Dont ask why but sitting eating my breakfast this morning I had a flash back to my childhood I have been to the local shop to pick up an ‘accumulator’ for the radio. Any one else got memories of past items we no longer use today ?
Possibly my parents’ gas-stove before they bought a modern model.
Its lighter was a long, thin hose terminating via a (probably ‘Bakelite’) handle in a nozzle that clipped into a combined valve and flintlock screwed the side of the cooker.
Lifting the house through a right-angle turned on its own gas supply, then the flint-lock ignited a small flame at the nozzle and released the unit from the ignition assembly. You could then take this flame-on-a-string to whichever ring, grill or oven burner was needed.
It had a secondary use: as Dad’s cigarette-lighter.
Harry. Yes I remember having to go and collect the fully charged accumulator and leave the uncharged one to be recharged, I also got sent to the local shop for a new Gas Mantle and being told in no uncertain terms “don’t shake the box” on your way back home.
Inkwells! It used to be very special to be chosen as ink monitor for the week. It was good fun going round the classroom filling the inkwells on each desk.
I was a London lad evacuated to a mining district on the Derbyshire/Nottinghamshire border during the war. No bathroom in the house that I was sent to so the system was that Douglas (the resident boy) and I were put in a tin tub in front of the rather compact range for our Saturday scrubbing down. The whole operation was masterminded by Grandma Bacon from the next village and she was always anxious to get the job done in the shortest possible time. There were distractions however as Saturday was the day that “Jack Accumulator” called to swap the named article as there was no electricity in the house to run the radio. Douglas and I were being slow enjoying ourselves and consequently exciting Grandma who uttered her ultimate threat “Jack Accumulator will be here soon and if he catches you two in the bath he’ll pull your tassels !”. Nothing sinister about Jack by the way.
“Coppers” (wash-boilers fired by gas, via a hose plugged into a suitable gas-tap I think), ponches (a bell-shaped copper agitator on a wooden handle for plunging the washing up and down in the hot soapy water) and mangles.
Front rooms kept “for best” – whenever that ever was.
Though in Grandad & Grandma’s Victorian terraced home (on the marginally posher side of the street in an estate rather like that in the Coronation Street title image) in the long-vanished Hyson Green area of Nottingham, the front-room was also the passage, past the head of the coal-cellar stairs, to the cosy back room and scullery. Thence via a tiny garden to the w.c. with high-level cast-iron cistern in a brick shed (aye, a brick-built ….).
Cars with starter push-buttons and “trafficators”. Once I found a curious, die-cast hemi-cylinder with a couple of pipe connections on top, and an internal vane screwed to a shaft that protruded from one side. I learnt later it was the vacuum-motor for windscreen-wipers operated by the induction depression, so its operation depended on the state of the engine’s running at the time.
Nigel we had what was known as a brewhouse across our yard with a large ‘cauldron’ type wash boiler with coal fire beneath it, my Uncle had installed a bath in there for us but the part I remember the most was after having a bath in the winter the fire going under the boiler the place hotter than hades you had to make a mad dash across the yard through 12″ snow to get back in the house
MichaelR I don’t remember gas mantles in the old house the I do remember workmen putting the electric in, I do however recall gag mantles in our caravan.
Yes, I remember those gas mantles very well, also the thin hose hanging from the cooker. I also remember the really old stoves installed in many of the old Tenement houses [penny in the slot type ] These stoves were built like a tank, no cheap flimsy steel sheets, just solid cast iron..
Yes, petrol was 3 and 6 a gallon, I remember that because I used to serve it. Also the milk man calling each day with his horse drawn cart with two churns.
Outside loos were the order of the day back then, and no fancy showers either ! Were we any the worst for it ? I dont think so
Visit to the dentist – treadle drilling machine, silver paper reflector inside the angle poise lamp, bottle of Detol to clean the dental probes and a metalled spirit flame to make sure the microbes were dead!!
IZAL toilet roll! Totally useless for intended purpose.
p.s. If you can get it , the TV channel called ‘Talking Pictures’ has a feature ‘The footage detictives’ on a Sunday afternoon which regularly looks at items such as these, usually prompted by viewers’ memories. It’s a charming hour that will give you many chuckles! Highly recommended
Milk delivered by horse and cart. Although born in 1951 my grandparents lived within a mile of the creamery so the delivery remained the same until they gave up horses fully in the late 50’s.
Buses that didn’t start running until about 10am on a Sunday and no shops open.
And if you had a car in those days, a starter handle when the inevitable flat battery happened.
Hi, well I have an unused Veritas mantle like the one that MichaelR has shown, and a wall lamp somewhere that the mantle fits, these were given to me by my elder late brother-in-law, many years ago, he used to use at the bottom of his stairs, where they had a right hand turn to a door into the downstairs room, they used to get regular power cuts where they lived, and he would light it when they had one when it was dark, mainly so his two girls could see where they were going.
I’ve also got one of those triangular can openers, it came with a gizmo that you could attach to the “Party Four” and “Party Seven” cans of beer, and you had those little co2 bulbs, like what was used in a soda stream. You could then draw off your beer like a draught beer in a pub.
I’ve never seen a record player in a car, and although I’ve never had one, I’ve repaired a few car radios which had B7G valves in them, mostly the filaments in the valves would fail, due to the many road vibrations they would receive. Still got a number of unused ones, of the most common ones that were used. The tallest one in the photo is 65mm from the pins to the pip at the top.
I’ve also got a couple of Steward & Patteson bottle openers somewhere as well.