My favourite part of my History Degree was the Industrial Revolution as I grew up in Bingley, a textile and some engineering town. My Nan worked in the weaving sheds and lost 3 fingers off one hand and her thumb and a finger off the other as women and children were considered more nimble for tying breaks together for the burlers and menders to correct. My Mum was told on her 14th birthday that she could no longer go to school (which she loved and was clever)because my Grandma had got her a job in the mill! She became a burler and Mender and for many years worked on mohair - she had to leave mending as her eyesight was ruined and the at 52 she went to work in the Inland Revenue for 10 years as a clerk. I think that because she had no opportunities, she wanted to make sure I did what I wanted but I messed around and only went to University when I was 48 and I loved it, I could've stayed there forever.
Keith Marsden's songs take me back with fond memories of jumping on the high piles of pieces as a youngster waiting for her to finish after school.
What a fantastic wordsmith Keith Marsden was - my Husband and I saw him several times around the folk clubs, weren't we lucky!!!