Also, I was a labourer once, believe it or not. I’m not sure if you use the same term over there. But essentially the bricklayers dogsbody. Mucking up (mixing up the cement and carrying it in buckets) and all the general stuff that requires no skill beyond the physical jousting and learning how to carry things on your head up a ladder. I was lazy though and always for friends who tolerated that but we had our moments of gunning it. Almost died a couple of times, which is standard I think. Anyway, I’m not in that game anymore.
We have that term too but more specifically. It’s almost considered a trade in itself. To put it more bluntly, I was the building site bitch 😂 But it was a hard life not for the meek. And some labourers you certainly wouldn’t could call that. But many labourers also hod carried. I didn’t, too clumsy and off balance for that. Most of what we did was houses and we threw bricks up whilst another stacked.
An honest and gritty account of life as a laborer. You put me right in that scene and it read like the opening narrative of a movie. I see now why you were/are concerned about your terms and vernacular, but I think it fits perfectly. Anyone who has done manual laborer for a small contractor in a city can attest to your portrayal of that life. Especially for the time. Life is life, and it's not politically correct. As writers, we capture that life, or create it as a reflection. You've done that here.
Thanks, Nick. I got so concerned I did an hour of research. In the end I only changed one word because it was historically super-racist in the UK, but the way we used it back in those times was merely meant as a descriptor.
The whole Rip Van Winkle thing from imprisonment has me real unsure some times, and I’d rather not end up in a situation bc I talk like I’m from the 90s.
Great piece of time travel. It’s like a heady documentary in miniature. Judgement to be placed aside if you want a real view. Honest as always and no fluff 👌
Also, I was a labourer once, believe it or not. I’m not sure if you use the same term over there. But essentially the bricklayers dogsbody. Mucking up (mixing up the cement and carrying it in buckets) and all the general stuff that requires no skill beyond the physical jousting and learning how to carry things on your head up a ladder. I was lazy though and always for friends who tolerated that but we had our moments of gunning it. Almost died a couple of times, which is standard I think. Anyway, I’m not in that game anymore.
I never heard dogsbody, but anyone in masonry who wasn’t a bricklayer was a “hod carrier”.
I’m problably too old to even hang sheetrock all day everyday, and I’m def too sober to work construction, lol.
We have that term too but more specifically. It’s almost considered a trade in itself. To put it more bluntly, I was the building site bitch 😂 But it was a hard life not for the meek. And some labourers you certainly wouldn’t could call that. But many labourers also hod carried. I didn’t, too clumsy and off balance for that. Most of what we did was houses and we threw bricks up whilst another stacked.
Soaked up into a memory. Great work!!
That summer gold on the porch... I know that feeling. Different country, same ghosts.
I’ve wondered if that translated elsewhere. Cool to hear. 🤝
It does. :)
astoundingly poetic as always
Thanks, Gustáv :D
Entirely dirty and bittersweet ❤️
I love the way this tells a story without a lot of filler. The lines are very matter-of-fact, yet detailed. Well done.
Thank you, Tiffany 💜
An honest and gritty account of life as a laborer. You put me right in that scene and it read like the opening narrative of a movie. I see now why you were/are concerned about your terms and vernacular, but I think it fits perfectly. Anyone who has done manual laborer for a small contractor in a city can attest to your portrayal of that life. Especially for the time. Life is life, and it's not politically correct. As writers, we capture that life, or create it as a reflection. You've done that here.
Thanks, Nick. I got so concerned I did an hour of research. In the end I only changed one word because it was historically super-racist in the UK, but the way we used it back in those times was merely meant as a descriptor.
The whole Rip Van Winkle thing from imprisonment has me real unsure some times, and I’d rather not end up in a situation bc I talk like I’m from the 90s.
Great piece of time travel. It’s like a heady documentary in miniature. Judgement to be placed aside if you want a real view. Honest as always and no fluff 👌