Middle lane N8 1949

Comment by Richard Woods on March 18, 2016 at 10:33

I was 6 when this picture was taken but I can remember its was Firkins who cleared our chimney in Frobisher so they kept going a while. In those days (no vacuum cleaner) the event was a major one - three chimneys to do. Every room cleared back of rugs and small furniture, anything else covered in sheets. The chimneypiece would be blanked off as best they could and the mane would shove his rods up through a hole in the sheet. What came down was pretty horrid stuff - not dry soot as was the case later with coke and anthracite - this was old coal, wet and not nice stuff. When I started in newspapers it was often unswept chimneys that caused the fires we reported almost every week. Later it was paraffin heaters and a lot of tragedies.

Comment by Richard Woods on March 18, 2016 at 10:33

Incidentally these properties may still be there; certainly were in the 80s when a friends lived nearby.

Comment by Graham Firkins on March 18, 2016 at 17:45

Thank you Maria Law.

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