• Welcome to this forum . We are a worldwide group with a common interest in Birmingham and its history. While here, please follow a few simple rules. We ask that you respect other members, thank those who have helped you and please keep your contributions on-topic with the thread.

    We do hope you enjoy your visit. BHF Admin Team
  • HI folks the server that hosts the site completely died including the Hdd's and backups.
    Luckily i create an offsite backup once a week! this has now been restored so we have lost a few days posts.
    im still fixing things at the moment so bear with me and im still working on all images 90% are fine the others im working on now
    we are now using a backup solution

Items that have faded away

Status
Not open for further replies.
roverman said:
...Talking about barbers does anyone remember having their hair singed ?
Click to expand...
Yes, I can remember that treatment. It was to seal the ends of the hairs and prevent you from catching cold after the cut!!!! (so I was told on enquiry) :biggrin:
 
Condiment spoons - special spoon for mustard, salt, jam etc. Oh do pass me the salt cellar Beatrice! Viv.
 
Something which has really faded away is our English language, whether it was written or spoken. When did it change from say ‘my friend and I’ to ‘me and my friend? I was always taught to put yourself last. If there was a noun within sentence it usually had a capital letter, but that doesn’t happen now. Never ever started a sentence with ‘and’ or ‘but’. Where are the apostrophes’? A dope was someone we called stupid, now it means good or great. Why do people who were born in the UK speak as though they are from Jamaica? Why does ‘th’ in the middle of a word become ‘v’ (brother – bruver) and at the beginning of a word become ‘f’ (three – free). These comments could go on for ever. ‘Init’.
 
Carolina
A dope is still someone a bit stupid to me, and i would have thought to most people.
 
Carolina, I don't think you can blame Americanism, at least not entirely. The loss of the letter 't' is estuary English, and some of the blame is surely to be placed with the education system. I have several friends who were teachers, so I am not biased, but I do remember quite clearly my eldest daughter's geography teacher, when asked why when Clare had spelled something incorrectly, did he not correct it. That's the job of the English teacher we were told, I only teach Geography. From that we assumed that either his English was poor (because if I had been in his position I would not have been able to leave an error), or that he really could not care. Perhaps that is the root of the problem? It all appals me, nothing annoys me more than to find it used in the wrong way, especially when it comes to plurals. Beans does not become bean's because there is more than one, but it continues to be written so. Makes my blood boil, I have to say. From what I saw on television they are bringing back proper English into schools and not before time!
 
You are so right about shoes not cleaned i was in a bank head office yesterday all the men in suits there shoes never been cleaned since the day they were brought me and wife will never deal with anyone with uncleaned shoes mind you they are only plastic? we always had a shoe polish box and still do im of out now but i will shave @ at least wipe my trainers @ thats only going to shops we do live in the land of the unwashed?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
We had Cherry Blossom shoe-polish, Dad always liked clean shoes. I've still got the brushes too but I use that new stuff in a bottle with sponge on the tip now. I think we've already mentioned Blanco in a white block for summer sandals. My Husband used it during National Service. (That's another thread!!) Also my Brother had Dubbin for his football boots.
Mom used to tie dusters on our feet and we played skating on the lino with Betterwear Lavender polish. Happy Days!!
rosie.
 
Smarties aren't in round tubes anymore, they are in a funny hexagonal tube thing with a flip-top! Years ago I used to save those plastic tops as they had alphabet letters on the underside.
Linc-o-lin Beer shampoo was in a little barrel, it was easier to grip than smooth bottles, or those funny sachets. (Like washing-machine liquid.)
It sounds as though I only buy products for the packaging, but that isn't the truth!!
rosie.
 
Do they still have Smarties in Square boxes Rosie? Mum's rouge was in a sort of cardboard round purple box. I saw blue bags once a long time ago. I also liked getting things like Ovaltine and Drinking Chocolate in tins. I watched on How once how they packaged tea in brown paper and string. I had a relation worked for Typhoo in the early 50's. She operated a leaver and the loose tea went in to the packages. She did it wrong and the tea went one way and the packets the other. She was fired but walked in to another job straight away. I think it was Brum.
I remember only at Christmas we had figs in fine wooden boxes and cocktail biscuits in them too with cheese footballs. And Shnitzels or something and they had sort of padded paper inside like a posh soft beermat consistency.
They used to sell Dundee cake in tins also.
I gave my old tins to a friend who collects them I am now told my Quality St with the old fashined lady and the bombadier might be worth something, and the Blue 'Roses' tins. SO I am kwwping my marquess of Queensbury tea caddy which is much younger.Have some of my grandad's cigarette boxes gold coloured.
 
I'm not sure about boxed Smarties Nico, but I do remember wooden boxes of dates at Christmas with a funny long fork like a stalk.
I had some beautiful Blue-Bird tins but they went rusty, wish I hadn't thrown them out, saw the on T.V. recently!!
The rouge would have been Bourjois probably, mine is faded green and gold and has a red rose on the lid. Cosmetics were packaged more prettily then, I have some Evening in Paris containers in the shape of a shoe, a shell and an owl, no perfume left in the bottles...it would be toxic now I should think!!
Mom's favourite perfume were Hypotique and Electrique, only for birthdays from Dad, and they usually had a cat or poodle etc. holding the bottle.
rosie.
 
Rosie, there is a range of makeup called Bourjois today. I expect it's connected. And it's trendy! Viv.
 
Yes Viv, I love their makeup , I think it's still the same company....I'm not trendy though!!! I used to love playing with makeup with my grandaughters and now they are grown up they like heavy eyeliner...guess who got the blame?! I remember having some free stick-on eyeliners in a magazine (Petticoat?? or Honey??) but they didn't work and started to peel off before I got home!!
Do you remember coloured hairspray? I used some dark red on my hair (which was then brown not grey!) and it rained but I had a white coat on, I looked like a nightmare! There used to be coloured setting lotions too which were handy as I'm allergic to hair dyes. Happy days.
rosie.
 
