Ordinary Sheffielders.

[cuttsie]

Danny.

I was working on Rock Street back in the early 80's , we were renovating the Victorian Villas that over look the City .

 

I was alone on the site one early morning and as I started the cement mixer I noticed a young kid sat on the high steps watching me , I nodded to him and carried on , Around ten minutes later I noticed he had gone , he never spoke and I never saw him go .

The next day  the same thing , I realised that I was being watched this time the lad was a little nearer sat on the bottom steps , I again nodded to him and asked if he had to go to school .  He shook his head then muttered ," School  has sent me out "  "Whats tha mean sent thi out " ses I , . He just shuck his head and replied , "Don't know don't like mi" . 

 

"Why don't thi like you" I replied my curiosity rising , Again just a shrug and half cocked look that I took to mean enough info for one day .

 

Once again when I looked around he had scarpered .

 This went on for a few days , and day by day the kid got closer to the jobs we were doing at the time . 

I had now managed to get him to open up just a little more and it turned out his name was Danny and he lived on Nottingham Street with his mam and dad as well as four brothers and sisters .

 

As the days became a couple of weeks he had started to jump in and try and help me , You know pick up a few bricks and put them next to me or he would fill my gobo board wether it wanted filling or not.

 

This was causing some pith taking on the site as the lads soon caught on that Danny was following me around not just for a few minutes or the odd hour but all day most days . 

 I got to thinking that it was time he should give it a rest as building sites are not the safest place for kids to hang around and especially  one who was lets say a little on the slow side in the head  , so one morning  when I got to work Dan was waiting as usual ready for helping with any task he thought would help .

I looked at him and as usual he was staring at me waiting to see what task I was about to start , 

I said "Danny tha will have to go home I can't have thi hanging about ont site all time so be a good lad and go on" 

 

He looked at me and tears started to run down his face , then ran up Nottingham Street like a rocket .

The lads then started telling me what a twattt I was even though they had been pith taking for days calling Danny Judos little pet among other unsavoury remarks .

 

Around  dinner time that day A very large woman shouted up to us from the pavement on Rock Street . 

"Is that flipping  !!!! Judd around " she screamed . The lads gave me a shout and as  I walked towards her she pointed straight int my face and gave me the loudest bolloccking I have ever had .

 

"Tha's broke ourDanny's heart ' she said not entirely using those words . 'Why's that love " sed me .

'because tha's made him come hooooam and the poor little sod is heart broke " "He is sat under stairs and wain't come out you twattttt" 

I started to explain how it was dangerous for a kid on site and he should be going to school and so on . 

'he's left school for good " she replied , "He is sixteen next week and they wain't take him back any way because he is disruptive wi others, since he has been helping thee he has been as happy as owt and now he is back to square one .

 

The lads had all joined in trying to help me out of the situation brought on by me being  to daft as I should have told the kid to get lost on day one .

I then uttered the words I often regretted in later days and weeks , "Tell him to come back il'e give him a proper job .

 So thats what happened ,he started the next , Dig a hole for drains , rip a ceiling down , mix some gobbo , no problem , he went at it like there was no tomorrow ,except some times that is .

 

Some times he would decide he was not doing it and he wanted to just help me  and no matter how much I tried I was wasting my time , if he din't want to do it that was that . He would just sit in a corner and look at me through his fingers spread across his face until I gave in and let him di what he wanted .

 

We had other lads on the site inc my pals three sons all around Danny's age and they could not get away with refusing to do whatever job was in in hand so this caused them to be a little up tight rightly so I suppose as Danny was on the same money as them but was getting away with things they could not.

 

The firm we were working for on contract was a housing association who  had offices in the local area and one day I was called into their office to attend a meeting , various problems were discussed , and then site safety was brought up some thing I thought was strange as it had never been a problem before

 

The housing manager . began by saying that neighbours  on Rock Street had been complaining about one of lads , Straight away I thought I know where this is heading Danny.

