THE FLATLEY DRYER

[Stanley]

The Dolly Blue. Another former essential of washing day but now is just an ingredient in washing powders and liquids. I can remember the factory at Backbarrow in Cumbria and the fact that as you went along the road through the complex everything was blue. HERE'S a good short history of the works.

[Stanley]

A galvanised dolly tub. This design was universal but only the crumblies will remember them being used in anger. One of the main strategies used in washing then was a soak overnight in soapy water. It's still a good idea but very seldom used except in dire emergency!

[Stanley]

The interior of a very old fashioned larder. This one was before the days of corner shops, most produce would either be home grown or from the surrounding farms and perhaps a weekly market. Kept cool, it was used for storing all food and if it was long term it had to be salted or pickled.
Even in the days when shops became common, the larder was still the place to store food but with the advent of the fridge this all changed. There was no need for a cool larder or cellar and kitchen cupboards held the non-perishable things.
That being said, how many people today would even know the use of a larder or pantry? It is definitely Flatley Dryer country.

[Stanley]

One of my favourite books is Dorothy Hartley's 'Food in England' which is an overview of what we would now call old fashioned cooking. The good news is that it is still alive and well in Graham Towers!
I was having a conversation with one of my ladies yesterday (and with Susan on Friday. Am I always talking about cooking?) about people complaining about the price of food while ordering take away pizzas for the family. From the number of take away shops there are I suspect this is a lot more common than I think.



I'd rather cook a steak, onion and tomato casserole and some mixed veggies to go with it. I'm beginning to think that for many, this is Flatley Dryer country. I couldn't afford to eat as well as I do if I was ordering it on the 'phone. Indeed, I'd have a job to get the same quality.

[Tripps]

Thanks for reminding me. I will dig her book out.

From a good stable with a good pedigree

Hartley was born at Ermysted's Grammar School, Skipton, Yorkshire, the youngest of three children of the headmaster of the school, the Rev Edward Tomson Hartley (1849–1923) and his wife, Amy Lucy, née Eddy (1853–1932)


"For food scholarship at its best see Dorothy Hartley's robust, idiosyncratic, irresistible Food in England... As packed with diverse and fascinating information as a Scotch bun with fruit, this untidy bundle of erudition is held together by the writer's huge enjoyment of her subject, her immense curiosity about everything to do with the growth, preparation, preservation and eating of food in this country since the Middle Ages."[12]



PS - I like "untidy bundle of erudition" - could be a metaphor for this site.

[Stanley]

Nice post David and yes I think you might be right. We have Greek word origins and vintage Kipling this morning.
What also grabs me about Dorothy's books (There are good ones on Water and country crafts as well) is the lovely simple but strong illustrations. The nearest I can find to them are in Bewick.



Bewick drawing of a stone breaker knapping road stone.
On a larger scale have a look at THIS, another of my favourites and I know you like this neck of the woods. See THIS on Bookfinder.

[Stanley]

One of the first things Johnny Pickles did when he became foreman at Henry Brown and Sons in Barlick he designed a steam donkey engine and started building them. This was in the days before mains electricity and electric motors. If you needed auxiliary power in a small works or even in a large mill if the main engine wasn't running, the necessity to keep the tape machines running over dinner time or on overtime in an evening was a good example.
As soon as mains electricity and reliable electric motors became available steam donkey engines became redundant and Flatley Dryer country.

[Stanley]

It's slowly beginning to dawn on me that the old ways of accessing the doctor, making an appointment, attending reception and sitting in a crowded waiting room are probably Flatley Dryer country now. It struck me yesterday when I went through the waiting room to the nurse doing the flu jabs. Funny thing was that there wasn't anyone else there..... Felt very strange.

[Big Kev]

It's slowly beginning to dawn on me that the old ways of accessing the doctor, making an appointment, attending reception and sitting in a crowded waiting room are probably Flatley Dryer country now. It struck me yesterday when I went through the waiting room to the nurse doing the flu jabs. Funny thing was that there wasn't anyone else there..... Felt very strange.

It makes sense to me to not have a group of sick people all sat together in one place. Initial telephone, video and email consultations have worked well so far for me and P with one leading to a 'face to face' with a doctor.

[PanBiker]

It makes sense to me to not have a group of sick people all sat together in one place. Initial telephone, video and email consultations have worked well so far for me and P with one leading to a 'face to face' with a doctor.

