Childhood Home in County Fermanagh I was born in a small country cottage on a farm in County Fermanagh and lived there until I was twenty years old. The cottage was thatched and had two bedrooms, a sitting room, a kitchen and a scullery which is now called a utility room. Each year my Dad lashed and cleaned corn grown on the farm and used it to thatch the cottage roof. The outside of the cottage was whitewashed and this was renewed each year by either me or my brothers. There was only one small window in each room. Each window had net curtains and a dark pull-down blind. The kitchen was of average size. It had an open fire with a wide chimney breast.In the fireplace there was a fixture called a crane crook on which you could hang pots, pans and the kettle for cooking. This crook was moved forwards or backwards by hand. Turf, sometimes called peat, was burned in the fireplace all day long to heat the cottage, boil the water and cook for the family as well as for those farm animals that needed feeding. We ate bread made from flour which was bought in sacks weighing eight stones. The bread was cooked in an oven which hung on the crook in the fireplace. Hot coals were placed on the oven lid to give even heat. We also had oaten bread made from cornmeal grown on the farm and ground in the local mill. This bread was cooked on a griddle placed in front of the turf fire. The family had porridge followed by bacon and eggs for breakfast. The porridge was made with oat meal and buttermilk churned on the farm. Dinner was usually at one o'clock and consisted of produce from the farm such as potatoes, cabbage, carrots, parsnips, onions and turnips with pork, veal, duck or chicken from animals and fowl killed and cured on the farm. Sometimes we would have salmon or trout caught in the river. On occasions such as Hallowe'en and Easter my sisters would cook a special food called " Boxty". To make it they mixed boiled potatoes and grated raw potatoes. Then they added other things including spices. The mixture was either made into small rolls and boiled in a pot or made into a cake and cooked in the oven. This was a delicious meal and a very special treat for all the family. My mother died when I was born so I was cared for by my two older sisters They spent their day cooking and washing for the family and keeping the house clean and tidy. They also helped on the farm by milking the cows, feeding the calves, pigs and fowl and collecting and cleaning the eggs.There was not much shopping done apart from items that could not be homemade. We shopped in Enniskillen and travelled there on a lovely horse-drawn side-car. The side-car was always spotless and the horse's tail and mane were neatly plaited. The harness was highly polished and the brass fittings shone. On the farm it was my job to milk the goats, look after the dogs and cats and keep the street around the cottage clean. My brothers' jobs were to clean the byres and stables and make sure there was plenty of water for my sisters. The water for the cottage was pumped from a spring well forty feet deep in the street outside the cottage. This well never ran dry. It was even used for the animals in very frosty weather. The kitchen was the most important room in the cottage. The family spent a lot of their time there. There was a lovely old style dresser which contained many beautiful willow pattern dishes. There was also a large dining table by the window with enough chairs for the whole family. Two double-wicked oil lamps with ornate globes hung at intervals from the ceiling. My father kept bellows beside his chair which he used to keep the fire well alight, especially when fresh turf had been added. The sitting room in the cottage was special. It had a nice fireplace and contained the most valuable furniture. It was only used by the family on special occasions such as Hallowe'en, Easter and Christmas. If someone important came to visit such as the local clergyman, doctor or police sergeant they would be taken to the sitting room and offered some tea. The girls had to polish the furniture and clean the mirrors every week. It was the only room in the house that had a rug on the floor. Pictures of my family and our ancestors hung on the walls. The other rooms were papered but the sitting room walls were panelled half way up in mahogany. My sisters swept the floors with a besom which was a kind of brush made from heather. They also used it to tidy the ashes in the hearth. There was no bathroom or inside toilet. There was an outside toilet nearby. A very large aluminium bath was used to bathe in. It was kept in the scullery. Locks on the doors gave privacy for washing. In the summer months all of the family bathed in the river which flowed along the farm. That was good fun. The girls in the family did all the washing and ironing. They scrubbed the clothes on a washboard and then put them through a wringer, which was operated by turning a handle, to get rid of the water. The iron used for the shirts and blouses was heated by placing specially shaped blocks of metal inside the iron. Blocks of metal were heated in the turf fire and lifted out with tongs. We had a large vegetable garden in which we grew all our own vegetables such as potatoes, cabbage, carrots,parsnips, onions, scallions, parsley, celery, leeks, lettuce, vegetable marrow, radishes, kale, turnips and many more. We also had an orchard with apple trees, plum trees, cherry trees, gooseberry bushes and blackcurrant bushes. All of the family helped to look after the garden. The girls made tarts and jam with the fruit. They were good and happy days even though the work was hard. We were all so busy that we were never bored and never got into any serious mischief. The farm looks very different now that things have been modernised. It was called " The Ford" as the new house is now. It got this name because it was close to a ford or crossing point in the river which bordered the farm. The cottage was just inside what is now the farmyard and close to the modern house. I often wish that the cottage had been kept so that young people could see how we lived then and understand the hardships and difficulties we had to face. Lauren Owens - P6 - Ballyclare Primary School Another Story Competition Index Return to Main Page