THE FLATLEY DRYER

[plaques]

Doctor Beeching stepped in with his report on the economic viability of many local lines and it was closed.

Dr Beeching left the line open it was Barbara Castle than closed it during her tenure of Minister of Transport, 1965–1968.
I don't think there is any problem getting the track through Foulridge or Earby the big problem as we have mentioned before is Vivary Way in Colne.
Our Mr Stevenson MP promised in November 2019 that a review of both Road and Track would be available from Highways England in April 2020. Don't hold your breath. This review would outline both any new road developments along with the future of the Rail track to Skipton. The current position is new road markings at the junctions to the motorway and a promise to move the track to the next stage of looking at to see where the longest grass in growing.

[Stanley]

Thanks Ken, I did wonder about that when I wrote the post but was idle and didn't pursue the matter. Sorry.



The brew can. One of the most practical artefacts ever developed by the human hand. I still use mine every day for brewing my daily pint of coffee. I often note the complicated and expensive 'systems' that are made and sold today and wonder at the gullibility of the public. My inexpensive simple brew can has served me well for over 40 years and I have no doubt will see me out.
I'll bet that you also have long serving artefacts like this that have stood the test of time. Contrast this with the long queues outside Apple Shops when a new iPhone is announced! Times have changed.

[Tizer]

I've still got some of the chemistry glassware and other apparatus from my teenage days when I had my own small lab at home. Remember the thistle funnel and beehive shelf? Gas jars, Bunsen burner, Liebig's condenser? (The condenser didn't survive, alas.)

[Stanley]

I remember thistle funnels from my days in chemistry at school. The name of our teacher has slipped me temporarily but I can still remember his booming voice; "Industrial quantities again Graham!". (Berty Boake!)
In those days we still had pre-war classrooms of course, wood panels, Parquet block floors and cast iron framed desks with wooden tops in dip in inkwells. Due to the war we still had pre-war masters as well and looking back I have always seen that as a good thing. All staff except PE still wearing Mortar board and gown and of course the cane still in frequent use. One thing that always puzzled me, our German teacher was a genuine German! Herr Herman. Remember, this was immediately post-war.
Such a set up would be regarded as antediluvian today but on the whole I think it was a good education. Certainly qualifies as Flatley Dryer territory.

[Stanley]

In the days when I was doing regular trips to Scotland I always kept an eye open for the glimpse of the signal bow between Long Preston and Settle I got as I passed. It was usually an early start in the dark and I always welcomed the cheerful sight of the coal fire burning in the box. There was something very comforting about it. That brings to mind another fire I used to look out for. As I came out of Long Preston, the last house on the right hand side always had the door open and through it the sight of a coal fire burning. It was open from early in the morning even in winter. I was intrigued by this and made enquiries. It turned out it was a widow woman who had bad asthma and got some relief by having the fresh air from the open door. I loved those little glimpses of life as you passed.
And yes, you're right if you think I spend a lot of time in the past. I think I must have a very visual memory I like calling up these images, as clear now as when I first saw them. It's very safe territory to be in!

[Stanley]

Not many people know what a Thyrsite is. Have a look at THIS ans see if you are any wiser. Any crumblies who survived war time rationing will recognise Snoek. In the days when we were desperate for cheap protein this South African fish was seen as a life saver. the only problem was that the public hated it! The same applied to another solution to the same problem, Whale Meat. Very healthy and packed with nutrients but universally hated.
So next time you are wondering what to cook for tea thank god you weren't faced with making Snoek and Whale Meat taste acceptable....

[Marilyn]

My husband’s mother loved Jellied Eels. The rest of the family couldn’t stand them...and they couldn’t stand to watch her eat the either.

[Stanley]

I'm not a fan of them either Maz but I love smoked eels! The best I ever tasted came fresh from the IJsselmeer (Netherlands) and were smoked on the stall that sold them in Dordrecht. Ambrosia!

[Stanley]

One of the most visible changes we see every day in local life is the large number of cars we see parked on residential streets at night. It struck me yesterday that they were all, regardless of age and construction, quietly rusting away and deteriorating 24X7. This is what, up to now, has kept the car manufacturing business buoyant and a profit centre. Various things are militating against this now and car sales are at an all time low as incomes fall and uncertainty over the future of the car as personal transport inhibit buyers. How many of them owed their existence to the need for travel to and from work to jobs which have vanished?
The time could be coming when the 'family car' is Flatley Dryer country. A few years ago this was unthinkable but looking at worst case it is now a definite possibility.

