Things you never see now

I haven’t seen a mangle in use since we had one when I was very young. I have seen the odd one in a museum but that's about it.

My dad used to cycle from work, I’d meet him on the street and he’d put me on his crossbar then we’d go to see the steam train pass at the bottom of the street before going home for tea.
I still love steam trains 🙂🚂

Aids warning posters. I was Administrator in a large public office building late 80s and had to place an Aids poster on the inside of every toilet cubicle. The posters were everywhere then.

AuntieE

Talking of signs: No spitting! on Glasgow municipal trams, trolley buses and buses,

And seats reserved for disabled war veterans.

I well remember being appalled at seeing ‘Defense de cracher’ (No Spitting) signs on the Paris Metro when I was 14. Did they really have to tell people not to spit?

But now it would appear that footballers spitting on the pitch have made it seem OK here…

Blocks of butter in grocery shops where the assistant (usually a male) used wooden butter pats to shape the lump of butter into a rectangle for you to buy. Loved watching that. Some had a stamp that they pressed onto the top, can remember one of a cow.

There used to be another one which began Eeny meeny miny moe but never mentioned now because it contained the N word.

As kids in the 1940s/1950s we knew no better.

Talking of signs: No spitting! on Glasgow municipal trams, trolley buses and buses,

And seats reserved for disabled war veterans.

Curlers and rollers. My friend only took hers out when she went to Bingo and they were always covered with a chiffon scarf.

Motor bikes with sidecars. I would love to have a ride in one. I believe there are places where you can.

Boyes shop in Hull on Hessle Road had the zipwire system to a central cash desk overlooking the whole shop.

What if you didn't want a goldfish and had no goldfish bowl to put it in? Daft payment.

friendlygingercat those rhymes reminded me of skipping ropes and the rhymes we would say. You don’t see those nowadays

Midgey Oh yes, I remember it well! My Dad used to do that for us as well, usually around the start of the summer holidays. There are 4 of us siblings, I am the eldest and was born in 1950. Although Dad had a good job, money was always tight. He didn't want to have to buy us new shoes before the autumn term started.

As kids:

We would put pennies and glass marbles on the tram track to get sliced in half.

We used to burst the tar bubbles in the road on hot days like today.

We had "dipping games" to decide who was to be IT when we played hide and seek and similar games

Dip dip dip, My blue ship
Sailing on the water
Like a cup and saucer
O U T spells OUT!

and another

Ingle angle silver bangle
Ingle angle out
If you had been
Where I have been
You'd have seen
The fairy queen
So ingle angle silver bangle
Ingle angle OUT!

ASK ALICE - I read the article regarding white dog do and it said it was because dogs used to eat bones - I can remember asking at the butchers for dog bones. Not sure if that really is the reason.

Flea Circuses. Thank God.
Like the ones on the Golden Mile at Blackpool.

My mum would give me 2d for the Sunday school collection plate. Then the corner shop installed a Beechnut chewing gum machine. It quickly became 1d for collection and 1d for gum. I never did own up 🤭

Goldfish in water in plastic bags given by rag and bone men for garments.

Yes. Especially the ones that used to jump out of the bowl and disappear down the back of the china cabinet!!😱

That was in response to Fry's chocolate bars!

We can get these at our local corner shop, but only the plain ones and the peppermint. They are addictive!

Goldfish in water in plastic bags given by rag and bone men for garments.

Park keepers, they yelled at us kids to keep off the grass😲

Casdon

I’ve just thought of something else that’s now a real rarity, the Victorian bedding plant schemes in parks and public spaces. Roundabouts often had them too, big swathes of marigolds, begonias and geraniums, but now it’s all low maintenance, wild flowers and grasses.

Or more commonly big weeds.

Grammaretto

Witzend there was one in our local co-op department store which closed in the late 1980s and both Jenners closed (2020) and R W Forsyth (closed 1981) in Princes Street, Edinburgh used the zip wire system. I was fascinated by them.

Yes, they still had one in a Gentlemen's outfitters in Plymouth in the 1970s and possibly later.

78s records - they broke, I accidentally sat on some of my brother's once and he was not best pleased.
Years later, when 45s came in, 78s could be softened in the oven and turned into plant pots.

Rain 🙄