Little bits of this and that...... but none of the other!
In the mind of a child......
Posted 08-05-2005 at 21:17 by Margaret Pilkington
I used to think my auntie was a witch. Remember, I was only 11 and I had a very fertile imagination.
I used to look at her when she wasn't watching me and look for signs that she was a witch.......she had the hooked nose.....or at least I thought she did.
I wondered whether she ever used the besom( that was out by the back door) to fly around on at night.
I used to try to stay awake to see if she ever left the bedroom.
The only thing that let my theory down was........she didn't have a cat!
I told you that auntie had very bad arthritis. It affected her knees very badly and also her hips and her fingers.
Her knees were like no knees I had ever seen before.....swollen and misshapen and they used to creak like you would not believe.
Auntie needed a stick to get about......and getting her onto a bus was something else. She would get hold of the handrail at one side and the shiny pole with her other hand and would try to heave herself up.......while she was doing this I would put my shoulder to her substantial derriere and push.
Now comes the witchy bit......when her arthritis was very bad and she was in pain she would make a horrible concoction of boiled leaves.......she would strain the leaves out of the water and make a kind of poultice and then this would be bandaged to the painful joint.......the water that the leaves had been boiled in was poured into a cup and she would drink it.......aaaaaargh!
She would also send me to places to get stuff such as Wintergreen oil, Neats Foot oil, and Dog oil.......and she would rub her arthritic places with these usually smelly substances.
I used to idly wonder if the Dog oil came from real dogs....and how did they get it...? Did the dog have to die......?
When we went to bed at night I could hear Auntie muttering......I could never ever make out what the mutterings were.......I thought she was casting spells. I used to lay there in bed and vow to be good......just in case! I really didn't want to get on the wrong side of her if she was a witch.
When I look back now, all these things seem ludicrous.
The poultice she used to make was Comfrey Leaves - aka as knitbone........and the mutterings.......well it was nothing more sinister than Auntie saying her prayers.
I used to look at her when she wasn't watching me and look for signs that she was a witch.......she had the hooked nose.....or at least I thought she did.
I wondered whether she ever used the besom( that was out by the back door) to fly around on at night.
I used to try to stay awake to see if she ever left the bedroom.
The only thing that let my theory down was........she didn't have a cat!
I told you that auntie had very bad arthritis. It affected her knees very badly and also her hips and her fingers.
Her knees were like no knees I had ever seen before.....swollen and misshapen and they used to creak like you would not believe.
Auntie needed a stick to get about......and getting her onto a bus was something else. She would get hold of the handrail at one side and the shiny pole with her other hand and would try to heave herself up.......while she was doing this I would put my shoulder to her substantial derriere and push.
Now comes the witchy bit......when her arthritis was very bad and she was in pain she would make a horrible concoction of boiled leaves.......she would strain the leaves out of the water and make a kind of poultice and then this would be bandaged to the painful joint.......the water that the leaves had been boiled in was poured into a cup and she would drink it.......aaaaaargh!
She would also send me to places to get stuff such as Wintergreen oil, Neats Foot oil, and Dog oil.......and she would rub her arthritic places with these usually smelly substances.
I used to idly wonder if the Dog oil came from real dogs....and how did they get it...? Did the dog have to die......?
When we went to bed at night I could hear Auntie muttering......I could never ever make out what the mutterings were.......I thought she was casting spells. I used to lay there in bed and vow to be good......just in case! I really didn't want to get on the wrong side of her if she was a witch.
When I look back now, all these things seem ludicrous.
The poultice she used to make was Comfrey Leaves - aka as knitbone........and the mutterings.......well it was nothing more sinister than Auntie saying her prayers.
Total Comments 5
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Re: In the mind of a child......aaaahhh the old knitbone a cure for many a sprain or strain margaret, pendy's mum used to grow it in her garden.
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| Posted 08-05-2005 at 23:13 by mez |
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Re: In the mind of a child......Hehehehe..... What an imagination, having said that I used to think that my nana was a witch too, for very similar reasons.
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Posted 09-05-2005 at 18:21 by lettie
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Re: In the mind of a child......Hehehe...... things we dream up eh when we are kids.
As for dog oil, I use that on my knee's as in winter they play me up something rotten, it now comes in a yellow tub and doesn't smell too bad actually, I think I got it from the health shop in the indoor market. |
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Posted 10-05-2005 at 11:38 by slinky
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Re: In the mind of a child......Roy managed to put a picture on his journal......now if I knew how to do that I would put a picture of my old Auntie on here......just so that you could see what I mean.
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Posted 10-05-2005 at 21:10 by Margaret Pilkington
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My Nana and Dad used to swear by knitbone. when i broke my finger, no trip to A&E. He just brewed up some knitbone and stuck my hand in it.
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Posted 02-10-2008 at 17:12 by ANNE
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