 

It seems as though the building trade had gone to his head , He could now swear and curse better and louder than  best of them , No woman was safe from a comment if she waked past the site , At night Danny sat on the scaffold telling the local kids what he would do if they came any where near and frightening the life out of them .

 

I explained to the management team that Danny's lift did not go to the top floor and that we (I) had set him on out of sympathy for his situation .

 

They made  various comments saying that they understood but under the circumstances they as a major  housing association could not be seen to allow our employees to be upsetting the local community and that it was up to me to sort the situation out meaning he had to go .

 

I went back to the site and as usual Danny had had one of his turns , I took him to one side and said "Come on pal lets go and see thi mam " " Ive got them bricks to shift " he replied , So losing my rag I shouted ,Danny get thi coat we are going to see your mam " 

 

When we got to his house on Nottingham Street I saw his mam on stood on the corner across from the Nottingham pub . " What tha want " she said , I explained the situation and she started as I expected to call me all the names ever invented for being me , I was begging her to understand that I had made a mistake in setting her lad on in the first place and that I now had no choice but to call it day as we our selves would be losing work if I did not comply  with the company who we were working for policy .

 

She started to get more and more vocal and I thought how am I going to get out of this one when .

 

Danny who had been sitting on the wall listening with his usual hand and fingers spread over his face , shouted . "Don't want to work on theeere any more " , We all looked at him , "whats tha mean " his mam said , Don't like it now stop at hoooam wi thee mam" he replied .

 

Talk about relief on my part and if truth is known every one else's as well it was like a boulder being lifted of my shoulders .

 

We parted company but I saw Danny a few times after that usually in the Castle Market on Saturday he was then courting a lass called Sandra who like him was not blessed with a full understanding of life in general . 

Towards the end of 1983 I was walking up Spital Hill and coming towards me was the familiar walking style of Danny , he was with Sandra and pushing a pram ,In the pram was a a little lad  about two years old with a shock of long blond hair, We all stopped and and had a good hug and and smiley session , I then asked who the kid in the pram was , "he's our babby " they both chimed up , "bloody hell " I said "thats smashing " "What do thi call him " "Judd like thee " said Danny , talk about tears it was my turn then .

Edited March 18, 2022 by cuttsie

[Guest makapaka]

8 hours ago, cuttsie said:

Danny.

I was working on Rock Street back in the early 80's , we were renovating the Victorian Villas that over look the City .

 

I was alone on the site one early morning and as I started the cement mixer I noticed a young kid sat on the high steps watching me , I nodded to him and carried on , Around ten minutes later I noticed he had gone , he never spoke and I never saw him go .

The next day  the same thing , I realised that I was being watched this time the lad was a little nearer sat on the bottom steps , I again nodded to him and asked if he had to go to school .  He shook his head then muttered ," School  has sent me out "  "Whats tha mean sent thi out " ses I , . He just shuck his head and replied , "Don't know don't like mi" . 

 

"Why don't thi like you" I replied my curiosity rising , Again just a shrug and half cocked look that I took to mean enough info for one day .

 

Once again when I looked around he had scarpered .

 This went on for a few days , and day by day the kid got closer to the jobs we were doing at the time . 

I had now managed to get him to open up just a little more and it turned out his name was Danny and he lived on Nottingham Street with his mam and dad as well as four brothers and sisters .

 

As the days became a couple of weeks he had started to jump in and try and help me , You know pick up a few bricks and put them next to me or he would fill my gobo board wether it wanted filling or not.

 

This was causing some pith taking on the site as the lads soon caught on that Danny was following me around not just for a few minutes or the odd hour but all day most days . 

 I got to thinking that it was time he should give it a rest as building sites are not the safest place for kids to hang around and especially  one who was lets say a little on the slow side in the head  , so one morning  when I got to work Dan was waiting as usual ready for helping with any task he thought would help .

I looked at him and as usual he was staring at me waiting to see what task I was about to start , 

I said "Danny tha will have to go home I can't have thi hanging about ont site all time so be a good lad and go on" 

 

He looked at me and tears started to run down his face , then ran up Nottingham Street like a rocket .

