tools of the trade

Before the War my Dad was a draughtsman.  But the factory he worked in was bombed and so like lots of others, he came home to no job.  He became a painter and decorator for a while and this is his plumb-bob (with original string) and roller, both used for lining up and smoothing the joins in wall-paper.

I watched and learned and by the time I was 14 I was earning pocket money by doing a bit of painting and decorating in the holidays.  I remember earning £5 (which was fortune back then) painting the dining room of one of my school teachers.  

The tradition of exploiting child labour by school teachers continues, because Anniemay has had her car serviced and our house re-plastered by her old pupils.