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THIS TAPE HAS BEEN RECORDED ON SEPTEMBER 29^th 1978 IN THE ENGINE HOUSE AT BANCROFT. THE INFORMANT IS ERNIE ROBERTS, TACKLER AND THE INTERVIEWER IS STANLEY GRAHAM.

Christ Almighty! Trust you to cough as soon as I turn it on! Eh, dear, dear dear. Anyway, we’ll continue with these pictures. I’ll just stop now for a second or two to give us a gap, so don’t say anything, you know, and then it can, then it’ll be easy to start on this tape when we start. You know, if we are using it, so we just have a gap now.

And you are gaiting this warp, and there you’re just putting the weights on to the chain; and 43 you’ve got through that, the weights, and the levers. You remember, bunches of weights that look like grapes and what not, on that set of Albert Gornall’s.

Oh well, you were telling me all about ... ah, that’s it yes, but you were telling me last week all about the weights.

That’s it, aye. There’s something I’ve just noticed on that number 43 actually, what’s all this on that chain?

R- Oh! Oh well, that’s a piece of beating tied on to the chains so you can hang another weight on.

... that white band that’s coming off that chain, that’s for another weight, like that’s been, obviously ...

Yes, aye. Right, 44. You’ve got your chains on, you’ve got your warp actually into your loom, and you’re just leaning on the, just leaning on the, well, I call it the rocking rail but it isn’t the rocking rail, what is it called?

R- No, I’m not leaning on it, I’m just grasping its ready to lift it down, you see?

R- On to the top of the warp, and then I’ll thread it through, there is a loose bar, I’ll thread it through that loose bar, and then across.

Yarn. Well, you’ll have to thread the healds through won’t you, and the reed.

Yes, all the lot’ll go through, that’s it. Because it’s got to be, it’s got to pass round that bar, for the bar to act, while it’s…

Tell me something. On the frame of that loom, just in front of your right hand, there is what looks like a bunch of threads hung down. Your right hand, that’s where, tell me about them.

R- Well, they call that beating. It’s just a bunch of loose ends, so that if an end breaks, which they do, they use one piece of that to

lengthen it so that it’s long enough to thread through the healds and reed, then you start weaving again.

That’s it. Yes, aye. And of course, in a perfect world that will be the same sort of yarn as the yarn that’s on that warp won’t it?

R- 45. Well, there I am look, threading the healds and the reed and the yarn and all the bag of tricks through the bearer. I’m just going to grab that loose bar. And, well, you can see, I’ve moved the beam forward and then lifted the healds and reed over this bar that’s fast. And when I’ve done that, I’ll get that loose bar, put that across and lift the healds and reed again to go right over.

Aye, that’s it. Because that, on that bearer, that bar that will come out, you tie them in with a bit of band don’t you, when you put them in?

R- Aye, well, sometimes, when the beam’s getting down towards downing, the weaver might leave t’weight on, and it’ll pull that bar out. And there’s a, and that could he a mess.

R- It’s only, it’s a slow process. 46, well I’m still making progress; I’ve threaded it, you can see the yarn coming up between these two bars and I’m lifting the healds and reed forward so that I can hang them up and then put the lap on.

Yes. So there, you are actually lifting the healds and reeds up and passing them right through the frame of the loom, towards the front of the loom.

R- I’m working, I’ve finished behind the loom now. I’ve gone to the front of the loom. And first of all I’m taking the temple caps off - I’m just lifting one off there, look. And this one on the left hand-side, I’ll take that off.

Now, temple caps, they’re, those are on the temples. Now, what are the temples for Ernie ?

R- To grip the cloth as it’s weaving forward, pulling it sideways at each side to get a bit of width and hold the cloth firm, so that… I mean it, they wouldn’t go without them.

So, in other words, if the temples weren’t there your cloth’d come in narrow with the tension as it came through and that would mean it’d never go back to the right width again because when the weft went through it, it would be too short a piece, it’d be holding it together. Aye.

R- Yes. Aye well. Because the thicker the weft, the more contraction there is. And the temples hold it out.

Yes. And it’s good to see that bearer at the back now isn’t it, how that’s threaded through.

R - Oh, 48, I’m still making a bit of progress. Look, hanging the healds up on the dolly leathers. There’s a bar runs across, you just can’t see it here, you just can about see a little bit of it.

