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Items that have faded away

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Just remembered the other word my mum used for antimaccassars, it was 'chair backs'. I think that specifically referred to the headrest cover. Then there were also arm covers i.e. they fitted over each arm rest to prolong the life of the areas which could become grubby and worn. But the head and arm covers had to match of course! Viv.
 
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I remember having 'Cocoa' at bedtime but I don't know if it was Rowntrees.
 
Stitcher
If that was during or immediately after the war I would think it probably wasn't rowntrees. As i understand it, chocolate (and I presume also cocoa as they were usually the same firms) manufactuers split up the country into regions and each factory supplied a particular region presumably to reduce transport costs. Down in Sussex it was Frys factory (though owned by Cadbury). I would think Birmingham would by Bournville and Rowntrees would probably be the north of England
 
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I don't know if steralised milk has been mentioned in this long thread. A few weeks ago my milkman (Express Dairies) told me that they had closed the botting plant in Liverpool and were now importing bottles of stera from Germany at 30% extra cost. Not good for our dairy farmers or our national balance of payments. He had told me today that he is no longer collecting empty stera bottles and is having to tell his customers to put them in the recycling bins.


In addition to this not being very environmentally friendly, it looks like pricing stera milk out of the market so this is a product which looks about to fade away.
 
Bus Conductors and Conductresses (I still remember one such fondly)


Bernie
 
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Uniformed commissionaires/ doormen outside cinemas.
When I was young a school friends dad worked as a commissionaire/ doorman at the "Edgbaston", I honestly thought he he owned the cinema!
 
The latter were always known unofficially as "Clippees", fond memories of a few myself:

Simon
 
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What have they done to the mint Aero? Just had one and the individual sections of chocolate are ultra smooth and round. Bring back the square barrel top chunks please! Viv.
 
wam said:
I always spelt it clippie myself. That's how my mum and dad met - they were both clippies for London Transport out of Croydon. They didn't need the clippie after they put doors on the bus and let the driver collect fares.
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Remember when parcels came on the Midland Red. My 1st job was to go and sign for them 3 times a day and leave them at the parcels' office at the bus station. They were all adverts set in hot metal.
 
I always thought Clippie was a London word as I never heard it in Birmingham on either BCT or Midland Red. We always said conductress.
 
Mine had tiddlywinks and a Steeple chase game and bingo and marjong? My friend's had one older than mine and it had little baskets shaped like a shuttle cock which you fired in to the air and they caught flowers? I think.
 
DavidGrain said:
I always thought Clippie was a London word as I never heard it in Birmingham on either BCT or Midland Red. We always said conductress.
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It may well have originated in London but the term was used widely including here in Dublin. Quite possibly it didn't get used in Birmingham at all.
 
My sister was a Bus conductress in the 60s/70s and my ex husband was a driver in the 60s/70s/80s.
I lived opposite the garage and knew almost all of the staff.
I never heard the word Clippie used for any of the girls( I also believe it is a London word) and the only staff that used to call conductors Guards
were the Irish lads so I presume it was a word used for conductors in Ireland.
 
Anyone remember the old stone hot water bottles. You were always banging your toes on them. They used to burn you if you weren't careful, and Mom would always wrap them in a towel or similar so that we wouldn't do that.

Judy
 
Jayell. Worse were the aluminium hot water bottles. My mother once burned her stomach quite badly on one
 
Jayell said:
Anyone remember the old stone hot water bottles. You were always banging your toes on them. They used to burn you if you weren't careful, and Mom would always wrap them in a towel or similar so that we wouldn't do that.

Judy
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We still have them and use them when the temperatures go very low. Fortunately that is not very often. We still have coal fires here as well as neither of us like central heating.
 
Jayell said:
Anyone remember the old stone hot water bottles. You were always banging your toes on them. They used to burn you if you weren't careful, and Mom would always wrap them in a towel or similar so that we wouldn't do that.

Judy
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We had them too. There used to be a hell of a crash when we kids kicked it out of the bed. (Good job it never landed on the guzunder !).
 
carolina said:
Nico in the compendium was it chinese checkers?
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I had a separate game. Weighted Plastic fish with a tiny magnet on their noses and fishing rods and lines with tony metal 'hooks'. In my compendium there was also a word game you had to cut our the letters yourself on card.
 
I didn't realise there were any of the old stone hot water bottles still around, but obviously they are still in use!!
 
I only ever got to use this type of hot water bottle when staying with my nan, at home we had the rubber ones with a towel wraped around.
paul
 
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