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Ice cream before the ice cream van

Blacksmith

Blacksmith

master brummie
Before Mr Whippy, and all those who followed, I can remember the Walls ice cream being delivered by a man on a back to front trike, with an ice box attached to the front. Of course, the ice cream wasn't the runnu sort, it was in little blocks, wrapped in paper and the cone, or cornet was not the round sort, but a rectangular one to fit the block in.

The ice cream man had block of dry ice in his freezer box, and we always used to beg some off him, becsuse it made fizzy drinks froth up. Of course, with health and safety, it would not be allowed now.

The following picture, whilst not very clear, shows the ice cream man in Herondale Road (South Yardley / Sheldon) in approximately 1957. Notice how empty of cars the road is. I bet we couldn't play cricket in it now!

WallsIceCreamMan-HerondaleRoad.jpg
 
Great pic Blacksmith. I remember on the beach at Great Yarmouth an Italian selling from a tray (obviously couldn't peddle a bike on the sand!). It was the whitest of white vanilla and I've never tasted the like since. I thought I'd got a photo of me with a cone but having enhanced the pic I can now see it was a chocolate digestive!
 
My dad and his brother had a bike and sold Askey's ice cream, I think it was the ice cream that was called that or ot could have been the biscuit, you forget what they told you dont you
 
My sister in law lives in Herondale, and beleive me there are a lot more cars parked there now.
 
We had one come round who used to have a little donkey cart when we lived in Kings Norton in the early fifties. We lived in a prefab in Fairlie Crescent, I can't remember whether it was a little pony or a donkey tho
 
Patty said:
My dad and his brother had a bike and sold Askey's ice cream, I think it was the ice cream that was called that or ot could have been the biscuit, you forget what they told you dont you
Click to expand...

Patty, Askeys were the cones and wafers. My folks ran a Tonibell van for a while and used them.
Mike
 
Apparently my nan used to make ice cream (from home?) and sell it to factory workers. Not sure where though!

Kaz
 
Denise, I presume the picture is in your pictures on the computer...so..

Click post reply.
Type your message
Scroll down and click manage attachments
That will give you another screen
Click the top Browse
Then find your picture and select it by Clicking
That should get you back to your browse screen
Click upload and then scroll down and click close
That should get you back to your typed message
Then the only thing remaining is to click submit reply

Hope I have not missed anything...good luck.
 
My icecream was Midland Counties. In a waxed cardboard cup with a similar top cover with a little tab on it. You would fold the cover and use it as a scoop but sometimes the contents was frozen too hard and you had too wait a bit. (think I have written about this before) The best though was from the shop in Henly In Arden I thought and I think others on here have written about it. However here in Canada the Dairy Queen Dilly Bars are not too shabby.

Hmm think I have some in the basement freezer...hmmm
 
well explained Rupert but as a precaution I always preview post before submitting:)then you can see if it works:)
 
I suppose...but you can always edit your post after. In fact if it does not work click edit and add the attachment.
 
Hi all!
In about 1963/4 a friend told me about this great Sunday job. We had to meet at Walls's depot where a large-ish van was provided for a fierce little man who drove like a maniac. In it were half-a-dozen insulated boxes on wheels (like the back-to-front bike but without the bike bits, if you see what I mean - in other words a hand-pushed box). Anyway into the boxes went dry ice and various blocks, cornets, wafers, lollies and choc-ices (my favourite). Each lad was dropped (almost literally) with his box in his patch. Then he had to push it round all Sunday selling the ices. The only pay was 2/6d in the pound, if I remember correctly. I think the driver bought it off Walls for probably quite a bit of a margin. My friend used to do Aston/Nechells while I had Solihull. Guess who made the most money? One of us had to be refilled twice on a hot day; the other never sold all of the first load.

Another point on ice cream: does anyone remember the Maple Leaf Cafe on Washwood Heath Road, Ward End? It was between Foley Road and Rogers Road, I think. It was owned by a Canadian gent (obviously) who had had his larynx removed and spoke "from the stomach". He wore a cravat, the first I had ever seen in real life. Anyway, I never went into the cafe (I seem to remember it was a bit "posh-looking") but he had a little annex where he sold homemade ice cream in cornets. I got addicted to the coffee variety and used have one on the way back to Thornton Road school after lunch (well, dinner to put in correct Brummie). That would be about 1958.

Thanks, Rupert, for triggering my long-buried memories :-)

(Sorry for length of post, peeps)
(I had to disable smilies because of "lollies" ;-)

Stan
 
Blacksmith there used to be a man not that many years ago who used to sell ice cream out of a fridge on his bike. I too remember those ice cream blocks and square cones and sometimes the ice cream was a bit old and sticky and yellow on the outside. If any of you go to Arley by Bewdly go across the river to the local post office and try their ice cream. Delivered from Cornwall and even sells out in the winter. Any flavour you'd like to think of by the scoop. Jean.
 
Mossy Denise lived in Holte road the same as myself. Do you remember the ice cream from the shop up the road Denise I think that was Lyons make.
 
Rupert said:
My icecream was Midland Counties. In a waxed cardboard cup with a similar top cover with a little tab on it. You would fold the cover and use it as a scoop but sometimes the contents was frozen too hard and you had too wait a bit. (think I have written about this before) The best though was from the shop in Henly In Arden I thought and I think others on here have written about it. However here in Canada the Dairy Queen Dilly Bars are not too shabby.

Hmm think I have some in the basement freezer...hmmm
Click to expand...

My Auntie and Uncle were the owners of Henley Ice Cream, for further details see " Google Tudor Daries " there name was Fathers. https://henleyicecream.org.uk/History.htm
 
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An Italian ice cream vendor inthe Bull Ring c1898. I'll bet it was expensive then. I don't see many kids crowded round like there would be today.

Phil
 

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  • City Bull Ring Italian Ice Cream Vendor 1898 .jpg
    City Bull Ring Italian Ice Cream Vendor 1898 .jpg
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We always fetched our Wall's ice cream bricks from a shop and brought them home wrapped in newspaper like chips. We only ever had the 1/- vanilla brick but for a treat at my Grans we had Bird's Chocolate Instant Whip over our ice cream as well. Happy days!
 
Jean, was the ice cream shop the one just round the corner up the hill opposite the park. Hope you understand what I mean, but there was another shop as you went up the road on the right hand side. Hope I am remember ing correctly

Denise :(
 
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