R- Well, no, this isn’t a scotch dobby. A scotch dobby has two healds, two staves, this one has four... And…

Ah yes. Yes, but it’s on that roller at the front isn’t it? It’s that, that bar that will, like, on a roller at the front ...

Yes. Now, when you are hanging them up on there, that’s not just as easy an operation as it, as it looks I know. Now…

What are you looking for there? Now, let me ask you one or two questions about it Ernie. How do you determine what level you’re going to hang them healds at? You know? I mean, how would you know whether you had them too high or too low, when you are adjusting them strings there?

R - Oh well, there is a warp came out of this loom, and it… All healds are supposed to be the same depth within, you know, sometime 1/16 of an inch happen, sommat like that. And you hang them up, and nine times out of ten you don’t need to adjust them bands again.

Aye, so it’s the bottom bands that… When you were readying that warp upstairs it weren’t the top bands you were altering then ?

R- No, no. These top bands are hanging on the loom all the time, It’s the bottom ones that you let out.

Aye. Aye so, so what have you, those top bands then, what have you fastened them on to? On the heald?

R – Well, you thread them through the heald, right through the staves, and then you pull your band up an hook your band on a metal hook. And then you …

R- Oh no, no you don’t tie any knots there. And then you double your band again, and hook it on again, so that you get the right, these are at full length, but you lift them up, and you’ll notice on the next picture they are only half a length. You can see, hooks and everything there, look…

That’s it, you can see all the hooks can’t you, on the end of the leather. Aye. So the ones that you adjust are the bottom ones that are going down to – now, what do you call it?

That’s on the lamb rods at the bottom. Aye. And those lamb rods are actually controlled by the tappets aren’t they, under the loom?

R – Yes, it is the undermotion. You get two leaves for this particular warp, three leaves for a Jane, four leaves for twills and five leaves for sateens.

Yes, aye, and that’s actually the number, when you say leaves, that’s the number of the actual tappets, roses, themselves don’t you call them ... ?

Yes, that’s it. Well, later on we have got a picture of you changing the tappets on a loom, so we can go on to that in a minute or two. Now, as yet, there’s no tension at all on that warp is there. That’s just laid there loose. That’s it.

R- Aye. And what I’ll do is put them all straight, and pull them down at the front of the loom, and like, grip them on to the sand roller.

Yes, you’ve done quite right here. Now, all the time you are doing this of course, the weaver is still working in the alley isn’t she?

R - It’s possibly the way, it must be after 30 years. Still you have got to watch what you’re doing, you couldn’t be blindfold.

R – Yes, well, you can see now what I’m doing. Taking them threads and straightening them out and pulling them down the front, ready to… Once I’ve done that, I wind it on to the sand roller, all that loose yarn, but I must keep it straight and taught. If I don’t do that, then the job’s a baddun.

R- No this is the most important part to gaiting a warp, any simpleton can do the rest of it, but you must get that lap on straight and tight.

Yes, well, 51, that’s just another stage of … Number 51 is where you’ve…

R- Aye, yes, well I put the reed in the reed case there. And that’s a little bit further.

Yes, well now, I’ve left a gap on the tape there because that’s as far as we can go with these pictures on this…

I have to print them other pictures of gaiting the warp, and we’ll slip that bit in, you see, and we’ll piece them two tapes together, it’ll be all right. But there, you did it in a slightly different order on this one, must have done, than you did on the other one, because on the other ... No, what it is, I’ve missed doing the photograph of you putting the reed in the reed case on this one.

Now, on the other, I have it. But, on this picture number 51, I think it gives a very good idea of how those healds are hung up at the top, and what the general arrangement is at the top of the loom. I mean, you can see that little roller across the front that’s carrying them. And that’s only like an idler that’s controlled by the movement of the ...

The healds underneath isn’t it? I mean, as one’s pulled down the other one goes up, It’s as simple as that.

And actually, you haven’t done anything about fastening those bands on at the bottom, those are still hanging down slack under the loom.

Yes. And the temple caps aren’t back on and everything’s just hanging about.

Ah well! We can leave that now for a bit, and further, because you’ll find there’s some blanks in here now because those other pictures have to be done. And then we come to picture number 52, which is a picture of …?

That loom’s a bit mucky. Yes. That’s actually one loom which went redundant, it were never gaited up again, it’s one of them at the front that used to be in Elva’s set.

R- Oh is it?

