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Could this be your family...????

That looks typical of many 60s houses, and the clothes airer was almost obligatory!
Re bed warmers, we had this 'Glow-baby' which I'd forgotten about until now, but google found the picture for me!
Just a wire frame to hold the sheets up while the bulb heated them.
They came with a red bulb though, like the ones in an electric fire.
 
Hi All,

I remember my sister saying "I will be glad when this fire has gone down. It is burning my legs" She didn't think of moving her chair further away. As for the picture it looks like a fire hazard to me.

Old Boy
 
lol rob...you are funny....shera you have just bought something else to mind re..bed wetting...we used to have rubber sheets on the beds just in case to protect the mattresses then a normal sheet on top...god i can still smell the rubber and they were like a dark red in colour...

ernie..you are right about the patterned legs...saved me buying stockings...lol...keep up the memories folks....

lyn
 
Robert (the late ) said:
I was born in 1952 in a house that had an inside tiolet, a large range in the livingroom and gas fires in the bedrooms there was no hot running water,(bet you all feel sorry for me ) The water for the bath was heated in a large gas boiler and carried into the bathroom in saucepans. The only draw back was we never had enough money for coal for the range fire , never had 6d for the gas meter for the fires in the bedrooms. So i was just as bl***ing cold as the rest of ya.
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Blimey Robert you was posh we used a guzunder( even that froze) to cold to go outside we went up the road to the public bath once a week whether we were dirty or not our gas meter used to take shillings if we were skint the old man would get his best file out and file a halfpenny down to the same size as a bob piece and get them back when the gas man read the meter. Dek
 
I've already posted once, but looking again at that nice open fire, I'm reminded of our Chimney catching fire several times. It didn't seem to cause a problem, but looked interesting from outside, and it wan't only our chimney..did any one else have chimney fires ? :)
 
oldMohawk said:
I've already posted once, but looking again at that nice open fire, I'm reminded of our Chimney catching fire several times. It didn't seem to cause a problem, but looked interesting from outside, and it wan't only our chimney..did any one else have chimney fires ? :)
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I think there was chimney fire every other day by us. Nobody could aford to have their chimney swept. And that smell!:dft005:
 
i can remember having our chimney swept by mr beech the chimney sweep..he lived just a few doors up and as our dad was a window cleaner i think it was a case of you scratch my back and i will scratch yours...:D:D

lyn
 
I can remember chimney fires, thick grey smoke swirling down covering the street All the kids waiting for the fire brigade to arive real excitment.
 
I don't remember the glow baby but I do remember a biscuit tin with a light bulb in. We had those heavy crock water bottles and I remember having our first rubber one and mom put water in that was too hot and it leaked and scalded me. Funny how things come back to you. Jean.
 
When we had a chimney fire the old man would let it burn for a bit to clear the soot out of the chimney. What about putting the B,ham mail to the fire to make it draw if you left it to long it would suddenly burst into flames and you would be stamping it out while the room filled with smoke. Dek
 
I can remember that dec. could you imagine setting fire to a news paper in the living room now.
 
hi jean...i will have to have the story off you one day:rolleyes:

i can remember drawing the fire with newspapers...never the sports argus until dad had read it back to front:D and many times leaving it there too long until it caught fire...the paper would always start burning from the centre of the paper and work its way outwards...then a scurry to screw it up before major damage was caused...:rolleyes:
 
This is a brilliant thread so interesting. Shera that must have been awful for you! I remember the cold and ice inside our windows. One great memorie for me was when I was about 10 my Dad installed central heating in our house..........heaven!

I remember drawing the fire and the newspaper catching fire Mom would shout don't let it go up the chimney.
 
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It use to take ages to light the fire in the morning, with screwed up newspaper and wood and then the coal. One day the council workmen came and put in a, what they called a gas rod. It took away the problem of lighting paper and wood. One just had to light the gas rod then put the coal on top. Once the coal was alight,just turn the gas off. The wonders of modern technology:)
 
I can remember that every time we had a chimney fire mom would rush into the pantry to get a packet of salt, then proceed to throw a handfull at a time, up the chimney.
I can't remember the explanation she gave for doing this, can anyone enlighten me. :confused:
 
Templer said:
I can remember that every time we had a chimney fire mom would rush into the pantry to get a packet of salt, then proceed to throw a handfull at a time, up the chimney.
I can't remember the explanation she gave for doing this, can anyone enlighten me. :confused:
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Yer I remember that Bri, bless her:)
 
