THE FLATLEY DRYER

[Stanley]

The hills were just as steep Mick..... Years later, Iain, one of our band of three, told me he hated watching my legs going up and down like piston rods on the steep hills of Derbyshire where we spent all of our time.

[Stanley]

The old stables in Butts viewed from Commercial Street in 1982. They have all been demolished and so must be a candidate for Flatley Dryer country.

[Stanley]

The Gisburn Road school extension and kitchen as was. It was taken over by Andy Platt as his headquarters as he pressed on with the Old Vicarage site and the houses on Bank Street. As such they are Flatley Dryer country now. Progress seems to have stalled on Andy's projects, no doubt due to Covid. I hope this doesn't move even further into Flatley Dryer!

[Stanley]

Thank God, advertisements like this are Flatley Dryer country. Here's the Wikipedia entry for it. Note it wasn't withdrawn from sale until 1930.
Mrs. Winslow's Soothing Syrup is a patent medicine supposedly compounded by Mrs. Charlotte N. Winslow, and first marketed by her son-in-law Jeremiah Curtis and Benjamin A. Perkins of Bangor, Maine, USA in 1845 The formula consisted of morphine sulphate (65 mg per fluid ounce), sodium carbonate, spirits foeniculi, and aqua ammonia. It was claimed that it was "likely to sooth any human or animal", and it effectively quieted restless infants and small children especially for teething. It was widely marketed in the UK and the US. As well as newspapers, the company used various media to promote its product, including recipe books, calendars, and trade cards.
In 1911 the American Medical Association issued a publication titled "Nostrums And Quackery" in which, in a section called "Baby Killers", it incriminated Mrs. Winslow's Soothing Syrup. The product was nevertheless not withdrawn from sale until 1930.
In 1879 the English composer Edward Elgar wrote an early musical work, part of his Harmony Music for a wind quintet, which he titled Mrs. Winslow's soothing syrup.
In Woody Guthrie's 1940 Dustbowl Ballad, "Tom Joad", Grandpa Joad is given soothing syrup before he dies

[Tizer]

I had to look up spirits foeniculi and found it's an alcoholic extract of fennel, Foeniculum vulgare.

[Stanley]

When I looked further into pacifiers I found disturbing evidence of over medication in some care homes and the use of some child's medications as pacifiers even now so this might not be Flatley Dryer after all.

[Cathy]

I was just listening to a 93yr old lady say that as a young child, if she had a bad sore throat, her mother always gave her a teaspoon of sugar with just enough kerosene on it to moisten the sugar.
It tasted disgusting but always quickly cleared up the sore throat.

[Stanley]

I can believe it Cathy. I watched a Dales Farmer once as he dosed a cow with kerosene as a treatment for slow fever which is actually hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar). I didn't see how it could help but the beast survived. Funny thing was that it was held to be effective because when the cow passed water it foamed!

[Tizer]

The phenolic compounds in the kerosene would kill bacteria.

[Stanley]

Another thing that I remembered Cathy was my mother dosing us for sore throat with a teaspoon of sugar with friar's balsam dropped in it. I looked it up and found this. Tincture of benzoin is a pungent solution of benzoin resin in ethanol. A similar preparation called Friar's Balsam or Compound Benzoin Tincture contains, in addition, Cape aloes or Barbados aloes and storax resin. Friar's balsam was invented by Joshua Ward around 1760.
And I always thought it was a balsam made by friars!

[Stanley]

I remembered another old 'cure' and looked it up.... Have a look at THIS Wikipedia entry for Armenian Bole which I always thought was a plant extract. As you can see it's clay! It was given me on a piece of yeast by the lady who lived in the farm above Lower Burnt Hill when I had a carbuncle under my arm. I don't think it did any good so I'll consign it to Flatley Dryer country......

[Cathy]

I’ve heard of kerosene being poured onto open wounds too. Apparently it cleans and seals the wound.

[Tizer]

This could be described as a `Flatley Fryer: LINK

[Stanley]

Peter. what sort of person uses 'quotidian' (of or occurring every day; daily.) when 'common' would do and not need a trip to the dictionary.
I hereby consign quotidian to Flatley Dryer country.

[Stanley]

We used to have stable government which, though we might not like them or agree with them, gave us a stable environment. That appears to be Flatley Dryer country now. Nobody can be sure of having enough money to raise a family. Job security is a thing of the past for many people as is a living wage or conditions that we used to take for granted like sick pay, holiday pay and even overtime rates. Many haven't even got any guarantee of work!
All these things are Flatley Dryer country in the brave modern world we have allowed to overtake us.

[Stanley]

A name came to mind this morning as I thought about the Flatley Dryer. Cyril Lord was of the same era. After WW2 he built up an empire based in Northern Ireland making and selling carpets and for a while was the Carpet King. See THIS Wikipedia article.

[plaques]

Nearly but not quite there. Stanley Graham.

[Stanley]

Definitely Flatley Dryer country Ken and of course I am in my fifth twenty year spell now. I think the watchword now is survive as long as possible!

[Tizer]

The Flatley Dryer item here is a forum that was run by the Natural History Museum but suffered a glitch similar to that which put the early OGFB out of action. Now it's just an archive but I want to bring one of its stories to your attention, I know OGers will enjoy it. When you click the link it might be a bit slow to load but be patient...
`How a seaweed scientist helped win the war' LINK

[Stanley]

It loaded fine for me Peter and what a good story. It just goes to show that Reader's Digest was right, it p[ays to increase your word power!



My Flatley Dryer contribution is double edged We no longer have the glories of cigarette cards and bobbies on point duty are a thing of the past. We haven't enough of them to investigate burglaries, never mind ease the flow of traffic.

[PanBiker]

We haven't enough of them to investigate burglaries, never mind ease the flow of traffic.

We have "smart" motorways now instead, that just kill people. Sooner they are consigned to Flatley Drier Country the better.

[Tizer]

There always used to be a policeman on traffic duty at the junction of Church Street and Darwen Street in Blackburn. I'm told that when I was a young child in the front passenger seat of my dad's old motor and we approached the junction I thought the policeman was waving at me so I always waved back. It put a smile on the policeman's face!

[Stanley]

Just the sort of behaviour the cigarette card warns against!
You're right Ian, and bin the planners who certified they were safe as well!

[Stanley]

This early police car is thought to be the first Flying Squad vehicle.

[Tripps]

I found this photo somewhere today -it's how I remember it Low height crates, half, third (?) of a pint bottles, and a straw . . . .

school milk.jpg