Yes, and I must have done it when it [The mill] were stopped because the belt isn’t moving, you can see the stitching in the belt. There’s a thing, on the right hand-side of that picture; if you look, you can see the stitching in the belt. That isn’t the joint that you make, is it?

Aye, with two belt fasteners. Aye. In the old days did they stitch the belts in the shed?

R- No, I’ve never heard of then being stitched in the shed because there’s been different types of fasteners.

Yes, well, we have one of them hook fasteners haven’t we? Bloody things them. Just imagine one of them, because you have got to put them on with the hook coming round. [Facing in the direction of motion.]

Aye. Aye, there’d be no messing about. Now then, it’s a fair picture of a loom, you can see all the, there ‘s three tappets in there isn’t there?

R- And that must have been weaving a Jane, three…[Jane is a local term for a Jeanette, a type of cloth.]

Aye, that’d be one of the last warps Elva had. Oh no, there were a woman on after Elva wasn’t there? Aye.

R- Aye,... Yes there were. In fact they have only just stopped not long since you know? What a bloody derelict hole it looks.

Don’t they, an empty loom, they look terrible, don’t they. Go on to 53, see what we can make of that one. Now then ...

R- Aye. No, I am getting a bit technical there. I’m changing this loom from weaving, well it must be a Jane, has that three leaves there?

R - Well, I have taken that off, these three leaves off, that’s been weaving a Jane, and I’m going to put this one on with four leaves, that’ll weave a twill. And, there’s other types of cloth you can weave with four leaves. Drills, twills, herringbone twills and what we call a Florentine, all different patterns of cloth that. Good stuff.

It makes you wonder where all the different names of cloth came from doesn’t it.

Ah well, that’s it, aye there’s more. Well, I mean, everybody accepts what a twill is don’t they, but I mean, it’s….

R- Oh, that’s a special heald, a Leno, weaving special cloth. That’s a very skilful tackler that can tackle Lenos. It makes like .,, well, it’s similar to knitting is Leno cloth. You can see the ends are like, wiggly.

Yes. I always think of Dan Leno, I see it, you know, and I see that every now and again.

54. Just have a look at 54, you are just on here. But you can see that you’ve taken the leaves off that shaft underneath and …

R - Yes. And you can see here the wheel, that’s a twill wheel. There’s three sizes of wheel, small wheel for a plain warp, next size for three leaves, and the big size for four leaves.

Yes. So what we are actually talking about is the gear wheel that’s lay on the floor ...

... In the front of the picture. And that gear wheel goes on the end of that …

R- It fits into what we call three decker. There’s three wheels fast on the shaft.

... on the left hand side of that picture, on the end of the shaft you can see two of them, just. Yes.

R- And that’s all geared up to the speed of the loom and how many turns for each pick, you know?

R- The same as four leaves’ll go at, what, four times, healds’ll go four times slower than, or twice slower than two wheels. Than two.

Than two, that’s … aye. And that’s your three set of roses that’s lay just by your left knee there, isn’t it?

R- Aye. You have got to be right or they won’t go. Ah, it looks like I have a plain tappet in my hand there, is it?

Anyway it’ll all become clear when you turn the page and have a look at the next one, you’ll see what’s happening. Now then, that shows what you were talking about, three decker, it shows it plain doesn’t it?

Yes. Now then, you’re just sliding the shaft through, that’s the set of tappets, you’re putting in isn’t it? Countershaft, aye.

R- That’s the countershaft. Aye, I’m sliding it through, and the tappets are on.

Yes. That’ll mount your tappets underneath, and then that gear wheel that you were talking about’ll go on that bare end of that countershaft won’t it?

R- And this three deckers fastened with set screws, you can see one on there, look.

Yes, you can see one, aye, square headed. That’s a funny thing about a Lancashire loom, nearly all the nuts on a Lancashire loom are square nuts aren’t they?

Yes. Well they are, they are all square. And, they are a different size than any other sort of nut.

They are one on their own. In fact that’s probably one of the oldest sizes, nut sizes and types, and thread types that’s in use today.

And then on 56 you’re just tightening the studs up, aren’t you, from the look of it, you can’t just see your hand, but it just looks to me as if you were tightening studs up on that gear wheel, on the end of the countershaft.

Aye, Is it normally as mucky as that under the loom, when you’re, you know, when you are on, when you are doing it? Now that loom looks fairly mucky underneath.

