There was always something happening

[Martin]

There was the man who came round selling paraffin from the back of his van, two barrels of it, blue and pink.
The fishmonger came round and the greengrocer with a set of scales and weights along with the fruitier.
Of course there was the milkman six days a week and one evening to collect his money, either Co-Op or Unigate, or in Scotland it was Mr. Barr..
The Corona lorry delivering soft drinks and a brewery lorry with wooden crates of beer.
The chimney sweep always created a stir amongst the kids and the coal wagon, I loved the smell of the coal. Can’t remember if there was a separate delivery for the coke for the boiler.
Sometimes a knife sharpener came round along with a brush salesman and at some places a fish & chip van.
Once a year the cub scouts had their Bob-A-Job week and yellow stickers started appearing in windows.
At a couple of places we had a man deliver firewood.
I only remember a mobile library at one place.
The ice cream vans, Toni Bell and Mr. Whippy.
The postman was always known, no strangers then, and the man from the Pru collecting payments.
There was the rag-and-bone man and at Christmas vans selling Christmas trees.
I nearly forget the guy from either Littlewoods or Vernons for the football pools.
The folk with the Betterware and Avon catalogue.
The dustbin men and the paper boys.
At one place there was even a mobile cobbler.
The window cleaner.

It's not like that now. Sometimes I hear an icecream van and someone knocks on the door, probably JW's as I find their leaflets on the doormat afterwards.
It seems it was nicer back then, with always something going on.

[numberplease]

We also had the people who came to change the batteries for the radio, to me, as a child, they were big containers full of gooey looking black stuff, and we weren`t allowed anywhere near them.

[gray_marian]

Great post Martin, my memories are of tenements in the city, during my first five years.
Excuse spelling, I don't possess a scottish dictionary.

The lamp lighter with his ladder lighting the gas lampposts.
Grandmother's with meaty elbows resting on a cushion across the window sill watching all in sundry.
Older men wearing flat bunnet's ?
Coal being delivered by horse and cart.
Woman with cornbeef legs and stockings rolled down to their ankles.
Butter sold loose and patted into shape by ridged wooden paddles.
Sweetie shop with penny, tuppence or thruppence trays.
Home perms performed in the kitchen.
Scrubbed bleached wooden loo seat with Izeal tissue paper in the shared loo's on each landing of the close.
Bed recess with quilted eiderdown with frilly edge.
Smell of tar being rolled on a summers day.
Freezing cold fish shop with mosaic floor and women wearing their husbands socks with tackity boots.
Teenagers wearing ponytails, ankle socks and chewing gum.
Boiled terry towelling nappies blowing in the wind.
Dad's dinner kept warm with a lid on the plate, top of a simmering pot....and the row when he came in from pub!
Newspapers laid on washed floors.
Baker boy with a wooden tray on his head selling morning rolls, burnt ones sold first!
Smell of white firelighters, still sniff them now!
Penny dainty carmels, five boys chocolate and candy balls which stuck to the paper bag [poke]

[Martin]

I remember my dad talking about those batteries. I never saw them but I do remember having to wait for both the TV and the radio to warm up.
I remember the lines of nappies in AMQ’s and if anyone’s washing wasn’t as white as others it was a thing of great shame.
My gran tried those firelighters once and swore she’d never have them in the house again, claimed she could still smell them a week after, I recall they did smell awful. Another vile smell was when I was very small mum used to wash the floor with ammonia in the hot water, that whiff is still in my nostrils.
On every station we lived on there was always at least one wife who was some sort of hairdresser, another who held the Tupperware parties, others that had the club books and at the last place one held what I remember hearing called a “frilly knickers party”.
In Gib the wives had something called The Grub Club. They would meet up and each would hand in a list of food stuffs they wanted, if enough of them wanted the same thing it was bought in bulk and split up between them at a much cheaper price than what the NAAFI was charging.
There was the thrift shop once a week, it was like a comic exchange for some of us kids and there was The Wives Club were reputations were made and destroyed, mum always avoided those covens like the plague. She used to tell me about the “knocker-upper” coming around when she was a girl and the Muffin Man is another one I recall her speaking of.
At one place there was a wife who was never seen without her rollers in and a fag hanging out the corner of her mouth. It was the first time I’d heard the term Fag-ash Lil. She was a great big old bruiser with a mouth to match her looks and as is often the case she had a small man for a husband, a really nice man who always looked pale and sickly. He was always up for kicking a football about with the kids, probably to get away from her.
There was always at least one wife who was referred to as “that snooty bitch, she thinks she’s better than the rest of us”. Also the camp trollop, she would nick someone’s husband and that gave everyone something to talk about for a week or two.
There was one Flt/Sgt who had a reputation for being a bit of a hard man and a stickler for discipline. He had a heart attack one night and everyone was very shocked when the ambulance men carried him out, all dressed up in his wife’s clothes.
I shall end this limp down memory lane with a wee message for the two son’s of Fag-ash Lil, if they should ever read this……..I hope, by this time, you’ve learnt how to wipe your noses.

[Govangirl]

Martin, great post! To this day I kid my brother because when he was younger he always wanted to be a gaslight man. Then there was the day my sister and I gave away my ma's only coat to the rag and bone man for two balloons! I also remember washing neighbours' stairs when it was their turn to do them and they didn't want to - great for pocket money! You're right, there were always folk around so no wonder then that our parents felt safe in sending us out to play.

[numberplease]

Then there was the "tripe, tripe and cow `eel" man every Saturday lunchtime, my mother always sent me out with the plate, I hated the look, smell and taste of the stuff, dreaded Saturdays!
My auntie was a hairdresser from home, I remember having a perm, round about 1950, she attached some black rubbery squares to my head, with wires going up to the light fitting in the ceiling, terrifying thought these days!

[Govangirl]

Oh Numberplease, I LOVED tripe!!!!! My mum and granny made a great dish with onions and potatoes and if ever bad things were happening my granny would make it better with a creamy bowl of tripe. I couldn't eat it now but it evokes such warm memories

[numberplease]

Sorry GG, but YUCK!!!!

[MPR]

I cant unread that GG, my stomach is turning with just the thought of it, the smell of it, the look of it..

[Martin]

My mum used to love tripe and onions with vinegar on. Just the sight of it made me feel ill.

GG, I bet you like Roll Mops as well ? I only ever tried one and I was sick as a pig.

I remember once when dad was away on recruiting and there was some sort of hold up with her getting his wages. I think things were getting a bit desperate so she cooked up something she’d had as a wee girl.
A casserole dish filled with a layer of potatoes, a layer of onions and when it reached the top it ended with a layer of spuds. Salt and pepper would be sprinkled on it and then milk and water tipped over it, then it was put in the oven. I remember it as being surprisingly tasty, it certainly filled a hole.

[Bonnie Lass]

We make those spuds with half a stock cube added to the water/milk mix (50/50) for extra taste - known as Dauphinoise Potatoes - we omit the cream but still tastes great.
http://www.lovepotatoes.co.uk/recipes/top-25-how-cook-best-entertaining/potato-dauphinoise

[Martin]

That's an interesting site, I'll bookmark that and investigate further.

[Govangirl]

Ha ha Martin - roll mops are DEEEEEEEEELISH!!!!!!!!!!! And unbelievably, I made Potato Dauphinoise tonight!!!!!!!

[Martin]

I knew it, I just knew it, because the woman that gave me that Roll Mop was born and brought up in........Govan.