The house we lived in on the Beeches Estate had an open fire with an oven to bake in, and a back boiler to heat the water. I remember the first step to modernisation was a 'gas poker' to help light the fire in the morning.
This thread has brought back my earliest memory when I was probably one and half years old. When we moved into the house the electricity wasn't connected, gas was but no gas stove, and my Dad opened a gas tap on the pipe, and lit the gas to give a flame which lit the room...I was sitting on his lap and can see that flame in my memory now.:)
 
My son and his wife live in a cottage and have one of those airers in their kitchen now. I too remember drawing the fire with newspaper and it catching fire, safety just didn't get thought about then. My mom used to stand with her back to the fire with her skirt hitched up to warm her legs.
What about the curling tongs in the fire, my mom used them to put wringlets in my hair.
 
Templer said:
I can remember that every time we had a chimney fire mom would rush into the pantry to get a packet of salt, then proceed to throw a handfull at a time, up the chimney.
I can't remember the explanation she gave for doing this, can anyone enlighten me. :confused:
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I remember someone telling me a long time ago that salt starves a fire of oxygen so it should put the fire out but I have just googled this to check and it says DO NOT put salt on a chimney fire - it creates
Chlorine gas that damages the chimney and is toxic if it gets into the room - so boys and girls don't try this at home!
Are you enlightened yet?
Polly :)
 
During the cold winters in the 50s and early 60s I remember my dad making something he had made during his war service.

Take a large square biscuit tin ( the type you dont see anymore ) and put an electric light fitting in the bottom. This was placed under the bed clothes and the light bulb safely (?) warmed the bed.How many Nissen Huts were burnt down due to overheated beds? I actually saw warming pans and crock bottles used. But best of all was my mate Wrags.A blue rubber hot water bottle in the vague shape of a dog , I think. I used to let our dog in the bed until one night she had puppies there.
My grannie lived with an ex-miner, and grandad but just dont ask. Their house was gas heated but the miner still got his free coal allowance. So it became my job as soon as I was able to transfer this coal using a wheel barrow.The coal was free ,I had sandwiches off my grannie and an afternoons freedom. Fair exchange in the currency of the day.
 
pollypops said:
I remember someone telling me a long time ago that salt starves a fire of oxygen so it should put the fire out but I have just googled this to check and it says DO NOT put salt on a chimney fire - it creates
Chlorine gas that damages the chimney and is toxic if it gets into the room - so boys and girls don't try this at home!
Are you enlightened yet?
Polly :)
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Did us no harm, did it Bri:D
 
we used to have dads overcoats on our beds as kids, and pop bottles filled with hot water!wonder what health and safety would think of that now! and to go to the outside loo at night we twisted waxed bread wrappers into candles(couldnt afford the real ones) and ran like hell before the flames went out! the good old days .
 
pollypops said:
I remember someone telling me a long time ago that salt starves a fire of oxygen so it should put the fire out but I have just googled this to check and it says DO NOT put salt on a chimney fire - it creates
Chlorine gas that damages the chimney and is toxic if it gets into the room - so boys and girls don't try this at home!
Are you enlightened yet?
Polly :)
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Very much enlightened Polly, that's jogged my memory, that was her explanation.
We had a lucky escape there then. :D
 
this thread is amazing:) its only been going for 5 hours..the pic has had 73 views and there are so many posts about your memories:) i reckon that between you all you could write a book:) just one thing...we still dont know who the mystery family are and to be honest im that wrapped up in reading the posts i had almost forgotton why i posted the pic in the first place...:D:D

lyn
 
Astoness said:
this thread is amazing:) its only been going for 5 hours..the pic has had 73 views and there are so many posts about your memories:) i reckon that between you all you could write a book:) just one thing...we still dont know who the mystery family are and to be honest im that wrapped up in reading the posts i had almost forgotton why i posted the pic in the first place...:D:D

lyn
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They were a very well off family. They've got 2 tellies. 1 in the corner and a Plasma one on the left.:D
 
Phil I love the story about the lodger and no I won't ask just use my imagination. I remember my aunt always burning her bloomers on the fire guard. My nan had an indoor coal house in her living room. She lived in a back to back in Franchise street. It was like living in a fridge in the winter but I can never remember my nan going down with coughs and colds. Jean.
 
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