R- Well . It is mucky, it is mucky, normally, say fifty fifty, now some, a good weaver’d sweep that muck away. Well, I don’t know who this weaver is but she is a sloppy bugger. See, I’ve no need to work in the muck.

R- No, oh no. It’s not my job, it’s not the weaver’s job either to sweep. But some weavers do. In fact some weavers want that loom clean, they sweep the lot, not just the floor and round about. That Mira you know, she sweeps her looms every time she downs a warp, makes a good job of it, and I haven’t, to go near until she is ready. And it’s better, it’s better

Oh they will do, they will do. Aye. Now then, 57, we have Mr Frederick Inman, tackler.

Now then, this was at dinner time this, the mill was stopped. Now you tell me what Fred’s doing on number 57.

R- Well, he’s mounting a belt. Usually it’s done when the loom’s running, when the mill’s running, but Fred’s lucky there, in a way so there is no danger.

R- Well, this belt that you can see dangling about, must have broken just before break time, and he’s mended it, and he is mounting it before the mill starts again.

So he is just flicking it there so that it flies onto the drum on the shaft, isn’t he?

And then when it’s go, when he’s got it on to the drum on the shaft, next picture, 58, he is down on his knees in the usual attitude of prayer, and he is just sliding that belt on to the fast and loose pulley.

Oh, well on to the loose pulley, aye. But with the fast and loose… Now, that’s a good picture of the fast and loose pulley. What do you call that fork that the belt goes through? Well, is it just called fork?

Aye ... That’s it. Well, we want the right names. And that’s the actual fork that moves that belt backwards and forwards either on to the loose pulley when the loom’s stopped, or on to the fast pulley when it’s running isn’t it.

And the loose pulley is just loose on the shaft, so it just whizzes round but the fast pulley is fastened on with the set screws, so that when the belt slides on to that, it starts to drive the loom. Yes. And then number 59 is a very sad picture.

R- Well, I don’t know yet. What could you call that? Graveyard? Aye, it’d be a graveyard.

Derelict. Those are those looms, just the next to the back set in the eight side.

R- They’ve been stopped a long while them. Got covered with muck, and they’ll never run again, well, I don’t think they will.

R- Ready for the melting pot. Aye, it just looks like there has been a snow storm, it is a sad picture that you know.

Oh it is, that’s why it’s in, aye, it’s .. I like that picture. It’s like I say, I like it as a picture. I think well, that’s the end of the industry isn’t it?

And that’s what all the looms’ would look like in the shed if it wasn’t for men like Paraffin Jack Grayson. [Jack Grayson was the loomsweeper at the time.]

R- Well, I don’t know, Paraffin Jack, he is a loomsweeper. He is sweeping the muck off the looms and if he does his job right he’ll sweep the muck off the looms, oil them and tidy up all round.

R - Part of it when the loom’s stopped, and part of it when the loom’s running. Because a moving wheel is easier to sweep that one that’s stood still isn’t it? All you do is just put your brush on…

Yes. And he just uses what we call a loom brush, but what the manufacturers call a banister brush, don’t they? They call them a banister brush. But that’s the only tool he uses isn’t it, a brush?

Aye, and the oil can, aye, of course. But how important are the loomsweepers in the mill.

R- Oh, I think they are very important but that job is considered to be the lowest job in the mill for some reason.

Jim and me were just saying the other day. Well, in fact, Jim said before ever they came with the list, you know, he said I’ll tell you, he said - we were talking about loomsweepers - He said “When they come with the list of redundancies- he said - everybody in this shop will be classified - he said either an skilled or unskilled.”

And he said “Loomsweepers’ll be classed an unskilled” And I didn’t agree with it.

R - Well, just imagine if them looms never got oiled, they wouldn’t last, they wouldn’t last above a few weeks you’d get bearings running hot and fires.

Yes. And as well as that, I mean, anybody who has ever tried to sweep a loom… I’ve always said, I mean like even Jack, he is a bit of a character. Nobody’d call him they the most intelligent of people in the mill to put it mildly, but he could sweep five looms while I was sweeping one.

R - Oh yes, there’s method. I mean, I fancy they could fix a computer up to do it, as long as Jack did it first. Couldn’t they?

R- What you try and do is make every movement work you see. Don’t waste movements.

Aye. Don’t be waving the brush around unless it’s actually brushing sommat. Now, 61 …

R- You see, he’d never been in a mill up to a few weeks before them pictures were taken.