The lads then started telling me what a twattt I was even though they had been pith taking for days calling Danny Judos little pet among other unsavoury remarks .

 

Around  dinner time that day A very large woman shouted up to us from the pavement on Rock Street . 

"Is that flipping  !!!! Judd around " she screamed . The lads gave me a shout and as  I walked towards her she pointed straight int my face and gave me the loudest bolloccking I have ever had .

 

"Tha's broke ourDanny's heart ' she said not entirely using those words . 'Why's that love " sed me .

'because tha's made him come hooooam and the poor little sod is heart broke " "He is sat under stairs and wain't come out you twattttt" 

I started to explain how it was dangerous for a kid on site and he should be going to school and so on . 

'he's left school for good " she replied , "He is sixteen next week and they wain't take him back any way because he is disruptive wi others, since he has been helping thee he has been as happy as owt and now he is back to square one .

 

The lads had all joined in trying to help me out of the situation brought on by me being  to daft as I should have told the kid to get lost on day one .

I then uttered the words I often regretted in later days and weeks , "Tell him to come back il'e give him a proper job .

 So thats what happened ,he started the next , Dig a hole for drains , rip a ceiling down , mix some gobbo , no problem , he went at it like there was no tomorrow ,except some times that is .

 

Some times he would decide he was not doing it and he wanted to just help me  and no matter how much I tried I was wasting my time , if he din't want to do it that was that . He would just sit in a corner and look at me through his fingers spread across his face until I gave in and let him di what he wanted .

 

We had other lads on the site inc my pals three sons all around Danny's age and they could not get away with refusing to do whatever job was in in hand so this caused them to be a little up tight rightly so I suppose as Danny was on the same money as them but was getting away with things they could not.

 

The firm we were working for on contract was a housing association who  had offices in the local area and one day I was called into their office to attend a meeting , various problems were discussed , and then site safety was brought up some thing I thought was strange as it had never been a problem before

 

The housing manager . began by saying that neighbours  on Rock Street had been complaining about one of lads , Straight away I thought I know where this is heading Danny.

 

It seems as though the building trade had gone to his head , He could now swear and curse better and louder than  best of them , No woman was safe from a comment if she waked past the site , At night Danny sat on the scaffold telling the local kids what he would do if they came any where near and frightening the life out of them .

 

I explained to the management team that Danny's lift did not go to the top floor and that we (I) had set him on out of sympathy for his situation .

 

They made  various comments saying that they understood but under the circumstances they as a major  housing association could not be seen to allow our employees to be upsetting the local community and that it was up to me to sort the situation out meaning he had to go .

 

I went back to the site and as usual Danny had had one of his turns , I took him to one side and said "Come on pal lets go and see thi mam " " Ive got them bricks to shift " he replied , So losing my rag I shouted ,Danny get thi coat we are going to see your mam " 

 

When we got to his house on Nottingham Street I saw his mam on stood on the corner across from the Nottingham pub . " What tha want " she said , I explained the situation and she started as I expected to call me all the names ever invented for being me , I was begging her to understand that I had made a mistake in setting her lad on in the first place and that I now had no choice but to call it day as we our selves would be losing work if I did not comply  with the company who we were working for policy .

 

She started to get more and more vocal and I thought how am I going to get out of this one when .

 

Danny who had been sitting on the wall listening with his usual hand and fingers spread over his face , shouted . "Don't want to work on theeere any more " , We all looked at him , "whats tha mean " his mam said , Don't like it now stop at hoooam wi thee mam" he replied .

 

Talk about relief on my part and if truth is known every one else's as well it was like a boulder being lifted of my shoulders .

 

We parted company but I saw Danny a few times after that usually in the Castle Market on Saturday he was then courting a lass called Sandra who like him was not blessed with a full understanding of life in general . 

Towards the end of 1983 I was walking up Spital Hill and coming towards me was the familiar walking style of Danny , he was with Sandra and pushing a pram ,In the pram was a a little lad  about two years old with a shock of long blond hair, We all stopped and and had a good hug and and smiley session , I then asked who the kid in the pram was , "he's our babby " they both chimed up , "bloody hell " I said "thats smashing " "What do thi call him " "Judd like thee " said Danny , talk about tears it was my turn then .