[Stanley]

Too often I see Flatley Dryer candidates as examples of how things have changed for the worse but occasionally if we look hard enough we can see hopeful signs.
I remember well the days of the 'Wonderloaf', a modern mass produced loaf using the Chorley Wood Process (LINK) which resulted in cheap bread made from lower grade wheat and my main memory of it is that it reverted to dough in your mouth when you chewed it. I remember one day when I was on the tramp I delivered ten tons of very finely ground limestone in paper bags to a large bakery in Stafford. I was intrigued and enquired what a bread bakery needed it for. I was told it was an ingredient in the bread mix, it was the source of the 'added calcium' advertised as an advantage.
Over the years pressure from consumers has improved the quality of mass produced bread but it is still made from the cheapest ingredients. However we now see the rise of the 'artisan bakers' and we have one in Barlick. It is possible to buy bread that is very close to what I used to bake at home many years ago. I used a stone of flour once a week and the kids loved it! All right, it costs more but you eat less of it.
So today I am celebrating a reverse Flatley Dryer product. Long may it continue!

[PanBiker]

I baked two unique, so artisan loaves yesterday. I used a combination of two different bloomer recipes then did my own thing. Flour, yeast, salt, oil, then I used a reduced water content made up with sourdough, I chucked some mixed seed in for good measure. I did the first prove then knocked it back and divide it into two separate loves left them to rise again and baked them at 10.30pm last night. Turned out OK, one out and one in the freezer.

[Tizer]

One of the most visible changes we see every day in local life is the large number of cars we see parked on residential streets at night. It struck me yesterday that they were all, regardless of age and construction, quietly rusting away and deteriorating 24X7....The time could be coming when the 'family car' is Flatley Dryer country. A few years ago this was unthinkable but looking at worst case it is now a definite possibility.

Cars are much better protected against corrosion these days. They get scrapped before they go rusty. I can't see the family car dying out, especially when at present most families have two, three or even more cars. If there was a shift to hiring there'd still be a need for a vast number of cars.

[Stanley]

You may be right Peter, I won't argue against you but as things stand at the moment will anyone have enough money to buy. It seems almost certain that volumes are not going to recover to pre-Covid levels and the Flatley Dryer element in this could be the car industry that was.

[Stanley]

My mind went to packed lunches in the days when I was driving and couldn't afford to buy a meal. In that respect I had a respite when I was on the tramp and away from home for long periods tramming all over the country. My main meal was always a late breakfast and I stick to that even today. For years the standard full English in a transport cafe cost 3/6 in old money. Seventeen and a half pence in decimal. Later in the day I almost always stopped at a baker's and bought some teacakes and popped into a grocer's and got something to fill them with.
I always enjoyed having Mondays on the road with David Drinkall when I was on the cattle wagon. He was diabetic and it was important for him to eat regularly and always took me with him. Monday was Lanark auction and after we had sold the calves we took there we always went into the market canteen and had a ham salad with hot chips and mayonnaise, the only place I ever had hot chips with a salad. On the way home we always stopped at a wooden hut in Shap run by Mrs Graham and had a home cured ham tea. I still remember that ham, it was beautiful.



In 1976 I was up in that neck of the woods with Daniel Meadows and we stopped at Mrs Graham's, the ham was just as I remembered it.

[Stanley]

My mind goes back many a time to when I was on the tramp. Only those who have done it know how hard it was but how rewarding once you got into the swing of it. Some drivers got addicted and never left it, I saw the light and went back to driving for West Marton Dairies but always missed the comradeship, it was like army service, a hard row to hoe but rewarding in many ways. Experiences like that change you.
I look at the young today and wonder where they will get that sort of experience. It's Flatley Dryer country now as far as I can see. You learned so much not only about the job but about yourself.
One result is that if you put me and my mate Steve together it will trigger off endless funny stories about it!
Just one for you...
My regular clearing house in Glasgow was Jimmy McCall on Clyde Street. At one time a young driver turned up who was full of BS about unusual loads he had carried. Gassy Gascart wound him up one day with a fictitious tale about his worst load, ten tons of safety pins. Loaded individually and all laced into each other to get a secure load taking two days to load. We were delighted to hear later that the lad had been telling this tale up and down the country as his worst load. We never saw him again, I think he must have declined tramping as a profession.

