HERE is the latest history column written by Peter Holme.

Kendal Oral History Group, through interviews, aims to compile a picture of earlier times through the memories of some of the area’s older residents.

Mary Wilson was born in 1933 and interviewed in August 2006

After the war mother took us camping to Sandside where we had a great time, but we could only stay for a fortnight because she had to come back and start cleaning the school in time for the start of the autumn term.

We used to go camping in Jimmy Newby’s furniture wagon which was a great occasion.

All the stuff was put at the top of the yard, the camp beds that mother made and the stools she also made, bedding, provisions, the cat in a cage, the dog on the lead and we all got in the van and off we went camping.

One day we’d all the stuff at the top of the yard waiting for Jimmy Newby to come and this lady stopped and she said “Who’s moving home? She thought we were moving there was that much stuff there. We borrowed a ridge tent from the neighbours. Eventually they gave us it to get rid of us I think.

When we got to Sandside she made an oven in the field, she took the old oven from the range in our house. Then she sent us children for sand from the shore and she took some bricks with her and she built round and, with the aid of a chimney up the back, she blocked it up with wet sand that stopped the smoke; she put damp sods on top to stop the smoke going into the oven and put the bricks underneath to get the fire under. and made cakes and puddings. We bought the beast milk from the farm and she made beast milk puddings. Oh an enjoyable time.

Mother used to buy eggs, milk and potatoes from the farm. I don’t know what the charge was. I think it was about sixpence a night. Often we took someone else with us, the Dalzell children lived across the street at the Highgate Hotel and they went with us once or twice. So mother wasn’t content with her six children she had to have some more.

We walked all over – Arnside Tower. Hazelback Tower, The Fairy Steps – and round the lanes at Storth where we used to go blackberrying