Kemp 1956

MR KEMP TALKING ABOUT WASHING AND SHEARING SHEEP IN HARBY.

Transcription of recording taken in Harby on 3 May 1956 by Stanley Ellis of the University of Leeds of Mr Kemp born in 1884.The transcript was done by Leslie Cram and John Blundy with additional help of Jonnie Robinson of The British Library where the recording is housed, Principal Investigator, Voices of the UK, Sociolinguistics & Education, Social Sciences Collections and Research. To locate the recording the Shelf mark is C900/56.

The numbers refer to the time on the recording. The grammar of the speech, and the order of words has been retained. The words have been spelt according to recognizable dictionary spelling not according to dialect sound. From the text it seems the recording was done in a pub and there was a photograph of the place where the sheep were washed.

. . . used to shear with hand at one time and I would as about lief shear with hand as machine as far as that goes, cause if you had some as were turning they used to, you know, when they got [inaudible] would be like grinding an organ, instead of keeping going nicely. And them machines, they wanted them to go well else they’re hard work and sweat well. And then they don’t wash them now, you know. Get all the bits of stick and grit in, you soon do some blades in. It [inaudible] to the sheep, but you clip a horse what ain’t been groomed much, it takes some getting through, don’t it? They got it done first time.

Q And they’d wash the sheep, would they?

Used to wash them across this pit here. Ah, about now they’d be busy washing, May, beginning of May and if we’d had any on them on turnips, well used to wash them twice. Wash them one week then again about nine or ten days after. ‘Cause you know they get all sand and soil and such-like in them. And now they don’t wash them at all.

1.03

Q And how long would that take for one sheep?

Wash it? Oh not long, you’d perhaps bring a hundred down, there’d be about three or four on you, one chap in a tub, and two, two throwing in, perhaps two poling them, do you see, you’d pole them round, they had about five in the pit at once then he’d catch the one that’d been in the longest and turn it up and he’d have a spout, plenty of water stuck back, brought a stream up like that, do you see, and pull the wool about to swill them, do you see, then come out, come out of a narrow pathway and into a draining pen, stop there till you’d done the lot, and then if there were no more there, well they’d let them stand and come here up the pub then and have a pint or two of beer, do you see, and take off, of course if there were some more waiting well you hadn’t much time, you’d got to have one quick and get off so as the others could get there. Oh ah, it used to be regular busy at that time sheep washing down here.

1.54

Q Is that what that sluice is for?

That’s it, that’s it, you screw that down then to stop water to go all the back of that bank, do you see, then he’d have a wood plug in the hole of the sluice, pull it out and shove a long spout up to, wood spout and then there were a hole on the top, do you see, it come up here through the top of the spout, not direct straight, then it made it rise up like a spout, you know and drop a bit more force on them. And he’d turn them over and swill them all underneath and keep pulling the wool about to swill them. Oh ah, it used to be a rum job.

Q Would that sort of make the fleece more valuable?

Oh yes, yes, it were worth more, but it didn’t weigh so much when you’d washed it you know, you lose it in the weight. Then they got years ago so as they said, you needn’t bother washing them, you can get it out when they get them clipped, but of course it weighs heavier but you don’t get so much price per pound as you used to do. Well, what, do you know what I mean, you get more now cause it’s a better price, wool is, but if it’d been them times unwashed wool wouldn’t come nowhere near so much as washed wool, do you see. And they clip so much nicer then.

3.10

Q Did you clip them up on, uhm, a wooden … ?

No, on the ground – sit them up, start, do left side first you should do, and then meet it with your right hand, but some’ll start the right hand then start the back and go round. It’s easiest then – one, like, side looks short and where they make, going the same road as the wool it’s about that length then. Oh, I know, I’ve heard of folks having them on a pig cratch to clip them. I used to set them on the ground, it’s a back-aching job, but it’s all right when you get into it.

3.49

Q And how many would you do in a day?

Well it depends, you see, we’d milking to do night and morning. We used to do about forty, you know, a day practically or rough speaking, might do odd more or might do a few less, would just depend. You’d got to milk, then fetch them up. Course my dad, when he were a lad, when I were a lad he always used to clip with shears and clip a lot. It used to be about two and nine-pence a score them days, three bob were a good price. Now they get about two pound a score I think. Ah, clipped plenty at two and nine-pence a score. We used to reckon two, two score then with shears.

Q. Of course the money’s not worth any more is it, even when they get two pound?

No, no, surprising what it is …