[Stanley]

My friend Maureen who taught Primary school children brilliantly (I first met her when she brought a party of her children to see the engine at Bancroft and every one of them thanked me as they left.) ended her teaching days at Gisburn School and I remember that at one point she got into a spot of bother with her governors when they found out the was drilling her classes in the school yard just like an army drill sergeant. This was seen as hopelessly old fashioned and a hangover from Victorian ideas of teaching young children and they wanted it stopped.
At first sight this was a reasonable point of view, the days of over-strict discipline have gone but over the years I have often wondered about it. I remember Ian saying that his physio had told him that he could spot an ex army person at 100 paces because of the way they walked. A young child once said of me to her grandmother that I didn't walk like an old man and others have commented. I think back now to the many hours of parade ground drill we were put through in the army and realise that though we didn't usually like it, there was method in their madness. True it could be taken too far but there is no doubt that it had an effect on us and altered our gait and coordination permanently. I meet a Polish bloke going to work often in the early morning and I'll lay a pound to a penny that he did military service because of the way he walks.
Looking at our modern youngsters going to school each morning I begin to wonder if Maureen wasn't perhaps doing the right thing. I see some dreadful gaits and a lot of it could be cured by my old drill sergeant from the Dale! They wouldn't like it but I have little doubt it would serve them well in later life.
So, I think that there is something to be said for drill and perhaps it can be classed as Flatley Dryer country!

[Stanley]

Looking back it strikes me that despite the war, as children we had a more secure life than today's children. Despite the war we had continuous schooling and we soon realised that if we learned out times tables and behaved ourselves we kept out of trouble and the rest of our time was filled with play with our mates. 'Playing Out' was our default mode when we weren't needed at home. It may be that this sort of security and entertainment is now Flatley Dryer territory.
I can't say definitively that we were happier than today's kids but we certainly didn't have online trolling, bullying and abuse which modern children are exposed to. True there was occasional bullying and when I went to Grammar School I got my share but it was simple physical bullying and only lasted about two years. It didn't dominate the whole of my life, as soon as you came out of school it went away. From what I can see this is no longer the case, it can be 24X7. In that respect I feel sorry for the young and wish they could have the experience I did.

[Stanley]

'Progress' can be a wonderful thing and we have seen it bring many improvements in our lifetime but sometimes it can be regrettable. For many years the Co-op have done an 'own brand' thick cut marmalade which was actually a superb dark vintage marmalade and I loved it as an occasional treat. It has vanished off the shelves and when I enquired I was told that they thought it was a discontinued line. A pity but as I say, all part of the march of time. It is now Flatley Dryer country.

[PanBiker]

Someone tried to tell me at One Stop that custard powder was no longer available and gave the excuse for no stock on the supposed fact that folk prefer ready made tinned stuff. I had no problem in sourcing elsewhere.

[Big Kev]

Someone tried to tell me at One Stop that custard powder was no longer available and gave the excuse for no stock on the supposed fact that folk prefer ready made tinned stuff. I had no problem in sourcing elsewhere.

I've just bought 3 packets of custard powder from Tesco, considering Tesco own One Stop I reckon they were definitely making that one up

[Stanley]

Quite right both of you. Recent Co-op purchase. Don't you just love the way they tell you it 'isn't available'. My favourite is 'There's no call for it', response is "Wrong. I'm calling". When I was open all hours at Sough if someone asked for something and you didn't have it you offered to get it for them. That was how you survived.
We ought to have a topic called Computer Error where we could relate our latest 'stock response', there are thousands of them. Many are political!
Incidentally, I note that Co-op own brand brown sauce and salad dressing, both made in Belgium, have vanished from the shelves, preparations for Brexit?

[Tizer]

And so often the reason for 'There's no call for it' in a shop is that everybody goes to the one across the road because they stock it!

[PanBiker]

The excuser tried to tell me that people preferred the tinned stuff because it was too hard to make custard from powder. I told her she was daft and asked her what was difficult about mixing custard powder sugar and milk. The mind boggles but it shows the level of some folks cooking skills. Apple crumble with custard last night for afters.

[Cathy]

What Grinds My Gears...
Every so often (and it has happened many times) my main supermarket suddenly decides to introduce their version (generic) of a very well known product. The latest one is replacing a popular brand of Chai Latte sachets, with their own.
I’ve tasted their version, it won’t last!

In the meantime I know where else to buy the better product.
It really annoys me that they completely remove the well known and popular brand from their shelves, so it seems as if you have no other choice but to buy theirs.
They should present them ‘side by side’ so that the buyers can decide which they want to buy.

Grrr...

[Marilyn]

Yes, I get annoyed by that too, Cazza. We have had that happen with Sauces, Mayonnaise, Herbs, Salad Dressings etc. ( I get really annoyed if I find the replacement product now contains Garlic!). Shopping takes forever when you have to keep reading all the labels...