R- Well. I told you how you set looms up with bands a certain length and then you’re right then. Sometimes you have a struggle to get them the right length, because these looms, they aren’t level by any means. So you have a long band and a short band, and one a bit short and one a bit longer, and things like that.

R- Top bands, aye. Well, this fellow went to a twill loom and cut all the bloody bands off, he thought bands are cut off every time to get the healds out, so as he could sweep the loom. Eh, I had a hell of a bloody strugg1e with that one. Anyway I told him, I said “Hey Jack, I wish you’d be more careful with your knife!”

Now on that picture, 61, that’s a weaver’s alley, obviously. It’s looking up the alley. Cloth rollers on the floor, cloth coming off. And you can see the floor here, it’s the old flag floor and it’s soaked in oil and …

Humps and hollows. And Jack here, to do his job, has got to get down on the floor the same as you have to do, to do your job. Aye.

R- Aye. That’s right. Aye, we spend a lot of time on the floor, and it’s a bloody cold floor and all in winter. No wonder we are full of rheumatism and…

Aye, many a time loomsweepers carry a piece of carpet round with them, or sommat like that to…

R- Aye, oh aye. Or a board to sit on. But that’s the worst floor in any mill in the world, I dare bet on it.

R- I think I’m right, I've never come across one as bad. Well, just imagine, when did this mill start?

R- 1922, and there's never been above a few shillings spent on that floor and if there were a bloody hole got that big somebody were falling in it, they'd fill it with cement. There is odd places about that's been patched up…

And then there was the big improvement once. I think George got some second hand ...

Aye. 63. Paraffin Jack again, but now he is under, he has insinuated himself into the loom.

R- Aye. Now he’s sweeping under. When I were learning to [weave], I remember I used to get two pennies for sweeping under, sweeping under four looms, two pennies when I were learning, you know? Do it for the weaver, there weren’t, there weren't official sweepers in them days, the poor bloody weavers did it.

64. You can, that gives you a good idea of the floor doesn't it? But he’s on the beam side here, obviously.

R- He got blown up in the war and he can't straighten his army. It’s permanently bent and he can only like, so he can only like bend it so far, and no further.

Aye? Oh, I didn't know that, I never noticed. But look at the state of them flags they … Eh, I don't know.

R- It isn't… I mean, bloody society's all wrong, there is an ex soldier, fought for King and country, or Queen and country, and he's grovelling about in the bloody muck for a pittance.

Aye. Now, well, there we are. We’ve, that's got through the weaving pictures and the loom sweeper. It don't matter about there being a bit of a gap on that tape there. It's a bit of a bitty tape is this one anyway,

First, you know, we are getting, we are getting to the far end you and me. We’ll have another one to do on the actual, on the gaiting, gaiting the loom when I've printed them pictures. We'll have another one to do where we actually gets get some cloth weaving, get the shuttle going and get some cloth weaving. I'll get all my printing

done. One thing I wanted to ask you, I said we’d have a tape all about sex and shit, but I didn't actually mean that. When you were young, nowadays everybody accepts the fact that if you are going to a lavatory anywhere there is a roll of toilet paper. When did you first start using toilet paper regular?

Yes. So from 1916 to 1939, that's 23 years the Robert’s posterior never saw…

Izal toilet paper, is what were you using? [San Izal was a cheap brand of medicated toilet paper. It was impregnated with San Izal disinfectant, a powerful phenolic germicide.]

R- Well, I used, and not just me, there were everybody on the same bloody lark. It were newspapers cut into squares and either poked onto a nail, or a piece of string put through and hung on a nail.

Aye, and now it's, what is it, it's about four bob for a toilet roll, isn’t it?

R- Oh, you would never see that now. I've never seen it for years and years since, well I've never seen it since society were re-organised. That's one thing that came out of the last war. I don't know why it happened but it happened for some reason or other.

R- Standard of living started getting better for the workers, didn't you find it? But the only thing that's, well you are not old enough to know about it but…

R- And it got better and better and better. And then they aren't bloody satisfied, I mean Ford are on strike now, and they earn good wages.

There is one other thing, I’m interested in what you say about that sort of thing, don't think I'm not, but there is one other thing that I wanted to know as well. Now, if, just before you went into the army, you're about 22?

Yes, but 1 mean, I'm talking about, you know, like just before you went into the army. You were in your twenties, early twenties …

Yes, working regular... And it's Saturday night and you. are going out, Saturday night; and you think you've got a fair chance.

