[Darby]

Thanks atarah. Mi grandad never wore a pair of shoes in his life. Only boots, and he cleaned them every night. Lots of spit and polish, and wouldn't go out of the house if his boots weren't clean.

Little story about him:

He was once foreman of works for Brierfield Town Council, and was overseeing the digging of deep trenches for the new drainage system. It was in the town centre on the main road, and as usual there were a lot of onlookers.
Mi grandad spotted a Navvy called Mickey at the bottom of the excavation. Grandad said "Mickey come up the ladder to the top ". Mickey did so.
Grandad said "now Mickey go down to the bottom again". Mickey did so.
When he arrived Grandad said "Now go back down again" Mickey did so and this carried on for 4 or 5 minutes, and the crowd grew in numbers as interest started to gain momentum.

Finally, Mickey said "Why do you keep making me go up and down the ladders"
Grandad replied "Well you're bringing more muck up on yer boots than you are with your shovel"!!

Another little snippet that my Grandma told me:
My grandad in his younger days (not long after he was married and lived in Chorley), use to partake of the drink (now and then). One day he was in a pub and got into an arguement. After much ado about nothing, he hit the other guy and knocked his eye out!! The crowd said you might have killed him. Aghast, grandad ran home gathered up his belongings and did a "Moonight Flit" running almost all the way to Burnley along the Canal.

He was so ashamed that he pleged "Abstinence" and never drank another drop of alcohol in his life.

A couple of years later, thinking all had blown over, he was on Burnley cattle Market one Saturday when a voice from the crowd said: "That's him Tommy Platt, he's the one that knocked a blokes eye out in a pub in Chorley, nearly killed him". Oh dear thought grandad, this is it, prison for the rest of my life.

The guy in the crowd said" I don't know what you were worried about...it was only a glass eye"!!