[Margaret Pilkington]

Tha label on the blankets was a utility mark...lots of things had them...wardrobes chests of drawers and it was to show that it was of reasonable quality, but not luxury standards...these items were prevalent after the war when resources were scarce.

I remember having Dad's army coat on the bed......four of us slept in a double bed in the back bedroom...two at the top and two at the bottom.
There were always squabbles about who had the most of the blankets and one harsh winter Ma put the greatcoat on the bed. She had a very snooty friend in our kitchen and was giving her a cup of tea when my brother shouted downstairs 'Mum, Peter has got all the overcoat and I'm cold'
Mum shouted back upstairs 'It isn't an overcoat, it is an eiderdown' - this was for the benefit of the snooty friend......further struggles ensued by my two brothers and eventually a sleeve was torn fron the overcoat......my brother got out of bed and stood on the landing and shouted downstairs 'Mum,Peter has pulled the sleeve off the eiderdown'

Yes, those were the days! We all got a clip round the ear for embarassing mum......she said we were all getting a slap so that she had 'copped the right one'.