1950's Childhood.

I can still remember DM's divi number too.

And I have one Chalet School book somewhere - but with no dust cover and probably written inside:

'If this book should chance to roam
Box its ears and send it home to:
RoseQ
Address
England
Europe
The Earth
The Solar System
The Universe'

So it is probably worth about 7s 6d, but the DGDs may enjoy it in a few years' time!

KatyK you are right! 13762!!
I remember going to the shop muttering "thirteen seven six two" under my breath. This was 60 years ago.
Now I cant even remember my pin numbers, passwords etc.
perhaps I should make 13762 my password??

This thread brought back memories of books I used to love - The Abbey School series and The Chalet school ones. So I nipped over to Amazon for a quick look, thinking I might buy one. The Abbey books are going from about £60 - £200, and so are the Chalet School books. Wish I'd kept them!

I remember so much of what you all say, though we did have a bathroom, which was one of my mother's many prides. (Hyacinth Bucket lived then!) She also had an obsession with dressing me like the little princesses, probably fuelling my republican tendencies in later life, in camel coats (from C&A) and shoes that weren't lace ups. But yes, from Clarks.

Hair ribbons, plaits, a clean hankie every day, dinner at lunchtime - my father and grandfather came home for it - washing day on Mondays.

I remember going to the Co-op for shopping for my mother and having to memorise her 'divi' number. I can still remember it now. I bet most of you can remember your mother's number.

Our accumulators were changed by someone who came to the house.
Izal toilet paper brings back many memories, as well as using the awful hard stuff, my auntie and my step-sister both worked at the Izal factory at Chapeltown, near Sheffield. It was at the bottom of the hill from my school, Ecclesfield Grammar School.

You were not allowed to take your accumulator on a bus as there had been instances of the acid burning holes in the seats. We were lucky to have a shop that charged them in our village.

You took your accumulator to the shop to be charged - probably picking up the one you left for charging last time.I 'm pretty sure it was a different shop that you took your soda siphon to, to have a new gas container inserted.

My grandmother's house had electricity in some rooms, gas lighting in others - it fascinated me!

glass batteries - yes - we called them accumulators and were recharged to keep the radio going.

segs (metal things put on the heels of sensible school shoes) to save the heels and which made a noise when you walked on hard surfaces
nhs issue spectacles
IZAL toilet paper (has that been mentioned - sorry)

Cleaning white pumps and sandals with some sort of dab on stuff that went everywhere!

Oranges coming in to the corner shop; the word went round and DM sent DB to queue up!
Blisters on your heels from new sandals
Grazed knees and that awful Nuskin which stung.
I had rags in my hair too, to make ringlets numberplease

I have just sent the link to that Zoopla website to my sister by Email she does not waste as much time on t'internet as I do.

My grandma had a house in town with an outside toilet down the yard. My memory of that was the smell of little parafin lamp under the cistern valve to keep it from freezing and the squares of damp newspaper on a nail for use as toilet paper.
Idly browsing the internet last week I noticed that this small two bedroom terraced house is at present empty and up for sale. They do now have a toilet in the upstairs bath room.

My granny's house had the old gas fittings, though by then they were disabled. She used to put small oil lamps in the loft in frosty weather to prevent burst pipes. We lived in annual expectation of her setting fire to the house. She must have had a charmed life!

All my dresses were made by my mother and I hated standing on the table while she measured and pinned and then re pinned - it seemed to take hours!Hems had to be deep so that they could be let down as I grew.

It was a regular thing to help my mother to pluck chickens on the kitchen table. It never bothered me. They were always hanging in the butchers complete with feathers heads and feet. Rabbits too, with their stomachs split open - i used to think they were all looking at me with their open staring eyes.
At least we knew where meat came from!

The fully feathered Christmas turkey hanging in the cellar, and then watching my mother pluck it and gut it. Horrible, but didn't complain when it came to the table!

Ugh, that 'frogspawn' - tapioca!

The Esso Blue man who used to fill our metal container with paraffin for the heater. He drove a small van and the paraffin came out of a container with a little tap (much like the modern day wine boxes).

Most of the memories mentioned but my gran's house was lit by oil lamps and I still have the little one which burned by my bed at night.

Paraffin heaters - can still smell them. Don't remember them giving out much in the way of heat though.

School dinners - lovely except for the tapioca/sago/rice.

I well remember the wireless batteries, ours were kept in the pantry, and we had warnings of serious consequences if we touched them.
I loved liquorice wood, but not when it was well chewed and stringy.
I had straight hair as well, for special occasions I had to have "rags" in overnight to make ringlets.

Long hair in plaits tied with wide white ribbons.
Boys in the playground pulling my hair.
Playing two-ball against the wall.
Doing handstands against the wall.
Wanting the loo in class & being told to wait till playtime. The agony!

Paper nylon petticoats that you soaked in sugar water in the bath to stiffen them, worn with net petticoats, full skirts, white socks and sandals.
Kayli which made the palm of your hand yellow (and tongue too, probably!)
Caramac
A navy blue 'reefer coat' for school which I hated

I hated liquorice wood but pretended to like it as everyone else did!

Lilygran - no I don't recall the batteries being recharged. Maybe I just didn't notice.

I think we just called it lemonade powder, but don't think we used liquorice sticks, although we did dip them into sherbet powder which fizzed deliciously in the mouth.

My mother forbade me to buy liquorice wood, but I did, although it was a bit weird.