A incident with the milkman.Excerpt from the Chronicles of Dora
When my Mother was a young child of about ten, (1920’s) she was one day playing in the street with her friends. Along the road came the Milkman with his horse and dray to deliver milk in the street. He asked my mother is she would hold his horse's reigns while he delivered milk to the shop. She was chuffed at being asked to do this important thing, not realising just how big and strong the Milkman's horse was.
It stood quietly for a minute or two and then it decided to move. It took a step forward and accidently stood on my mothers foot. She was in agony but didn't know how to make the horse move backwards, so she ended up standing holding the horse's reigns and crying till the Milkman came back.
At first he didn't know why she was crying but she pointed down with her free hand and the Milkman realised what had happened and moved the horse back. My Mothers foot was pouring of blood and she’d gotten a bit of a fright, but nothing was broken, just bruised and cut, so she was able to hobble home in tears to tell my granny what had happened.
Next day the Milkman turned up at the door to see how she was, and gave my granny some milk and cream, also a big bar of chocolate for my mother to cheer her up, as she sat with her foot on a stool resting her poor bruised foot.
Until the day she died, she still had a scar on her foot to remind her of the day the Milkman's horse stood on her foot.