Also makes sense to me Kev. As long as you still can get access to a doctor if you need examining, treatment or tests. The majority of appointments are probably not necessary in a lot of cases and can be dealt with via a phone chat. Sally has had physio appointments using her tablet on video call. Just as effective being sent the exercises and then doing them over the video link to show proficiency and further guidance from the medic.

[Big Kev]

It struck me yesterday when I went through the waiting room to the nurse doing the flu jabs. Funny thing was that there wasn't anyone else there..... Felt very strange.

The precise timings for the flu jabs looks to be very efficient. In one door, a jab in the arm and out another door. Pre covid I had a flu jab there on a Saturday, same empty waiting room. Seemed strange at the time but certainly the norm now.

[Big Kev]

The majority of appointments are probably not necessary in a lot of cases and can be dealt with via a phone chat.

This has been mentioned in a number of places.

[Stanley]

I wasn't complaining. I always thought the waiting room was probably a breeding ground for infections! I love not seeing the doctor or having to go to a crowded waiting room. I send Hassan an email occasionally with my BP readings in it and a report. He seems to appreciate that.

[Stanley]

Mick commented on this car in another topic. It belonged to Earby Councillor Greenwood who worked at KMP. I drove it once for him and was told 'not to use the free wheel'! I had to have it explained to me but the Rover had an optional free wheel in the transmission controlled by a black knob on the dashboard. If you used it it stopped any use of the transmission for braking.
Of course, having been told not to use it I had to try and it was a weird sensation as you took your foot of the accelerator because the car seemed to go faster. he nearest I ever got to it in real life was Silent Sixth on the tanker! Very dangerous as you forget how much braking you get from the transmission. I have an idea they are no longer legal. They are certainly Flatley Dryer country.

[Stanley]

You might wonder why the Gardner 6LX diesel engine is Flatley Dryer country. Lots of reasons actually, it used to be the classic British diesel engine design and was regarded by many as the best engine in the world. slow revving, beautifully built and ran forever with minimal maintenance. (My favourite engine....)
However, the reason it came to my mind is for another obscure feature of its design. The injector pump, or rather the governor, was coupled in such a way that as you slowed down on a hill with the accelerator flat to the floor, if you let the accelerator come up a bit it retarded the injector pump, the engine produced more torque and you could feel the wagon pulling away again. Very strange and counter intuitive.
I told you it was obscure! I don't know of any engine that is built that way now. (But of course there will be a crafty little algorithm in a computer programme that does the same thing!)

[Tizer]

...you forget how much braking you get from the transmission.

And my electric hybrid Honda Jazz regenerates the battery by engine braking.

[Stanley]

Same principle of regenerative braking has been used for many years on Swiss Electric railways. I don't know how common it was elsewhere. Another closely related example is the Telma electrostatic transmission brake where the rotor is on the shaft and the stator around it can be energised by a low voltage input. They were a very efficient and progressive brake fitted mainly to coaches. I don't know what happened to the harvested energy, I suspect it was dissipated as heat.



The Telma Retarder.

[Stanley]

This clothes line hook on Wellhouse Street is evidence of my Flatley Dryer example for today. It could only be used for a clothes line across the street. In the days when everyone washed on Monday and dried their washing outside this meant that the street was blocked to traffic. This was true of most side streets and all back streets and normal deliveries couldn't happen. For instance, a coal merchant couldn't access any of his delivery point coal holes in the back street.
In those days the washing was more important than traffic. Can you imagine that today?

[Stanley]

Today's Flatley Dryer example isn't simply the old railway link with the main line, it's the fact that as the ban on fossil fuels bites there is a possibility that individual car ownership could become less attractive on cost grounds. That being the case public transport could become more important and it may well be that we regret discarding the rail link. And remember, there is such a thing as freight transport as well.

[Stanley]

Not so long ago our bobbies went on parade before going out on foot patrol, 'the beat'. Before they did they had to prove they had the essential equipment, whistle, truncheon and notebook. How things have changed! This is definitely Flatley Dryer country even down to bobbies on the beat. It just doesn't happen now.

[Tripps]

As a follow up this is worth reading. The Office of Constable

[Tizer]

I can imagine a caption bubble coming from the Sarge's mouth saying: You lot look a right bunch of pretty patels!

[Stanley]

That Police Federation booklet is a bit heavy for first thing but will get read David.

[Stanley]

Once upon a time pupils were given medals for good attendance at school. In my experience we got prizes, usually books, each year for exceptional attendance. Does anything like this happen these days? I suspect it is another example of the Flatley Dryer.

[Tizer]

Kids now get a congratulatory message sent to their smartphone by the head teacher. They'd probably be disappointed if they got a bit of paper instead!