time

Rex, the pair of aforementioned clogs (that had belonged to my Grandfather as a lad) were far heavier than any shoe I had previously laid my hands on. I think that was part of the fascination.

Glenys

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The hawk flys round and round, the sky is so blue. I think I can hear the old bell ringing like I rang it to call them home ... Oh I was young then, and I walked in my body like a Queen

Glenys..thanks! Of course...Lee Smith! Seems to me that a couple of years ago we, on this site, started a "good historical (or otherwise) books to read"...and I know Lee Smith was recommended then. I did find and read several Lee Smith novels - and thoroughly enjoyed them.
I'm going to have a sken in a minute to see if that thread still exists here....I have recently read some really good novels with excellently researched historical backgrounds....myfavourite genre....which I will list.
Open, always, to recommendations of really good reads. As I sit here in South Texas, basking in the sun, I have all the time in the world to read...and read...and read...Aaahhh!

LOL Suzy

I just finished a great book 'The Monk downstairs' by Tim Farrington
Another favourite is 'The distant land of my father' by Bo Caldwell. Books I love I tend to hold onto and read once every year from then on. I think I may have owned a bookstore in a past life ... Have you read Ex Libris?
Glenys

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The hawk flys round and round, the sky is so blue. I think I can hear the old bell ringing like I rang it to call them home ... Oh I was young then, and I walked in my body like a Queen

For sure I remember clogs and the clatter of them. My grandmother Amy Brierley always wore them. I remember at finishing time at South View shed everyone leaving the mill in clogs. What a noise, but of course it was just a normal thing as in those days of course as everyone lived nearby and no one had a car! (that is all except Billy Taylor "William A Taylor" who ran the mill for Taylor & Hartley the owners). Another memory that I have is that after clogs had gone out of fashion I used to pal up on the odd occasion with a lad called Stuart Storey (maybe Stewart) who after school would put his clogs on, grab an old bucket with provin in and don a grey warehouse coat and go to the hen pens to feed and put away the hens safely for the night. I remember once going with him an he was attempting to light a parraffin heater and it flared up and singed off his eyebrows. It was a wonder the hen coyt didn't go up and take us both with it. Keep the forum live. Signing off now.

Hi there, just as an afterthought. Glenys who has made contributions under Sparking Clogs could be a lady who e mailed me when I lived for 10 years in Taupo New Zealand. I remember that she lived in Dunedin at I sent her a Shuttle from South View. I would love to hear from you again if it was you. I wait in anticipation, Russell Brierley.

Thanks for the memories of clogs! I recall you started off with rubber and as a right of passage graduated to irons with the (high risk if caught) pleasure of sparking. My parents had a shop on Grandville Street purchased from a Mabel Brierly. I remember mill worker dressed in black clattering their way to work and calling in for 5 woodbines even buying single cigarettes when times were tighter than normal
Keith Kelly

My Dad had a coal round and wore clogs. His lorry was in a garage by the canal near to Barden Boys School and walked home from there. We could hear him coming down Spencer Street, which was the signal to start making his tea. I remember he used to replace the irons, not very often as they lasted a long time.

He was Tommy Catlow and everyone new him as Tommy Coyle.