THE FLATLEY DRYER

[Stanley]

Could be a life-saver!



The lower portion of this wall is covered with Anaglypta and was to be my Flatley Drier object this morning but I was surprised to find it is still in use and the old Victorian patterns and dark colours are popular. I hope it is easier to remove than the original! In my experience, you needed to get the plasterer in to make good afterwards!
So this is a fake Flatley Drier entry.

[PanBiker]

The lower portion of this wall is covered with Anaglypta and was to be my Flatley Drier object this morning but I was surprised to find it is still in use

Indeed it is and still very popular. Redid our bedroom wall with "Tudor" not too long ago.

[Stanley]

The Waterloo Cup (LINK) was the premier event in the hare coursing world until 2005 when live hare coursing was banned.
The modern movement against cruel sports killed it. There are still arguments for and against....

[Tripps]

There are still arguments for and against....

Indeed - though I wouldn't fancy trying to convince anyone from either side to the other.

I like the history of it all, and the poetry of the names if that's not too pretentious.

Master McGrath and Bab at the Bowster.

[Stanley]

I am with you on this. It was a different world David. Men who had seen the butchery of war weren't going to have an attack of the vapours if a hare was killed. Think of the number of people who never question slaughter in an abattoir (or even think about it) but who would violently protest against what they describe as 'a blood sport'.
Nowt so queer as folk.

[Tripps]

I had a haircut today. That involves parking in the butcher's carpark. He rents two spaces.

Tuesday - so I got to see this weekend's meat walking trustingly and discreetly, from the farmer's small trailer into the butcher's back door.

I guess there are not many such establishments left.

PS Here's their modest website (commendably neglected) in which they describe themselves as a 'rare breed' . Leech and Sons

I bet they know what a 'two shear' is. Try asking for that in Tesco.

[Stanley]

Indeed David, they are definitely a rare breed themselves! They are today's Flatley Drier and long may they prosper!

[Stanley]

I saw something yesterday I haven't seen for years. A lady holding her toddler son out over a gulley grate so he could have a pee. I can remember my mother doing it for me before I learned to pee standing up.
That must qualify for Flatley Drier status!

[Tizer]

Did you see the news that the rivers around the Glastonbury festival site are being polluted with drugs like cocaine due to people peeing in the fields rather than using the loos provided? The levels of drugs may be affecting the wildlife in the rivers (watch out for the giant pike on cocaine! )

[Stanley]

Yes I did see that Peter. And there was me thinking it was ecologically sound to pee into a hedge. What struck me was that the reason why Portaloos are so efficient at disarming the drug residues is because they hold the pee in a chemical solution for long enough for the drugs to break down. That doesn't happen with a water carriage system and using a normal lavatory or urinal so as well as pee being dropped directly on the ground there is all the rest that is washed away with clean water into the sewers.

[Tizer]

Yes I did see that Peter. And there was me thinking it was ecologically sound to pee into a hedge.

It is ecologically sound if it's just you and not a thousand people in one field. Of course crowding cattle or sheep in one place also means that their urine, and anything like synthetic hormones, growth promoters or antibiotics dissolved in it, has the potential to pollute waterways and upset the physiology and ecology of animals therein. That's another good reason for having `buffer zones' of trees, wild plants and marshy ground between the field and the river.

[Stanley]

From what Ian says in another topic, banks are now being described by Virgin as 'stores'. This is plainly ridiculous but draws attention to the fact that the old concept of a bank branch on the High street in most towns is now history, it is Flatley Dryer country!

[Stanley]

Somehow I think this advert is Flatley Dryer country!

[Stanley]

Another advert that couldn't happen now. Thank goodness this is Flatley Dryer country....

[Wendyf]

The Grow Your Own advert has been photoshopped, the original was Grow Your Own, Can Your Own.

[Stanley]

Ah.... thanks for that Wendy.

[Tizer]

Thanks Wendy, I didn't like to point out that the plants are cannabis!

[Tripps]

Sabrina - another vintage 1936 gift from Stockport to the world.

"Sabrina was born on 19 May 1936 at Stepping Hill Hospital in Stockport, Cheshire"

[Stanley]

The original....

Indeed David, another notable Stopfordian.

[Tripps]

I didn't know of the word 'Stopfordian'

[Stanley]

The reason I know it is because the pupils association for Stockport Grammar School is the Old Stopfordians David.
"Former pupils are known as "Old Stopfordians", not to be confused with simply Stopfordians (the demonym of Stockport being "Stopfordian"), or the former pupils of Bishop Stopford's School at Enfield, who are also known as Old Stopfordians." [Essential knowledge..... ]



Are there any such things as stamp vending machines today? I can't remember when I last saw one....

[Stanley]

When did you last see a pillar box with separate slots for different mail?

[Stanley]

This topic started as a place to showcase household goods that are overtaken by progress. It struck me this morning that it could also apply to other things like the ploys politicians use to generate confidence and even enthusiasm. The general description for this comes from American history and is 'Boosterism', the over optimistic description of what future prospects are, usually in promoting the establishment of a new town. In national politics this is often associated with patriotism and the use of the national flag as an image.
In 1917 “The Muncie Sunday Star” of Indiana printed an announcement for a speech that prominent labour activist Eugene V. Debs was planning to deliver. It included the quotation; "Every robber or oppressor in history has wrapped himself in a cloak of patriotism or religion, or both."
It's generally agreed that it was Samuel Johnson who coined the phrase“Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.” and this has often been associated with 'wrapping yourself in the flag'.
I think we are seeing both these sentiments being milked at the moment and I'd like to suggest that it is Flatley Dryer country, out of date. My problem is that so many people keep falling for it.....

[Stanley]

I can remember, back in 1944, my dad bringing an electric motor home from work, fastening it on the wall in the brick garage we had and attaching a broad leather belt which must have been on eccentric mounts on the shaft because when he put it round him and switched it on the belt vibrated alarmingly. I have to report that it didn't last long, I'm not sure why but it soon vanished.
I think this is just one of a long list of 'exercise regimes' using mechanical means and the basis of all of them is that they do not require individual effort which after all, as I understand it, is the base of all effective physical exercise. You might as well believe that riding on a bus is equivalent to walking that distance!
I'd like to say that this was now Flatley dryer country but humans can be so lazy. I wouldn't mind betting that the modern equivalent exists.....

[Stanley]

Scrubbing soap used to be a social essential. We don't see adverts like this today because the image of a servant scrubbing a floor with a brush is Flatley Dryer country. However, Shambles on the square in Barlick still sells scrubbing soap in large blocks and it's very good stuff, I still use it. Far cheaper than the fancy 'hand sanitizers' that we are told we should use and just as efficient. If your hands are really old-fashioned dirty old-fashioned soap gets them clean where the 'sanitizers' will fail.



Shambles carbolic soap.