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Occupations That Have Faded Away

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In our local family run funeral company, they employed an elderly lady to sit with bereaved families and just talk to them, if they wanted to. And explain things or just listen. Her name was Vi. A friend of ours delivered flowers in a small van. When no mourners were around he would grab Vi and swing her around for a waltz. Or a polka. Then she would try and compose herself.
 
Nico,

I used to work occasionally with a trumpet player in Christchurch, who ran a funeral service. If you were gigging with him, while the band was playing he would come out with the most amazing stories and have the other members of the band so creased up with laughter that they would struggle to play. In one particular hiotel, we were all laughing so much that one old guest told the hotel manager that we were laughing at him. Of course, we weren't, but we still got hauled up into the office to explain ourselves. :)

Maurice :cool:
 
5 Crazy Jobs That You Don't Need Anymore! | British Pathé

Re the Urine Collector job. I read a good book I am sure it was called Black Rain, apertaining to coal dust that got in to everything, even the rain. There is another book with this title, mine was about Welsh miners. In it there was a character a lady who emptied the loos every day and collected it in buckets her name was Sarah The Pissio.
 
R. In it there was a character a lady who emptied the loos every day and collected it in buckets her name was Sarah The Pissio.

Hi,

In the past it was used in the cloth dyeing industry as a mordant, - it set the colours fast in the cloth.

Kind regards
Dave
 
5 Crazy Jobs That You Don't Need Anymore! | British Pathé

Looking at this video reminded me of when my mother would go to the grocers at the Warley Odeon
( Singletons ) where they would roast coffee in the shop. The smell of roasting coffee is so distinctive I can still remember it now after 70 years but is not found in any shops now.
 
Looking at this video reminded me of when my mother would go to the grocers at the Warley Odeon
( Singletons ) where they would roast coffee in the shop. The smell of roasting coffee is so distinctive I can still remember it now after 70 years but is not found in any shops now.
In the mid 60s I worked for Maxwell House Coffee. I loved the roasting coffee, unfortunately the smell permeated my clothes and hair. I was taking classes at University in the evening and received a number of complaints from other students and Professors! Took later classes and went home to shower (sometimes)
 
I would think with modern machines now, one of my birth mother's early jobs would be defunct. She worked at Typhoo and she operated a lever that guided the tea in to packets as tea was bought in, on those days. She was in the clouds and she was not operating the leaver, the packets went one way and the tea the other and she was sacked.

Mu mum's first job was in a galvanised bucket factory. I wonder if they are still made.



One way to get rid of chilblains, let rats nibble them. But we are getting off subject.
 
I would think with modern machines now, one of my birth mother's early jobs would be defunct. She worked at Typhoo and she operated a lever that guided the tea in to packets as tea was bought in, those days. She was in the clouds and she was not operating the leaver, the packets went one way and the tea the other and she was sacked.

My mum's first job was in a galvanised bucket factory. I wonder if they are still made. Her first weekend job was cutting weighing and patting butter, and wrapping it. In Miss Cook's shop. Near Stourbridge.
One way to get rid of chilblains, let rats nibble them. But we are getting off subject.
I know we have pest controllers but they used to be called rat catchers. My mate was an apprentice compositor. The printers used to get visited by the rat woman. They used to sing Rat woman to the Batman theme.
 
I would think with modern machines now, one of my birth mother's early jobs would be defunct. She worked at Typhoo and she operated a lever that guided the tea in to packets as tea was bought in, on those days. She was in the clouds and she was not operating the leaver, the packets went one way and the tea the other and she was sacked.

Mu mum's first job was in a galvanised bucket factory. I wonder if they are still made.
Nico, seems like most galvanized buckets come from India China or Vietnam!
 
I would think with modern machines now, one of my birth mother's early jobs would be defunct. She worked at Typhoo and she operated a lever that guided the tea in to packets as tea was bought in, on those days. She was in the clouds and she was not operating the leaver, the packets went one way and the tea the other and she was sacked.

Mu mum's first job was in a galvanised bucket factory. I wonder if they are still made.
yes

Galvanized Metal Buckets fabrication in London UK ...

Manufacturer | Midland Holloware Limited | England

 
Have seen firms described as "Hollowware" manufacturers so many times in directories. Did not realise the term was still in use commercially
 
Pete,

You can't beat a good galvanised bucket and I know that the Indians make and sell thousands of them. I didn't realise that they were still made in the UK - good quality stuff I am sure. Watching our Greek builders, they tend to use emply buckets that once contained emulsion paint or other water-based treatments - 5 or 10 litres - and it is good to see that these get recycled many times.

Maurice :cool:
 
Pete,

You can't beat a good galvanised bucket and I know that the Indians make and sell thousands of them. I didn't realise that they were still made in the UK - good quality stuff I am sure. Watching our Greek builders, they tend to use emply buckets that once contained emulsion paint or other water-based treatments - 5 or 10 litres - and it is good to see that these get recycled many times.

Maurice :cool:
i have had one for years. they sell and use them here on the milk farms,and becouse open stinky coal fires are still in use,:mad:folks put the hot ashes in them.
 
Pete,

You can't beat a good galvanised bucket and I know that the Indians make and sell thousands of them. I didn't realise that they were still made in the UK - good quality stuff I am sure. Watching our Greek builders, they tend to use emply buckets that once contained emulsion paint or other water-based treatments - 5 or 10 litres - and it is good to see that these get recycled many times.

Maurice :cool:
One of my dad's first jobs wasat a factory in Dudley that made bucket ears which were the metal lugs to which the handle was attached. I think he may have served his apprenticeship there. He was a press tool maker. This would have been during the first world war (he was born in 1903).
He would travel by train from Smethwick to Dudley Port. One day he was doing the return journey and he fell asleep and found himself in Coventry!
 
Don't know whether anyone watches Salvage Hunters - The Restorers on Quest but I find it fascinating. Such talent and patience as well as knowledge. Well, yesterday the furniture restorer mentioned a certain type of wadding that was used as padding together with horsehair. The wadding was apparently made from rags and must have been collected by the rag and bone man who we don't see these days. This of course has now been replaced with modern stuff but the restorer likes to use the old materials where he can for authenticity. This must have been sorted by 'rag girls' which I've often seen mentioned and then shredded - how I don't know.

However, it also put me in mind of a man who used to own a business called 'Cleaning Materials' but was always referred to as the 'rag man'. He used to come at the end of our jumble sales and buy up anything and everything. We didn't get much for this but it saved us going to the tip and we knew it would be recycled (although that word wasn't used much 40 years ago). I also remember large bags full of different coloured cloths being at the painters I used to work for but I expect these have now been discarded due to health and safety.
 
There was a whole industry grown up out of reworking garments. If you do a search for Shoddy and Mungo, you will see how garments were recycled.

I cannot quite remember why bones were collected, it may have been in the pottery industry, for fertiliser or even explosives.
 
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