Yesterday I was doing a talk in Tameside, celebrating Stalybridge – Greater Manchester’s Town of Culture for 2022. The talk was all about my rather famous Victorian ancestor and I was quite pleased to see that the Deputy Mayor of Tameside brought her baby along to the session.
The wee one was very well behaved. She didn’t rip off the mayoral chains in an act of political insurrection or anything – and at the end of the talk, we all reflected on some really important views about overlooked working-class history, about community cohesion and collective trauma. Then, when were chatting about how charmingly Baby behaved, my dad (who had come along to glare intimidatingly at me and to fact-check my narrative about our ancestor) piped up with;
“She’s just like you were y’know – a bum shuffler. You shuffled on yer bum everywhere. You couldn’t be bothered to crawl and yer went like the clappers on yer bum. No-one could catch up with you.”
Now, I’ve carried out this particular talk in 42 different locations across the country and during the chats with audience members afterwards, I can honestly say that I learn something new every time …
Although to be honest, it’s usually something more about newly discovered archival material or the latest academic publication – as opposed to how I used to propel myself across the floor in my nappy.
*** UPDATE: I rang my mum today, to check this information with her. She said; “Oh yes – you were a bum-shuffler. But you did it really weirdly, with your left leg tucked under you and with your right one stuck straight out. But even then, no-one could catch you, you were so fast. And you’ve always insisted sitting on your leg like that, ever since.”
My response to this was; “AND YOU WONDER WHY I AM HAVING SUCH BAD PROBLEMS WITH MY BACK AND MY LEFT LEG – DID YOU NOT THINK TO TIE ME CORRECTLY TO A CHAIR UNTIL I LEARNED TO SIT AND WALK PROPERLY – LIKE MY VICTORIAN ANCESTOR WOULD HAVE DONE?!”
But tragically, my parents were far too free and easy with my upbringing. It is a wonder how I have ever been allowed out into polite society, with all of that bum-shuffling going on.