That’s a great read that cuttsie - keep em coming.

[Guest makapaka]

I worked on a building site with Bob in mid 90s. He was joiner and I’d guess he was 50 odd.

 

it was building some houses on manor.

 

While he worked he constantly sang or whistled come up and see make me smile by Steve Harley - non stop.

 

he got the bus to work and carried all his tools in carrier bags and ruck sacks.

 

he kept himself to himself mostly and was always friendly but one day we were on a scaffold while they were lifting roof trussses up and he was helping trying to lift one up another young lad like me shouted - “come on Bob get it lifted” - he spun round and said

 

”thee ***kin gee orr upsetting me t**t” or I’ll swing this round thi ead”

 

it all went quiet and then a few minutes later you heard him singing Steve Harley again .

 

 

 

 

Edited March 19, 2022 by makapaka

[cuttsie]

7 hours ago, makapaka said:

I worked on a building site with Bob in mid 90s. He was joiner and I’d guess he was 50 odd.

 

it was building some houses on manor.

 

While he worked he constantly sang or whistled come up and see make me smile by Steve Harley - non stop.

 

he got the bus to work and carried all his tools in carrier bags and ruck sacks.

 

he kept himself to himself mostly and was always friendly but one day we were on a scaffold while they were lifting roof trussses up and he was helping trying to lift one up another young lad like me shouted - “come on Bob get it lifted” - he spun round and said

 

”thee ***kin gee orr upsetting me t**t” or I’ll swing this round thi ead”

 

it all went quiet and then a few minutes later you heard him singing Steve Harley again .

 

 

 

 

So many stories left untold , cheers .

 

[Padders]

17 hours ago, cuttsie said:

Danny.

I was working on Rock Street back in the early 80's , we were renovating the Victorian Villas that over look the City .

 

I was alone on the site one early morning and as I started the cement mixer I noticed a young kid sat on the high steps watching me , I nodded to him and carried on , Around ten minutes later I noticed he had gone , he never spoke and I never saw him go .

The next day  the same thing , I realised that I was being watched this time the lad was a little nearer sat on the bottom steps , I again nodded to him and asked if he had to go to school .  He shook his head then muttered ," School  has sent me out "  "Whats tha mean sent thi out " ses I , . He just shuck his head and replied , "Don't know don't like mi" . 

 

"Why don't thi like you" I replied my curiosity rising , Again just a shrug and half cocked look that I took to mean enough info for one day .

 

Once again when I looked around he had scarpered .

 This went on for a few days , and day by day the kid got closer to the jobs we were doing at the time . 

I had now managed to get him to open up just a little more and it turned out his name was Danny and he lived on Nottingham Street with his mam and dad as well as four brothers and sisters .

 

As the days became a couple of weeks he had started to jump in and try and help me , You know pick up a few bricks and put them next to me or he would fill my gobo board wether it wanted filling or not.

 

This was causing some pith taking on the site as the lads soon caught on that Danny was following me around not just for a few minutes or the odd hour but all day most days . 

 I got to thinking that it was time he should give it a rest as building sites are not the safest place for kids to hang around and especially  one who was lets say a little on the slow side in the head  , so one morning  when I got to work Dan was waiting as usual ready for helping with any task he thought would help .

I looked at him and as usual he was staring at me waiting to see what task I was about to start , 

I said "Danny tha will have to go home I can't have thi hanging about ont site all time so be a good lad and go on" 

 

He looked at me and tears started to run down his face , then ran up Nottingham Street like a rocket .

The lads then started telling me what a twattt I was even though they had been pith taking for days calling Danny Judos little pet among other unsavoury remarks .

 

Around  dinner time that day A very large woman shouted up to us from the pavement on Rock Street . 

"Is that flipping  !!!! Judd around " she screamed . The lads gave me a shout and as  I walked towards her she pointed straight int my face and gave me the loudest bolloccking I have ever had .

