January 1973 - A List Written by a Northern Irish Mother

Don’t forget to:

Take the decorations down, wrap them in tissue paper and box them up to be stowed away under the stairs until next year. Carefully take down the crepe paper decorations so they don’t tear. Keep the Christmas cards and fill out the address book with anyone we missed this year. Send belated Happy New Year cards to any we did forget.

Get some iced fingers from the bakery for whenever Joan calls round for a cup of tea. Get fruit soda for breakfast and a Belfast bap to go with some stew this week.

Pay the milkman and the paper boy. Thank the milkman for that extra pot of heavy cream he left on the doorstep before Christmas.

Pick up some more cigarettes from the newsagents for Jim.

Go to the bank to pay the bills.

Go to the butchers. Remember not to wear my good shoes – they always have sawdust on the floor. Remember to pick up a bone while I’m there for the dog.

Before we go into town at the weekend, remember to clear out my handbag to save any embarrassment at the checkpoints. Allow extra time for shopping in case there’s a bomb scare and we get thrown out of the shops. Go to BHS, Markies and C&A. Check the January sales for anything the boys might need for next Winter and get it oversized. If the boys are well behaved, call into Leisure World and let them have a look at the displays. They know not to ask for anything – especially after Christmas.

Set aside money for the chippy on a Saturday. We can sit in and get the bus there and home. It’ll save me cooking a night.

Take the boys to the corner shop to get the Beano and the Dandy with their pocket money – only if they’ve done their chores properly.

Ask Jim to pump up the bike tyres for the childer for when they go to the park on Saturday.

Take the childer to the pictures for Charlie’s birthday treat. They can get some penny sweets too if they’re good.

Get all the cottons washed and pressed. Set aside extra time to starch and iron everything. Make sure Jim has plenty of clean handkerchiefs. Take other items to the drycleaners down the road.

See if next door can still lend us that spare radio they have so we can listen to music and the news while I cook.

Plant some bulbs so we have some flowers in the springtime. Remind Jim to clean the yard up so the boys can play in it as it gets a bit warmer.

Make sure the boys are getting their spellings and sums right at the end of each week. Punish and reward accordingly.

Ring Eileen and see if she’s interested in coming with me to join the library. Sheila says they let you get out three books each and you only have to pay fines if they’re returned late.

Make up some extra batches of stew and vegetable soup for Mummy and Daddy. Make sure they have everything they need. Don’t forget to pick up barley at the shop for the soup.

Talk to Jim about saving up for a fridge this year. The pantry is fine and keeps everything cool and it’s not like we get good summers, but it’d be a nice wee convenience to have.

Remind the boys the importance of doing their prayers and reading their Bible when they get up and go to bed. See if we can find a church we want to belong to. The one we last went to was a bit too stiff and old fashioned. Find one with hymns that are a bit more upbeat.

Get some darning and sewing done. Fix a few of Jim’s shirts and some of the boys torn trousers to get more life out of them. Warn the boys to be more careful when they’re playing outside. Sometimes I think they think we’re made of money.

Write to Aunt Anne and thank her for all the generous presents she sent at Christmas for the boys. See if we can get a picture taken of the boys wearing the jumpers she knitted. She’ll be pleased to see them. She’s in Scotland and I doubt we will be going there any time soon. She certainly won’t be wanting to come here with the Trouble that’s been going on.

Pack up some of the boys old Rupert and Wind in the Willows books, etc and put them into the roof space. They’ve outgrown them but I want to keep them for future children in the family. They’re such classics, I have a feeling they’ll never grow old.

See if Jim can chop the Christmas tree remnants up so we can burn them in the fire.

Speaking of fires, call the chimney sweep and see if he can come out any time soon. The soot in that chimney is so bad it’s making the sitting room smoky when you light it.

Get a box of chocolates as a thank you to Betty for her kind letter she sent before Christmas. She obviously put a lot of time into writing it and I don’t have the same way she does with words.

Sweep and polish the floors and the furniture. Get rid of all the Christmas dust for a fresh new year.

Keep praying that things settle down in this wee country of ours. It’s been terrible but surely it has to come to an end soon. I don’t want the childer growing up in this turmoil.

Make sure we’re back by the curfew when we go out for dinner with the Lavertys next weekend. It’s easy to forget about these things when you’re having a good time and a wee drink.

Read a poem a day and try to take a minute to myself to have a warm cup of tea before the boys get back from school.

My new year’s resolution is to stay on top of our budget and pinch pennies wherever I can. I need to ask Mummy for some tips of hers from whenever rationing was in force. Jim’s job is paying less well than his last one and there’s talk that they might let some people at the shipyard go soon.

Stay positive and remember all our family’s little blessings and the things the good Lord provides us with.