Recent content by Spargone

Over at 'Ghost Signs' mention has been made of 'Barbers Tea'. Has anyone else noticed how our traditional Barber's pole, (as in hair cutter), has been quietly changed over the years? The story that I was told as a child was that barbers used to engage in the odd bit of surgery and their white...

It has never been my intention to say anything against the forum and I go along with the general gist of your comments, (obviously personal circumstances differ). I don't see that it can do any harm to provide easy access to some information about the forum both for potential members and...

Clearly some users know more about how this site operates and who owns it than I do. I assume this is information has been shared during meetings in person. All I am suggesting is that there should be an 'about' section perhaps along the lines of "This site is a labour of love run by father and...

Perhaps I am missing it but it would be nice if there was an easily found section 'About This Forum', the 'who, what, why', so people could know what they might be donating to and why. Are we being asked to fund an individual, an informal grouping, a charity or a business? Is there a continuity...

Citroën Dyane 6

English is curious. Suppliers of tea, meat, cloth, paper etc. refer to their products in the singular even though they actually supply more than one variety. Suppliers of biscuits, cars or vegetables use the plural form though, so we have Tetley Tea but Carr's Biscuits. Insert the word 'company'...

F.W. Woolworth is another company that fought a losing battle with its customers! Better to have a mangled version of ones name on the public's lips than none at all.

Greengrocers get accused of putting in apostrophes where they aren't needed, grocers just leave them out? [Barbers Tea]

Nowadays the major supermarkets in Birmingham will 'sell' the budding scrap metal dealer a collecting trolley for only £1! Meanwhile the established scrap metal dealers are subjected to ever more controls or are forced to move premises to make way for new developments. I must say the free...

There are some images of a BCT route map here.

The little girl's pram is clearly modelled on a full-size pram, the adults looks like an in-between pram/push chair, the push chair, like most modern buggies, putting the child in a sitting position. (I suspect that the back of the larger pram can be swung down). My sister had a high-quality toy...

The 'secret' compartment cover could be left out allowing older children to sit up in the pram. The hood supports could be used to string a row of coloured objects on a piece of elastic. Mothers were able to face and talk to the child while walking, (nowadays talking to the back of the child's...

Wooden hoops were traditionally driven along with a hand-held stick. Metal ones sometimes had a captive rod with a loop on the end around the hoop rim. I had a friend who had one of those. I remember it made a lot of noise as it rolled down the street as the hoop rang like a bell.

Rather my point, I think. One of my uses was to go to professional society events, discontinued during 'Covid' and probably now 'zoomed' into extinction. Would have been good PR if either the expiry date had been extended or a reduced renewal price had been offered. I went for a three year card...

Received a reminder today that my Senior Railcard expires next month. Previous renewal was for three years - that worked out well!