 

"Tha's broke ourDanny's heart ' she said not entirely using those words . 'Why's that love " sed me .

'because tha's made him come hooooam and the poor little sod is heart broke " "He is sat under stairs and wain't come out you twattttt" 

I started to explain how it was dangerous for a kid on site and he should be going to school and so on . 

'he's left school for good " she replied , "He is sixteen next week and they wain't take him back any way because he is disruptive wi others, since he has been helping thee he has been as happy as owt and now he is back to square one .

 

The lads had all joined in trying to help me out of the situation brought on by me being  to daft as I should have told the kid to get lost on day one .

I then uttered the words I often regretted in later days and weeks , "Tell him to come back il'e give him a proper job .

 So thats what happened ,he started the next , Dig a hole for drains , rip a ceiling down , mix some gobbo , no problem , he went at it like there was no tomorrow ,except some times that is .

 

Some times he would decide he was not doing it and he wanted to just help me  and no matter how much I tried I was wasting my time , if he din't want to do it that was that . He would just sit in a corner and look at me through his fingers spread across his face until I gave in and let him di what he wanted .

 

We had other lads on the site inc my pals three sons all around Danny's age and they could not get away with refusing to do whatever job was in in hand so this caused them to be a little up tight rightly so I suppose as Danny was on the same money as them but was getting away with things they could not.

 

The firm we were working for on contract was a housing association who  had offices in the local area and one day I was called into their office to attend a meeting , various problems were discussed , and then site safety was brought up some thing I thought was strange as it had never been a problem before

 

The housing manager . began by saying that neighbours  on Rock Street had been complaining about one of lads , Straight away I thought I know where this is heading Danny.

 

It seems as though the building trade had gone to his head , He could now swear and curse better and louder than  best of them , No woman was safe from a comment if she waked past the site , At night Danny sat on the scaffold telling the local kids what he would do if they came any where near and frightening the life out of them .

 

I explained to the management team that Danny's lift did not go to the top floor and that we (I) had set him on out of sympathy for his situation .

 

They made  various comments saying that they understood but under the circumstances they as a major  housing association could not be seen to allow our employees to be upsetting the local community and that it was up to me to sort the situation out meaning he had to go .

 

I went back to the site and as usual Danny had had one of his turns , I took him to one side and said "Come on pal lets go and see thi mam " " Ive got them bricks to shift " he replied , So losing my rag I shouted ,Danny get thi coat we are going to see your mam " 

 

When we got to his house on Nottingham Street I saw his mam on stood on the corner across from the Nottingham pub . " What tha want " she said , I explained the situation and she started as I expected to call me all the names ever invented for being me , I was begging her to understand that I had made a mistake in setting her lad on in the first place and that I now had no choice but to call it day as we our selves would be losing work if I did not comply  with the company who we were working for policy .

 

She started to get more and more vocal and I thought how am I going to get out of this one when .

 

Danny who had been sitting on the wall listening with his usual hand and fingers spread over his face , shouted . "Don't want to work on theeere any more " , We all looked at him , "whats tha mean " his mam said , Don't like it now stop at hoooam wi thee mam" he replied .

 

Talk about relief on my part and if truth is known every one else's as well it was like a boulder being lifted of my shoulders .

 

We parted company but I saw Danny a few times after that usually in the Castle Market on Saturday he was then courting a lass called Sandra who like him was not blessed with a full understanding of life in general . 

Towards the end of 1983 I was walking up Spital Hill and coming towards me was the familiar walking style of Danny , he was with Sandra and pushing a pram ,In the pram was a a little lad  about two years old with a shock of long blond hair, We all stopped and and had a good hug and and smiley session , I then asked who the kid in the pram was , "he's our babby " they both chimed up , "bloody hell " I said "thats smashing " "What do thi call him " "Judd like thee " said Danny , talk about tears it was my turn then .

Bloody brilliant Cuttsie  (as always)

Keep em coming pal...

