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Birmingham Christmas of the past

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The Christmas Eve of 1890 sounds very lively, the effects on businesses and services being evident in this article - appearing in the newspaper on the 25th of December! So newspapers were delivered on Christmas Day.

A bulging Market Hall. The Town Hall basement taken over by the GPO for the wealth of cards and parcels. A bustle at the railway stations on a par with Whitsun holidays. And a rush for Postal Orders (remember them ?) for (obviously) last minute gifts. All suggest a good Christmas trading year. Viv.

CDB37284-CCC3-4E9C-96E4-42CF6914A113.jpegDD33D742-8665-4E30-B16B-4A661A4A713E.jpegC15BA768-5A5A-4B5E-8647-D862EE920271.jpeg0CC093DA-149F-40D8-8A9B-147C96B78912.jpeg
Source: British Newspaper Archive
 
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Smudger said:
Christmas day deliveries wow. I think at one time there was more than one delivery possibly three. Remember when you would always tip the service people, postman, milkman, coalman etc. The milkman, coalman, have all but disappeared. !
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we have them all still here, the butcher the baker milkman postman. but Alas no candlestick maker. i always tip the postman.on Christmas eve:grinning:
 
Smudger said:
Christmas day deliveries wow. I think at one time there was more than one delivery possibly three. Remember when you would always tip the service people, postman, milkman, coalman etc. The milkman, coalman, have all but disappeared. !
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Smudger, I seem to remember two posts on most days for sure and at least the same on Christmas Day. I recall Christmas Day because I had two aunts that had no children and I always got a card from them with either a 10 shilling note inside and as I got older a pound note. As they say this was a big darn deal to me!
 
In 1867 there seems to have been a move among grocers to discourage the giving of Christmas boxes. I assume these “Christmas boxes” were produce rather than cash.

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It was still being discouraged in 1915 !
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While in 1915 a show of appreciation for those making sure electricity and gas supplies continued during WW1. Half a crown (today = 25p ?) per week for three weeks.

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Richard Dye said:
Smudger, I seem to remember two posts on most days for sure and at least the same on Christmas Day. I recall Christmas Day because I had two aunts that had no children and I always got a card from them with either a 10 shilling note inside and as I got older a pound note. As they say this was a big darn deal to me!
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Richard
I think the 2 a day deliveries were only discontinued about 10 years ago (though getting a bit ancient, my memory may have contracted that a bit)
 
mw0njm. said:
now there is a trend of Christmas eve boxes. what next:(


'Christmas boxes' were originally literally earthenware boxes. In medieval England these boxes were used by the poor (servants, apprentices etc.) to save money throughout the year
i always give the postman ChRISTMAS BOX

Victorian Christmas Boxes - The Postal Museum​

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The problem with giving the postal person a christmas box is we rarely have the same one two days running. We have at least three & one of them (a male ) won`t deliver if our ferocious westie is in the garden.
 
mikejee said:
Richard
I think the 2 a day deliveries were only discontinued about 10 years ago (though getting a bit ancient, my memory may have contracted that a bit)
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Mike, that’s a pretty deal! About 10 years ago we all saw the impact of the internet and the reduction in certain types of mail. Many in the US have stopped sending mailed Christmas cards as the cost of mail and the card seems to know no boundaries.
 
Smudger said:
The problem with giving the postal person a christmas box is we rarely have the same one two days running. We have at least three & one of them (a male ) won`t deliver if our ferocious westie is in the garden.
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i have had the same one for years he try'd to show the dog once who was boss..he lost . i had a postcard once it said pete mw0njm and my postcode on it thats all from the ukraine. it was delivered to me:grinning:
 
mikejee said:
Richard
I think the 2 a day deliveries were only discontinued about 10 years ago (though getting a bit ancient, my memory may have contracted that a bit)
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Somewhere between 2002and 2004 for businesses, although I believe urban deliveries stopped in1951, need an expert to confirm this
Bob
 
I'm sure I had two domestic deliveries a day for some years in Reading, which I came to in 1981
 
Royal Mail is bringing back the second daily delivery because of a surge in online shopping. The postal giant confirmed plans to launch a second round later in the day, but only for parcels. It comes 16 years after Royal Mail axed the second post to slash costs
 
In either 1973 or 74 I was a student and did two weeks as a casual postie on the Christmas post. Lots of students did it in those days, it was fairly good casual pay and was welcome cash before Christmas. My round was in Kingstanding.

It wasn’t until I did this that I really found out what hard work was. Kingstanding is hilly, and trudging up and down roads like Tresham Road (which we called Tresham Hill for good reason) was the worst part. At first I wore shoes with heels (! never wore flats), after one day on the job the plimsoles came out, despite the cold and icy weather conditions. The hills were challenging and it was at this point that I realised my knees were not that strong, even though I was young.

Once you’d found the house the next challenge was to negotiate the letter box. The worst ones were those on a tight spring, almost impossible to open, and often with a barking dog on the other side. My hands were in bad shape after two weeks, badly bruised and raw from prising open the different models of letter box.

I only did one round of deliveries per day, but I think there was a second delivery. The regular postman, I seem to remember, sorted all the mail for us beforehand and packed it into a canvas bag. He also added a few smaller parcels. This meant we casuals didn’t have to be at the sorting office very early but the poor regular postman had already done a day’s work by the time we’d arrive. Then off we’d go into the bitterly cold weather.

This was probably the most challenging physical job I’ve ever had to do; over any terrain, negotiating all kinds of obstacles while carrying a heavy bag in all weathers and in pain from my knees and hands. Respect to all you posties out there ! Viv.
 
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i dont think it is a easy job being a new postman/curier here in the sticks. some have no house numbers most are names some dwellings are up small tracks.how they find them i do not know. but they do well done. da iawn.
 
Vivienne14 said:
Had forgotten the letter boxes at the bottom of doors Smudge! And there were many, a very popular style of door in the 1970s. Shall add backache to the list of postie ailments. Viv.
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i had a neighbour in brum who decided to put a letter box in a front door. so out with the jigsaw.when he finished it was more like a cat flap,:( it cost him a new door. :grinning:
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Let’s pop into a 1970s Christmas at Hudson’s Bookshop. I loved this place; the smell, the colours and the warmth ! And look, just 15p for a Ladyburd book. Not sure I’d have left my young children alone in there while I went shopping. Viv.
CF5D8F81-45D3-4C63-B36C-85B51F5E1B83.jpeg4968F2F8-3ED2-4CFE-8DCB-F128EF4012C0.jpegF741730C-7C20-41ED-A053-7454C499F996.jpeg
Source: Birmingham Daily Post, British Newspaper Archive
 
brilliant,Viv 1950s i used to buy my Ian allan loco spotters books from there 2/6d they had a great sellection of anoraks. oops i mean books:grinning:
 
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