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Things We Sent Off For

I have sent to womens freebies on several occasions and the only thing that came was definately not for a woman of my age!!!!!
 
Sent off for a few Golly badges - collected the paper Gollies that used to be slipped into the back of the label on Robertson's jam jars. Had a few of them. Also used to be a member of a make-up club (might have been Coty or Yardley) and you received free samples. All very exciting getting a package in the post with your own name on it. Viv.
 
There was: I believe there still is in some quarters, a censure against golliwogs. But, I am pleased to report, that at least two shops in Paignton sell them.

My middle son had one; it went most places with him. Eventually little was left of it. We still have one who sits on top of a wardrobe in my house.
 
I have quite a few Golliwogs, and they are still sold around this area too. Can't be doing with all this PC nonsense. My son had one when he was a little boy, in the 1960's. it's also a bit ragged now, but he still keeps it. I am still sending for things, sent for an Elizabeth Arden lipstick this week out of a magazine, just had to pay the postage of £2.99...a bargain eh?
 
In the 1950s I was a member of Trex Club. Each pack of Trex had part of a jigsaw of 'Tubby Trex' on the flap under the lid. I seem to remember there were 6 or 8 pieces to a Tubby and when you had a complete Tubby you could send off for a set of cards to put in an album. There were 25 cards to an album on a range of subjects and each card had a colour picture on one side and interesting information on the other. I collected 5 albums in total (and yes I still have them!) the titles being This Wonderful World (with an introduction by Sir John Hunt), Isn't it Strange (introduced by George Cansdale), They Gave it a Name (introduced by Mr Pastry - I can still see him dancing The Lancers on his own!!!), How What and Why (introduced by Professor Low - not sure who he was) and Don't You Believe It (introduced by Marcus Morris, editor of Eagle, Girl, Swift and Robin).
 
Remember the ads on the back pages of the American D.C Comics ? Stuff like X Ray Specs, A thing to maked flames come out of your cars exhaust pipe, Daisy air rifles, and re useable 'working' hand grenades.

I used to think the states must be so cool if you could get all that stuff there. Of course, at 10 years old you dont realise it aint actually going to work do you.
 
Mom collected tokens for a rubber rabbit glove puppet, I think it was "Magic" margarine. We had the Weetabix viewer too.
rosie.
 
I used to listen to radio radio luxembourg Teen and Twenty Disc Club hosted by Jimmy Savil and sent off for a bracelet with a coin attached saying I was a member. Just junk
 
mw0njm said:
hi.all my dad sent off for a piece of plastic that you put on a newspaper to make the print larger,so you could read
it.i had that for years and used it to look at wiring diagrams in workshop manuals. but sadly i have lost it
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I bought one for my outlaw, from a big bookshop for an arm and a leg, she wont use it but she wont give it back. I have a jewellers magnifier, it makes me laugh when people piut it to their eye the wrong way round, I also have an optician's magnifying glass in a leather case it flips over on a hinge, my great great uncle was an optician.
 
maggs said:
I have quite a few Golliwogs, and they are still sold around this area too. Can't be doing with all this PC nonsense. My son had one when he was a little boy, in the 1960's. it's also a bit ragged now, but he still keeps it. I am still sending for things, sent for an Elizabeth Arden lipstick this week out of a magazine, just had to pay the postage of £2.99...a bargain eh?
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I had a soft gollywog a brooch and pottery ones saved from the Robinsons jar, re your PC comment . I have never seen a person yet that lloks like a Golliwog, but I have seen people who look like Jemima from Jackanory, I used to work with a chap whose nickname was The Honey Monster. I have seen babes who look like cabbage patch dolls. One of mu boss's nicknames was Plug, (from the Bash Street Kids) another was Basil Brush and Mr Potato Head, and they knew they were called that. Maybe they ought to get offended.
 
Apart from my Gollies, I had a Tinger and Tucker Club Badgem A magpie Badge, I saved all the ring pulls from the Guinnes cans and I had 2 tee shirts and a fine umbrella. I collected 3d cards from Tea BAgs for the WWLF. My stepdaughter had an Andrex puppy, he is still here. Dad saved Embassy coupons we got a coffee set, green shield stamps. We got a tiger tail from Esso some vile amber tumblers, glass cups and saucers, Nan saved Daz coupons till she had plastic bouquet.
I can't remember what I saved the crisp tokens for. I had a card stamped and got a free pint from Brew X1
 
maggs said:
I have quite a few Golliwogs, and they are still sold around this area too. Can't be doing with all this PC nonsense. My son had one when he was a little boy, in the 1960's. it's also a bit ragged now, but he still keeps it. I am still sending for things, sent for an Elizabeth Arden lipstick this week out of a magazine, just had to pay the postage of £2.99...a bargain eh?
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There was a news item last year I think that the Queen's souvenir shop sells gollies too.
 
