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Genealogy/memories

collecting pennies from the gas meter

(71 Posts)
PRINTMISS Sun 15-Apr-12 08:26:39

I wonder if there are any others out there who remember having a gas meter, and the gas man coming to collect the pennies? I have no idea why I woke early this morning with this memory of the pennies piling up on the kitchen table, 12 to the shilling. We were, I know now quite poor, although I was not aware of it at the time, but I realise now that my gran was waiting in the hope that we had paid too many pennies, and might get one back.

numberplease Thu 19-Apr-12 18:03:31

I loved popping the tar bubbles at the side of the road in summer. And, hope you don`t cringe too much, I do at the thought of it, but I wasn`t allowed chewing gum, used to peel it off the pavement and chew it!

Greatnan Thu 19-Apr-12 20:52:40

I like the smell of hot tar!

PRINTMISS Fri 20-Apr-12 07:52:55

I too love the smell of tar, and something else we used to do, can't remember the name of the flower, but I think it was sweet william, we would pick one of the blossoms and suck the end - it was always very sweet. Anyone else remember doing that? I know we tried it with other flowers, but it was never quite the same, and as I said before, we are still here!

Greatnan Fri 20-Apr-12 14:38:17

On the odd days we got into the country, we would eat what we called mustard and cress - it had a fresh,peppery taste. Perhaps it was wild watercress?

numberplease Fri 20-Apr-12 15:30:17

Don`t know about mustard and cress, but fresh hawthorn leaves were quite tasty, we called them bread and cheese. And I used to pull up stalks of grass and chew the ends, they were very sweet tasting, I only stopped in my teens when someone poi nted out how many dogs had probably wee`ed on it!

Greatnan Fri 20-Apr-12 15:33:00

Wild garlic is nice - if you like garlic!

jeni Fri 20-Apr-12 15:55:14

I grow wild garlic. Nice in salads and soups!
We used to suck the blossoms of clover and white dead nettle?

Greatnan Fri 20-Apr-12 16:00:36

I only eat wild plants now when I am with my two gurus - my daughter or my Swiss friend. I am too scared even to pick the lovely mushrooms that grow profusely in the forests here. I am O.K. with wild raspberries, litte strawberries (fraises du bois) and blackberries, and hazel nuts. Trouble with some berries - the seeds get stuck in my teeth.

jeni Fri 20-Apr-12 16:02:51

Ooh fraises du bois! I'm drooling!

Greatnan Fri 20-Apr-12 18:58:54

Yes, they really are lovely. One of the perks of living here!

nelliedeane Fri 20-Apr-12 20:17:56

changing direction here,can you remember the wires in the shops that carried the money in tubes to a cashier in an office over looking the sales floor,,and your coop number.

glassortwo Fri 20-Apr-12 20:34:01

Farnons and Parishes had those tubes... that's where we would go when my Mum had a Provi to spend and we could choose an outfit. Then the Provi man (Provident) would call on a Friday to be paid. We often had to hide behind the settee and wait until he had gone as there was no money to pay him that week..

nelliedeane Fri 20-Apr-12 20:39:00

oh yes remember the provi cheque and being sent to the door saying ''mum says shes gone out'' when I my children where growing up I became a provident agent and although thirty years or so had elapsed the refrain on friday night hadnt changed form when I was a child ''mum says shes gone out''was hollered through many letterboxes grin

glassortwo Fri 20-Apr-12 20:47:15

nellie I think thats why we had to hide as we had said something similar too many times grin

nelliedeane Fri 20-Apr-12 21:05:24

glass grin

grannyactivist Fri 20-Apr-12 21:14:24

glass the memory of hiding behind the settee from the rent man or Mr. Locke (our equivalent of the Provi man) has kept me out of debt all my life. I promised myself I would never buy anything 'on tick' and I never have.

vampirequeen Sat 21-Apr-12 19:10:15

We had a shoe shop that checked if the shoe fitted by taking an xray of your foot. We used to love seeing the bones in our feet

nelliedeane Mon 23-Apr-12 17:46:23

vampirequeing was that a clarks shoe shop seem to remember having that done on occasion,seem to remember a T.V advert that claimed they were first to do this.....and I still ended up bunions [cunfused]

Anagram Mon 23-Apr-12 17:53:11

Yes, they had to stop ex-raying children's feet because of the radiation risks!

nelliedeane Mon 23-Apr-12 18:00:41

yes that make sense anagram.