Maybe it was blue, I remembered it as purple. Nan would say I going to put me muck up on. Was the date fork plastic? I remember a picture on the box dark blue with a lady like a madonna. Nan had a round pale blue tin with Quickies in to freshen her up she said.
 
We had a very heavy mower when I was little, I was allowed to cut the grass patch (couldn't call it a lawn). The handle was a "T" shape onto swirly horizontal blades, and it had a little roller. I loved the noise it made as I pushed and pulled. (I was allowed to use garden shears to cut the hedge too!) Seems so dangerous now!
Fly-killer was in a pump-thing, was it called a "Flit-Gun"?? It used to go up your arm if you weren't careful!
Air-Wick was green liquid in a jar, literally with a wick.
I was thinking about our garden-shed and started remembering these things.
rosie.
 
We had a mower like that too I just liked the sound it made. I loved our garden shed full of cobwebs and huge spiders. we had proper deckchairs in it, zinc buckets baths and a coal scuttle. A scythe, I was allowed to scythe with it too, long handled forks, ladies tools, I iked beans sticks for some reason, I had a toy wheel barrow and a mini metal watering can. The water butt was next to the shed it was about 5 foot high, I liked watching the waterboatmen in it and things. Dad drilled 2 holes in the side, which nan said was stupid, you had to run past it when it was full.He called it the 2 little boys, you can imagine, I used to pyt dandelion heads in the holes. Yes thanks for the memoreis Rosie.
 
I remember when my dad came home one Christmas with a GAT air-pistol - a real cheapo thing that would fire pellets, darts and corks. He shot down the Christmas decorations with a fusillade of corks, and my mother went crackers. I can remember being doubled up with laughter, as it was so untypical of my old man!

G
 
Had a spring loaded gun/rifle as a kid that fired corks, but I found it better to put a spoon in the muzzle as it had a better effect at knocking down whatever the "target" was.
jimbo
 
We had a faze of them at school. They were banned. That was very early 60's. I remember one that fired corks the lad that had it had a string on the cork so he could retrieve it. They also banned catapults and little plastic green men that hung from a parachute and water bombs. And in the late 70's we had a craze on clickers like they train dogs with now. We all went around clcking and in the lessons. The teacher couldn't tell who was clicking. Then we resported to clcking ball point pens. Only for horribl teachers though. I was pleased to see that The Works are selling little carboard planes you can launch on rubber bands still. Ther noses are pre weighted, ours had to be with a penny. I think they came in crisp grease proof type wrappers in cornflake packets or you bought them like that. They used to be fine balsa wood I think.
 
Can anyone remember transfers. You could buy them or they were free with some comics. They were little square patches and you put them on the back of your hand or arm, dab a little water on them, wait - and then peel off the top and hey presto you have a little picture. I know you can get them now but they are aimed at looking like tattoos.
 
Yes I remember transfers Carolina. I think they went way back as mum talked about them. I used to get stickers with silly quotes on or just names in bubble gum maybe. I wanted the stickers rather than the product they were free with.
There was a craze much later on when kids collected miniature dummies and various love beads and worry beads.
 
You're right about that Nico; wanting the free gift rather than the product. Must have bought many magazines just for the free gift. Remember the free ladybird ring? I never got one but friends did. Can't remember the name of the magazine it came in, maybe Judy or Bunty. You also used to get free gifts in cereal boxes. We had loads of free submarines - again can't remember the cereal product - but remember the subs, used to play with them in the bath. Viv.
 
I played wih my airfix model boats in the bath that grandad had sat hours making for me, and the glue melted. I put all my toys in the bath for some reason. Didn't some of the subs squirt? I saved all my gollywog labels and got a cheap pottery goly playing a drum. I liked the brooch though. In the 90's I was still at it, saving all the Guinness ring pulls and I got an umbrella and 4 tee shirts.
My step daughters still have their Andrex puppy and they are late 30's. Mum used to get My Weekley and other and there were pastry cutters and funnels all very useful. I needed a funnel recently. We had one in the shed going back to another post. Mum called it a tun dish. I gave my partner a ring from a cracker it glitters and is on sort of elastic. She still keeps it.
I gave Nan a snake ring, gold pained plastic with a green eye. it was from a plastic egg dispenser. She always wore it on her scarf. Remember the tiger tails from Esso and the amber dimpled glasses free with the petrol that made your milk look vile.
Nan collected plastic flowers from Daz.
 
Nico said:
I played wih my airfix model boats in the bath that grandad had sat hours making for me, and the glue melted. I put all my toys in the bath for some reason. Didn't some of the subs squirt? I saved all my gollywog labels and got a cheap pottery goly playing a drum. I liked the brooch though. In the 90's I was still at it, saving all the Guinness ring pulls and I got an umbrella and 4 tee shirts.
My step daughters still have their Andrex puppy and they are late 30's. Mum used to get My Weekley and other and there were pastry cutters and funnels all very useful. I needed a funnel recently. We had one in the shed going back to another post. Mum called it a tun dish. I gave my partner a ring from a cracker it glitters and is on sort of elastic. She still keeps it.
I gave Nan a snake ring, gold pained plastic with a green eye. it was from a plastic egg dispenser. She always wore it on her scarf. Remember the tiger tails from Esso and the amber dimpled glasses free with the petrol that made your milk look vile.
Nan collected plastic flowers from Daz.
Click to expand...
My mates and i used to climb over the fence of the local petrol station and recycle the coupons from the bin yard that people had handed over for the said glasses. Our house was full of the free glasses and we didn't even have a car!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top