[cuttsie]

30 minutes ago, Padders said:

Bloody brilliant Cuttsie  (as always)

Keep em coming pal...

Padders , lets know about the time that ????????????  tha's knows what .

[Padders]

Nah den Judd...

Your little tale about Dan got me thinking,

Way back in the 50's when I was about 13 yrs old..

It was the 6 weeks holiday's from school, and me and my mate decided one fine Monday morning to have a walk up Grange Lane..

When we got to the entrance of Thundercliffe Grange, we espied a couple of workmen working on a stone wall, which over the years had collapsed.  Being nosy sods we stood and watched them...

All reight lads, one of the workmen said, aye were all reight...

Then he said " one'r have a gu" 

Being bored we immediately answered in the affirmative...

So these 2 workmen gave us a few lessons on how to rebuild a brick wall..

It was quite a long wall encircling the wooded area.

We must have been doing ok cus the workmen said "see you tomorrow morning"

Next morning (tuesday) we arrived on the "site" and, with a little bit of help from the workmen, got stuck in.

Wednesday and Thursday was the same, any problems and we'd knock on the Van door where the workmen were drinking tea, playing cards, and listening to the radio...

Thursday evening we'd just about finished the job, (not a bad job either for a couple of 13yr olds)

"Yer not doing this for now't" said one of the workman, "sidda in't morning and we'll gi the some wages"

Ruddy ell, Wages!

We were up there smart on Friday morning in great anticipation..

no sign of the workmen, just a lovely refurbished wall to gaze at..

WE'D BEEN CONNED!     The bar stewards..

 

 

[ukdobby]

When I was about 10 in the school holidays bricklaying was too much hard work so used to help the Fletchers man on his round in Ecclesfield and Chapletown,there was one house he used to spend about 30 minutes in so I helped myself to a Vanilla slice while I suspect he was teaching the woman of the house how to bake bread.

 

[cuttsie]

3 hours ago, Padders said:

Nah den Judd...

Your little tale about Dan got me thinking,

Way back in the 50's when I was about 13 yrs old..

It was the 6 weeks holiday's from school, and me and my mate decided one fine Monday morning to have a walk up Grange Lane..

When we got to the entrance of Thundercliffe Grange, we espied a couple of workmen working on a stone wall, which over the years had collapsed.  Being nosy sods we stood and watched them...

All reight lads, one of the workmen said, aye were all reight...

Then he said " one'r have a gu" 

Being bored we immediately answered in the affirmative...

So these 2 workmen gave us a few lessons on how to rebuild a brick wall..

It was quite a long wall encircling the wooded area.

We must have been doing ok cus the workmen said "see you tomorrow morning"

Next morning (tuesday) we arrived on the "site" and, with a little bit of help from the workmen, got stuck in.

Wednesday and Thursday was the same, any problems and we'd knock on the Van door where the workmen were drinking tea, playing cards, and listening to the radio...

Thursday evening we'd just about finished the job, (not a bad job either for a couple of 13yr olds)

"Yer not doing this for now't" said one of the workman, "sidda in't morning and we'll gi the some wages"

Ruddy ell, Wages!

We were up there smart on Friday morning in great anticipation..

no sign of the workmen, just a lovely refurbished wall to gaze at..

WE'D BEEN CONNED!     The bar stewards..

 

 

You should have kicked it ore 

 

3 hours ago, ukdobby said:

When I was about 10 in the school holidays bricklaying was too much hard work so used to help the Fletchers man on his round in Ecclesfield and Chapletown,there was one house he used to spend about 30 minutes in so I helped myself to a Vanilla slice while I suspect he was teaching the woman of the house how to bake bread.

 

He was showing his customer how to put fresh cream in the tarts .

[Padders]

7 hours ago, cuttsie said:

Padders , lets know about the time that ????????????  tha's knows what .

I can't Judd,

Wish I could...

To make it authentic and funny it would involve some rather juicy language and racist comments....

All I can tell you is it involved a Dwarf with a limp, A black coloured gentleman, A bus driver, and a massage parlour...