Mum had 2 Tupperware parties, she got a free double sided pastry cutter shaped like a hammer and with the end of it you could crimp tarts and a party susan which was impossible to clean and went out of shape. I remember the hostess showing us how to 'burp' the lids to expel the air, if we burped it one end the other end came open.I got a free plastic coated apron I think it was Dolmio sauce with the paper. If you bought the copy of the newspaper where I worked for a month or so you got a free carriage clock. This was one one of the schemes to boost (fiddle) the circulation figures.
 
Just as small note, the "Golliwog" was never a racist icon , as the PC mafia would tell you, in days gone by it just denoted the "Exotic", that's why Robinsons used it to show the exotic fruits and ingredients in its foods, from far off places.Paul
 
I had an ex colleague who found Golliwogs offensive, to her. We argued about Golliwogs. I think she got the wrong end of the stick sometimes as she told a Scots colleague she thought Ballamory was offensive to the Scots. We had a good laugh about that. Why did they remove the Golly, the Golly on the jar I wonder?In our local council you cannot call someone my dear in a work situation, but people of a certain age use that terminology as do I sometimes. Thanks for pointing that out Paul.
 
I only came across that type of thing once Nico, coming from, and being bought up in Birmingham, I tend to call all kids/girls and ladies "Love", one old dear who I helped from the Coop shop in our village with her shopping, complained to me (I am not your Love or ever have been), I apologised and explained that in the midlands every one used the expression, like "me Duck", in the east midlands area, but she wouldn't have it, and said it was very derogatory and sexist,??????? as my dad would say "nought so queer as folk" paul.
 
My partner found it/finds it familiar as the Brits say my love my darlin, my dad said, how are ya darlin to ladies. I got called My lurve mur daaarlin, muy dear, all in one sentence by 2 barmaids, one in Lydney and one in Devon. Nan would have said your old old lady was a queer covey (co as in poe.) Old Cov and Leics are me duck too and in Malvern.
 
hi guys ;
i sent six pence to the tea company for one of there albuns for tea card stickers [orange label tea ] with the six penny stamp on the packet which you cold take to the shop get a packet of tea as well i collected the picicture cards of the indian tea pickers and its story of history of tea it was quite a think album i wonder if any body as kept theres ;best wishes Astonian;;
 
No I didn't keep mine. A family friend had some mounted of old footballers and she got a buyer but they hardly offered anything for them.
 
Nico said:
I had an ex colleague who found Golliwogs offensive, to her. We argued about Golliwogs. I think she got the wrong end of the stick sometimes as she told a Scots colleague she thought Ballamory was offensive to the Scots. We had a good laugh about that. Why did they remove the Golly, the Golly on the jar I wonder?In our local council you cannot call someone my dear in a work situation, but people of a certain age use that terminology as do I sometimes. Thanks for pointing that out Paul.
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If I remember rightly the golliwog was removed in retaliation for something Idi Amin had done !
 
Hi Alan, I had one of those tea albums and stuck in ladies in Assam and Darjeeling, picking tea and other history of tea making.paul
 
Getting back to things we sent for by mail order, there were two well known names which some of you may remember, Wm Penn Limited and Headquarters & General Supplies. The former my uncle referred to as "a bunch of twisters" and they sold mainly junk, whereas the latter used to sell, amongst other things, tents. H & GS went into liquidation in 1969 and Penn in 1986.

I never had any dealings with H & GS, but I did order up a "kit to build a powerful electric motor" from Penn, and what a lot of rubbish it was when it arrived! The armature was a bit of folded strip steel around which you wrapped half a dozen turns of enamelled copper wire and then slipped it onto a short spindle. The commutator was the bared ends of the copper wire, and of course it didn't work. It didn't even attempt to turn and when my uncle saw it, he cursed them up hill and down dale. But a fortnight later he had engineered me a proper motor and provided me with a Leclanche cell to power it. Now, who remembers those?

HQ.jpgPenn.jpg

Maurice
 
Nico said:
What did he do Baz, remove his hairnet in a public place?
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It was a joke that was going around at the time, you'd need to be a certain age to remember it.
I daren't repeat it in this politically correct environment, I'd be "struck off "for life !
 
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