YOU may remember last time I told you about "Cockler" the tramp who, having collected two bags of fresh cockles, was wheeling them on his handcart and calling on various customers on his way back to Eagland Hill where he lived in a disused pig crew.

He called at several big houses as well as farms and cottages, usually selling out before arriving "home". Cockler knew that as well as a couple of bags being enough for him to push on his handcart, he also knew two bagfuls would be as much as he could sell before landing home. If he was left with many, then next day he would go in another direction to try his luck.

Like most tramps Cockler was never any trouble and so his presence in the neighbourhood was accepted, which was all he ever wanted.

Another tramp I have learned about, and yes he too had his own business, was always known as "Lanty"; nobody knew if that was his real name or not, but that was what people called him around the North Fylde area of Lancashire, which was where he was usually to be found.

The tramp was tallish, well built and gave the impression that he was possessed of great strength. He worked hard at keeping himself clean, and shaved as best he could. Unlike most tramps he had a cheap and regular haircut. In fact, he cut it himself. In short he really tried hard to make himself presentable, which he knew would help him when he called at houses selling his wares.

What did he sell? Well, I have to confess I tried for quite a time to come up with the answer but never came close, so I gave up and was told "He sold bullrushes". Then I remembered that people living in big houses with large rooms and wide entrance halls often likeed to have bullrushes standing in a corner container.

In the season there would be plenty of bullrushes in the dykes and ditches in the low-lying areas with a high rainfall. Lanty would spend the morning cutting the stems and then putting them into even bunches, which he would tie using old binder twine. It was easy to get a good supply of this. What he used to do was after he had seen a thresher at work he would ask the farmers for permission to collect the discarded binder twine that had been cut from the sheaves of corn before they were fed into the threshing drum. He would sometime be given a job bagging and clearing chaff on a threshing day. But when his great strength was noticed he would often be given a job at the grain end of the thresher from where he would get the job of carrying bags of oats, barley or wheat on his back up the stone steps into the granary. These bags would each weigh 12 stone which was 1 cwt. and to carry those up 12 or 14 stone steps all day was no job for a weakling.

Lanty, they said was appreciated because he was no slacker and would always do at least his own share if not more. It also meant that he was very well fed and was paid into the bargain.

Being quite well known around the district, Lanty never wanted for somewhere to sleep. He was never refused a barn or a farm building, particularly as he did not smoke. He was often told to call at the house next morning for a bacon sandwich or two and a mug of hot tea before taking to the road.

Dialect word: Ket or Kelt meaning rubbish.

Thought for the day: Gambling known as business looks with austere disfavour upon the business known as gambling.