Things I can remember
As promised, a list of some of the things I can remember. I’ve missed out the things that are mentioned in my other blog.
I remember…
The steam trains being in full service.
Butter being cut to size and patted into shape with ‘Butter Pats’, placed into grease proof paper and weighed on the scales.
When all food was organic.
The lovely smells when you entered a grocery shop. Before food was pre-packed in layers of plastic.
When Woolworth’s had wooden floors and a smell all of their own.
When you could spend a farthing – For those of you who don’t know, a farthing was one quarter of an old penny. Twelve old pennies made one shilling which is the same as 5p now. Divide 5p by 48 and that’s a farthing :O) Judge for yourself how little we needed to spend when we were kids.
When Guineas were a monetary value.
Hot poultices
Polishing the floor with rags on our feet
When TV didn’t transmit on a Sunday except for religious programmes.
When there was no TV!
Journey In To Space
78’s and gramophone needles
Tin Soldiers
Button ‘A’ and button ‘B’
Canonbury 8343
Sweeping carpets with a broom
Washing by hand being the norm
Stove irons
The ‘Hoover Twin tub’
Trolly buses
The bus conductors ticket machine with rows of different colour (for different price) tickets. He would pull one out and stamp a little hole in it.
When Cliff Richard used to dribble
Skiffle and Lonnie Donegan
Rock & Roll
Teddy Boys
The Jive
The Val Doonican Show
Radio Luxembourg
Transistor radios
Six, Five Special
I’ll give it five!
Chubby Checker and “The Twist”
Popper beads
Pie & Mash shops
Laying in the bath with Levi’s on to shrink-fit them
When jeans stood up on their own!
Pony Tails
The ‘Beehive’
Drip dry shirts
Permanently pleated dresses
Flower power
The first Mini-skirts
Hot pants
Stereo record players
The emergence of Laura Ashley
‘Evening’ dresses
When men wore suits
Creases in trousers
Dancing to Ray McVay and his orchestra
I could have gone on, and on, and on…..
Stumble it!
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granny grimble | 6 September 2007 at 17:20
Well done Babs. I could go on and on reading them too (unlike those boring tomes that come by email from the States that you can’t even be bothered to start!)
How about Betty Grable
Post Office savings books
Wind-up gramophones
K-nockers
Guy Fawlkes bonfires in the middle of the road
Children’s hour with Uncle Mack
Saturday Morning pictures
When film stars were REAL stars
The cinema Organ coming up out of the ground
Stop me and buy one
The smell of a new double decker wooden pencil box
Hard oily cheeses because we didn’t have a fridge
Candle light because Mum and Dad couldn’t pay the light bill!
Keys hanging on string behind the letterbox
Making daisy chains and holding buttercups under your chin
Film Fun comics
Like you, I could go on and on. Do you know we could get together and girdle the earth with these lists :0)
Beetle | 6 September 2007 at 17:24
ha ha ha! Sooo true :O) I think we should start one as a word file, and all add to it. Except Sindie’ would be a lot newer ha ha!
weechuff | 6 September 2007 at 19:44
These are some of the things Lennie and I remember, with apologies if any have already been mentioned.
Night watchmen
Having a cup of tea with builders in their hut and them not being afraid of getting arrested.
Outside toilets
Women whitenening their step outside the front door.
Quiet streets because everyone was either at work, at school or busy cooking.
Leeta’s big bag of gooseberries on pay day.
Lucky dip bags
blue salt twists in crisps the first time round.
The cardboard sleeve on the ice cream roll that was popped into a cornet.
Hopscotch on pavements.
Pianos in ‘front rooms’ with chenelle tablecloths and a huge plant.
Paraffin heaters
Oil shops
Hooped petticoats
A goldfish in a polythene bag in exchange for old rags. (Perhaps not polythene?)
The organ grinder with his monkey in Mountview Road
Cardboard innersoles cut out of ceareal boxes to stop rain getting in your shoes
Sweet coupons, and the day they stopped!
Shiny tyres
When a gallon of petrol was 3/6d (17.5p)
The lamplighter in Oakfield Road
Dark streets with atmosphere, and no orange glow
Pepsodent toothpaste (You’ll wonder where the yellow went, when you brush your teeth with Pepsodent)!
When it cost 9d to get into the ‘pictures’
Pinching wooden tar blocks from the roadside to burn on the fire
Going to the saw mills in Islington for off-cuts of wood for dad to build a fire
Going with mum to Chapel Street, rummaging for the fruit that had been left by the stall holders.
Beetle | 6 September 2007 at 22:16
Ahh! All such lovely memories :O)
Sindie | 6 September 2007 at 23:38
Ok then, here are mine (bear in mind mine are from the 70’s):
The blue grocery van that used to come to Charles Street once a week
Tony Belle Icecream van
Having to be home by dark
Mars Bars being 10p
Mum taking in second-hand skirts for me so that they were the latest fashion pencil skirts (second time around!)
That funny thing in Dartford Co-op that used to whizz above your head like a space rocket on a string. Was it for conveying takings?
Granny bringing back sugar lumps from her shopping trips for us.
The smell of Grandad Sid. Probably roll ups and oil paint!
Dad’s limp leftover cheese and pickle sandwhiches when he came home from work.
Dad’s AWFUL old fashioned work shirts. He used to say he didn’t care if they were old fashioned as they only got dirty.
Playing on building sites.
Jazzy the dog screaming when dad was coming home.
The smell of Ambre Solaire.
Falling asleep on mum’s chest and hearing her voice.
Mum’s smell (fags and leather coat at the time)
The Flatly Dryer on the landing.
Me and Chris eating dinner in the bath with the Flatley lid as a table top.
I’d better stop now!
Beetle | 7 September 2007 at 16:47
Ha ha! Very good :O)
granny grimble | 7 September 2007 at 17:50
Oh how I am enjoying these remember when blogs. Perhaps we can have Tina’s now OK Tina? It might be interesting to get some from Jeanette too. She comes from a different part of England to us, and might have quite different memories. How about it Jeanette?
Beetle | 7 September 2007 at 19:27
It seems Tina can’t open this ‘Comment’ box for some reason :O(