Someone  asked the other day, 'What was your favourite  'fast food' when you were growing up?'
'We  didn't have fast food when I was growing up,' I  informed him.
'All the food was slow.'  
'C'mon, seriously.. Where did you  eat?'  
'It  was a place called 'home,'' I explained.
'Mum cooked every day and when Dad got home from work, we sat down together at the dining room table,      

And if I didn't like what she put on my plate, I was allowed to sit there until I did like it.'

By this time, the lad was laughing so hard I was afraid he was going to suffer serious internal damage, so I didn't tell him the part about how I had to have permission to leave the table.

But here are some other things I would have told him about my childhood if I'd  figured his system could have handled it:

Some parents NEVER owned their own house, wore jeans,  set foot on a golf course, travelled out of the country or had a credit card.

My parents never drove me to school... I had a bicycle that weighed probably 50 pounds, and only had one speed  (slow).

We didn't have a television in our house until I was 18.
It was, of course, black and white,  and the station went off the air at 10 PM, after playing the national anthem and epilogue; it  came back on the air at about 6 am. And there was usually a locally produced news and farm show on, featuring local  people...

Pizza's were not delivered to our home... but milk was.

All newspapers were delivered by boys and all boys delivered newspapers --My brother delivered a newspaper, seven days a  week.  He had to get up at 6 every morning.

Film stars kissed with their mouths shut. At least,  they did in the films. There were no movie ratings because all movies were responsibly  produced for everyone to enjoy viewing, without profanity or violence or almost anything offensive.

Growing up isn't what it used to be, is it?

MEMORIES  from a friend:
My Dad is cleaning out my grandmother's house (she  died recently) and he brought me an old lemonade bottle.  
In the bottle top was a stopper with a bunch of holes in it. I knew immediately what it was, but my daughter had no idea. 
She thought  they had tried to make it a salt shaker or something. I knew it as the bottle that sat on the end of the ironing board to 'sprinkle' clothes with because we didn't have steam irons.  

How  many do you remember?  

Headlight dip-switches on the floor of the car.
Ignition switches on the dashboard.
Trouser leg clips for bicycles without chain guards.  
Soldering irons you heated on a gas burner.
Using hand signals for cars without turn indicators.

Older Than Dirt Quiz:
Count all the ones that you remember, not the ones you were told about. Ratings at the bottom.

1.  Sweet cigarettes
2.  Coffee shops with juke  boxes 
3.  Home milk delivery in glass bottles  
4.  Party lines  on  the telephone
5.  Newsreels before the movie  
6.  TV test patterns that came on at night after the  last show and were there until TV shows started again in the morning. 
(There were only 2  channels  [if you were fortunate])
7.  Peashooters 
8.  33 rpm  records
9.  45 RPM records
10.  Hi-fi's
11.  Metal ice trays with  levers
12.  Blue flashbulbs
13.  Cork popguns 
14.  Wash  tub wringers 

If  you remembered 0-3 = You're still young
If  you remembered 3-6 = You are getting older
If  you remembered 7-10 = Don't tell your age
If  you remembered 11-14 = You're positively  ancient!  




 

I got 12, I didn't remember blue flash bulbs or metal ice trays, only fast food we had was our local chippy and we could have that around once a month. I used to get 'Fridays ninepence' which got me into Athy baths and threepence spends, on Saturday we got a shilling which got me into Athy baths, threepence worth of broken biscuits from Woolworths and entry to the Saturday matinee

Nine.

5 minutes ago, athywhite1958 said:

I got 12, I didn't remember blue flash bulbs or metal ice trays, 

ditto, and I fit the bill with all of the other stuff apart from lack of telly - my older brother used to work in an aerial rigger / tv repair place, so he'd bring loads of old sets home, which I'd dick about with - got electric shocks but became a dab hand at horizontal hold.

In fact that one question would sort your age out: what is "horizontal hold?"

a) summat you adjust on your tv

b) a wrestling move

c) a sexual deviation

On the subject of sweet cigarettes, if they still had them would you see kids chomping e-sweet cigarettes nowadays?  Vaping kayli?