You have got a chance. Yes, you are all dolled up, you are going to meet somebody and you've spent a week end or two with her and you think "Yes, Roberts, this might be your lucky night."

That's it. Now then, if, having made that decision, you've thought that you had a fair chance, what precautions would you take. I mean because obviously you don't want to go out with that lass and finish up bairning her.

Yes. Now, I am interested to know what, just before the war, what did your mind fly to. You know? I mean what was the first line of defence against such an occurrence?

R- Well, if you could pluck up your courage, and you'd got the money, you'd go into the chemist and get some french letters

R- Well, we used to go in Wellock’s. It were the herbalists, and it were a man. And you'd hang about the shop doors see? Waiting to see that there was nobody in the shop, then you'd dash in and say "A tube of toothpaste.” if a woman walked in behind, yon know. Everything were…like…

R- Aye, but it were them green things were Wellock’s [Rendell’s], if you went in and winked he knew what you wanted. And then, as it progressed this court-ship, and you used to get into a nice warm places we used to get Rendell’s pessaries if you'd got any bloody sense at all. Like my brother'd come home, he got his lass in the family way. But fortunately I never did that ‘cause I had my bloody head screwed on the right way, I must have had. Anyway, you got these Rendell’s. And I went in the shop one time, and that wore like a treat Rendell’s, and I says to him ... oh I went in, my stomach were out of order, it was during the week so I asked him for some Rennies and I saw him fumbling about under the counter, making a nice little round paper parcel with this packet you know, and he threw it on the top. I think they wore 2/9 or 2/6, something like that, so he asked me for this 2/6. I says “2/6 for bloody Rennies?” Oh he said, I thought you wanted Rendell’s, so we sorted that job out and I finished up with my Rennies.

Oh I see. And who were making french letters then, can you remember who they were? Who was making them.

R- Oh, I think they were Durex. I think so, I mean you can't move now without seeing machines in toilets, and every pub has a machine and you walk in the chemist and there is a big selection, all colours, you can even get them with roses on!

No, I mean, at one time - you tell me if I'm wrong, but at one time I should think there were more contraceptives bought in barber’s shops than there were in chemists, weren't there? Don’t you think that’s possible like? Didn't barbers sell them?

R- Oh no. Ah, barber’s sell them now. Well, I don't remember of a barber selling them when I were a lad.

R- Oh aye. You used to get a contract, 1/6 a month. go every week, because it were all back and sides cut short you know.

So. Instead of going to the barber, like going to the barber's and paying him, you'd give, you'd pay 1/6 a month and more or less go and have your hair cut when you want it.

R- Oh, every week you’d have it cut. Once a week. Kept it all bare at the back you know.

Well, some of us have us hair cut like that, only we go a bit longer in between happen. Aye..

Aye. No, I was in .... and, I find that very interesting, because you see, that's the sort thing that people don’t ask. You know, it’s not nice is it? You know…

to start asking about french letters. Well, those are some of the most bloody important things there is. How do you avoid bairning the lass? There is nothing much more important than that is there?

Yes. I tell. you what Fred were telling me last night about a lass in Earby that… Well, actually, it was his cousin, and this lad, he’d evidently been out with her and he went round shooting his mouth off afterwards, about what had happened. And this lasses mother took her to the doctor’s, got a certificate to say that penetration hadn’t taken place and made this fellow put a public apology in the paper for what he’d said..

R- She did right! I mean, you don’t go round bragging about messing with bloody lasses do you? Well, I never did.

R- No, I have heard blokes, even married men, and I think it's - I'm no prude, and I've a mind as broad as anybody, but I draw the line somewhere. And I like a dirty tale, but I would never talk like some of the silly buggers talk.

Don't you think there is perhaps a lot of truth in the old saying that, you know, not really an old saying, but I’ve always rather tended to the view that people that do all the talking about it'll happen be the ones who aren't just performing as they ought to be

The fellows that's, the fellows that's doing the damage are the quiet ones that never say anything.

R- But this permissive society they talk about today, it's exactly the same today as it were then when I were a lad, only not as blatant. I mean, they are a bit hard faced and cheeky with it today. But the same things were going on, but more discreet; exactly the same things.

LANCASHIRE TEXTILE PROJECT

TAPE 78/AC/15

R- Oh is it?