Same as Satan.

Did the chippy and the pie shop not count as fast food ?

6 hours ago, bolty58 said:

 Someone  asked the other day, 'What was your favourite  'fast food' when you were growing up?'
'We  didn't have fast food when I was growing up,' I  informed him.
'All the food was slow.'  
'C'mon, seriously.. Where did you  eat?'  
'It  was a place called 'home,'' I explained.
'Mum cooked every day and when Dad got home from work, we sat down together at the dining room table,      

And if I didn't like what she put on my plate, I was allowed to sit there until I did like it.'

By this time, the lad was laughing so hard I was afraid he was going to suffer serious internal damage, so I didn't tell him the part about how I had to have permission to leave the table.

But here are some other things I would have told him about my childhood if I'd  figured his system could have handled it:

Some parents NEVER owned their own house, wore jeans,  set foot on a golf course, travelled out of the country or had a credit card.

My parents never drove me to school... I had a bicycle that weighed probably 50 pounds, and only had one speed  (slow).

We didn't have a television in our house until I was 18.
It was, of course, black and white,  and the station went off the air at 10 PM, after playing the national anthem and epilogue; it  came back on the air at about 6 am. And there was usually a locally produced news and farm show on, featuring local  people...

Pizza's were not delivered to our home... but milk was.

All newspapers were delivered by boys and all boys delivered newspapers --My brother delivered a newspaper, seven days a  week.  He had to get up at 6 every morning.

Film stars kissed with their mouths shut. At least,  they did in the films. There were no movie ratings because all movies were responsibly  produced for everyone to enjoy viewing, without profanity or violence or almost anything offensive.

Growing up isn't what it used to be, is it?

MEMORIES  from a friend:
My Dad is cleaning out my grandmother's house (she  died recently) and he brought me an old lemonade bottle.  
In the bottle top was a stopper with a bunch of holes in it. I knew immediately what it was, but my daughter had no idea. 
She thought  they had tried to make it a salt shaker or something. I knew it as the bottle that sat on the end of the ironing board to 'sprinkle' clothes with because we didn't have steam irons.  

How  many do you remember?  

Headlight dip-switches on the floor of the car.
Ignition switches on the dashboard.
Trouser leg clips for bicycles without chain guards.  
Soldering irons you heated on a gas burner.
Using hand signals for cars without turn indicators.

Older Than Dirt Quiz:
Count all the ones that you remember, not the ones you were told about. Ratings at the bottom.

1.  Sweet cigarettes
2.  Coffee shops with juke  boxes 
3.  Home milk delivery in glass bottles  
4.  Party lines  on  the telephone
5.  Newsreels before the movie  
6.  TV test patterns that came on at night after the  last show and were there until TV shows started again in the morning. 
(There were only 2  channels  [if you were fortunate])
7.  Peashooters 
8.  33 rpm  records
9.  45 RPM records
10.  Hi-fi's
11.  Metal ice trays with  levers
12.  Blue flashbulbs
13.  Cork popguns 
14.  Wash  tub wringers 

If  you remembered 0-3 = You're still young
If  you remembered 3-6 = You are getting older
If  you remembered 7-10 = Don't tell your age
If  you remembered 11-14 = You're positively  ancient!  




 

Leigh White still has all those at home

 

Damn the wash tub wringer me Gran had slipped me into 11/14 oh eck.

Cheers P I'm positively ancient remember all of em.

1 hour ago, H said:

Same as Satan.

Did the chippy and the pie shop not count as fast food ?

In the old days, didn't folk take their own dishes/bowls to the chippy particularly if gravy was requested? None of this fast food packaging wazzed everywhere.

Great post bolty, can I add,

Donkey stoning front steps,

Taking a pudding basin to the chippy,

Tripe,

Orange juice from the co-op milkman,

Cider lollies

On the subject of coffee shops with jukeboxes, loved them,  can remember a few of them Powell’s, Togs/Tognarellis in  Farnworth, the one on the corner at the bottom of Trinity street, near the technical college,  who’s name I can’t recall

 

1 minute ago, Moon boy said:

Great post bolty, can I add,

Donkey stoning front steps,

Taking a pudding basin to the chippy,

Tripe,

Orange juice from the co-op milkman,

Cider lollies

On the subject of coffee shops with jukeboxes, loved them,  can remember a few of them Powell’s, Togs/Tognarellis in  Farnworth, the one on the corner at the bottom of Trinity street, near the technical college,  who’s name I can’t recall

 

Just along Bradshawgate from Trinity St was " The Pantry ".......also had a pinball machine.

What about the pop man- was that a bit later?

And the rag and bone man.

11 for this old timer. 

I don't think the milkman with glass bottles are quite extinct.

Anyway,  video man (Ritz video on wheels)

1 hour ago, bolton va va said:

Just along Bradshawgate from Trinity St was " The Pantry ".......also had a pinball machine.

The one I was thinking off, ‘Leons’

Off the top of me head this lot might sort out the "pretty old" from the "pretenders":

Banda copiers
Izal bog roll
Children's Film Foundation flics at the cinema
Slide rules
Bernie the Bolt
Clackers
Half day closing
Green shield stamps
7/6 dog licence
Public Information Films

50 minutes ago, SatanGreavsie said:

Off the top of me head this lot might sort out the "pretty old" from the "pretenders":

Banda copiers
Izal bog roll
Children's Film Foundation flics at the cinema
Slide rules
Bernie the Bolt
Clackers
Half day closing
Green shield stamps
7/6 dog licence
Public Information Films

12 from bolty’s post and all except Children’s Film Foundation from satan 

“Meet Mike he swims like a fish” “Learn to swim young man, learn to swim”

Also remember the coal lorry turning up with a bag of coal for the central heating

13 from Bolty's list. I don't recall newsreel before a film. But I do remember they played GSTQ at the end of the last film (AND everyone stood up for it rather than piling towards the exit.

57 minutes ago, SatanGreavsie said:

Off the top of me head this lot might sort out the "pretty old" from the "pretenders":

Banda copiers
Izal bog roll
Children's Film Foundation flics at the cinema
Slide rules
Bernie the Bolt
Clackers
Half day closing
Green shield stamps
7/6 dog licence
Public Information Films

9 of 10 of Satan's list. I think I was too young to give a shit about how much a dog licence cost.

16 minutes ago, MickyD said:

13 from Bolty's list. I don't recall newsreel before a film. But I do remember they played GSTQ at the end of the last film (AND everyone stood up for it rather than piling towards the exit.

9 of 10 of Satan's list. I think I was too young to give a shit about how much a dog licence cost.

It was more the 7/6 that would get the young 'uns. 37.5p.

Until 1971 there was radio license fee, and until quite a bit later  the Radio Times was the only magazine or paper  allowed to reveal BBC tv schedules more than a day in advance.

I often use the phrase "a few bob" and every so often "10 bob"  - but God knows how many people now know what they mean.

Back then you'd be happy to find a "tanner" on the pavement. And I don't mean Elsie.

Horizontal hold. 

I remember giving the telly a fucking good whack to get the picture back to something decent.

do that nowadays and your telly will end up at the other side of the house, they used to weigh as much as a car.

 

Children's film foundation to me, is screen test

 

Michael rodd?

Renting your telly

When I got wed, we rented a 21 inch colour for two years

I realised we could have bought it and be well on to the next one

11 minutes ago, Casino said:

Children's film foundation to me, is screen test

 

Michael rodd?

fucking hell, got me thinking what the theme tune was:

 

28 minutes ago, Casino said:

Renting your telly

When I got wed, we rented a 21 inch colour for two years

I realised we could have bought it and be well on to the next one

The TV on a meter. I remember missing half of " The Sweeney " when the money ran out.

Peasant

Lock ins on a Saturday / Sunday afternoon 

All day opening fucking ruined that ...