THE FLATLEY DRYER

[Stanley]

There is much to be said for the House Pig.....

[Stanley]

Thinking about the house pig and how waste food scraps were recycled into bacon got me to thinking about waste in general. We produced far less household waste in those days and much of that was ashes from the open fire. Today we are very wasteful and this doesn't only apply to the bins. Make do and mend, from darning socks to repairing household items was done at home. Clocks were repaired, holes in pans stopped up and shoes and clogs repaired. Many households had a cobbler's last and a supply of clog irons and hob-nails. More attention was paid to maintenance like polishing shoes, pressing suits ans sewing missing buttons back on. Today the attitude is 'we haven't got the time' and people throw things out and buy new. Good for the manufacturers but bad for the household economy. I always remember seeing a sideboard that a man made for his wife, carved across the back in large letter was 'Economy is the household mint!' (click to enlarge)

[Stanley]

It struck me that the legend on the sideboard was just as pertinent today. Did any of you see the recent TV programme where shopping for food was analysed and savings suggested? Amazing how much people were wasting largely because of blind acceptance of advertising and loyalty to brand names.

[Stanley]

At one time we worked under the impression that there was a social contract. We worked hard for low wages with no 'superannuation' schemes with the assurance that the state would care for us if we got into trouble or grew old.... Compare and contrast....

[Stanley]

The other day David Cameron was asked by Jeremy Paxman if he knew how many food banks there were. He didn't know and was skewered when Paxman told him there were 66 when he came into power and over 400 now. Only a small straw in the wind but for me it illustrates how out of touch Cameron is with the real world. You can't imagine this level of ignorance in the days when many of our leading politicians sprang from the grass roots, often via the unions. We have too many parliamentarians who know nothing but politics.... (Cameron got a First in it at university....)

[Stanley]

The world gets more and more complicated! One of the things that often strikes me is that even though we are told all is well, the economy is booming and we have never had it so good the evidence is that so many of the things we had implicit trust in like banks, insurance companies and solicitors are now deeply suspect, and with good reason. I can't help thinking we went wrong somewhere along the way. Or is this simply the result of getting older.....

[Stanley]

That last comment I made yesterday is on my mind. I see so much wrong in today's world compared with what I remember from 70 years ago that I'm afraid I concentrate too much on the negatives. Sitting here in my warm kitchen, talking to you all and knowing I am healthy enough to walk to the butcher's and buy my meat without worrying about the cost over much reminds me that there are positives! We don't need the Flatley Dryer sat in the corner of the kitchen because the house is warm enough to dry washing without any additional drying facilities. Things are pretty good actually but I shall still keep my eyes on those areas where society is regressing. For instance, do we really need a new anti wrinkle cream every month? Is Poofume an essential.

[David Whipp]

In this country, we are healthier and wealthier than we were 50 years ago.

My great concern is that our 'wealth' as a species, is at the cost of the legacy we leave our childrens' children.

[Stanley]

Exactly...... We are living for the present, too many unthinking people consuming for the sake of consumption.

[Stanley]

I love looking at old adverts in magazines but often think that this was the start of the pressure to consume by advertising. I look at the adverts on TV and marvel at what is on offer. None of it, to my mind anyway, essential.

[Stanley]

When I was 'Open All Hours' at Sough 60 years ago there were still items in stock that had long since become redundant. One was gas mantles. There were two types, the pendants which hung downwards and the upright mantles that needed a white forked fire-clay support to hold them up. When I was doing the interviews for the LTP everyone who had experienced gas lighting as a child remembered the treat of watching a new mantle flare up as the silk burned (They are soft and flexible before they are fired) and the mantle miraculously became a solid structure. They also remembered the panic the entry of a moth in summer caused. Attracted by the flame they would flutter round them and their wings were enough to shatter the mantle.... temporary disaster!

[Stanley]

One of the services we got in the olden days has vanished completely now. If you rang your GP at night, he or one of his practice, would come to see you. That was it, dead simple and it worked. I know all the reasons why this has vanished but still regret its passing....

[Stanley]

Can you remember the days when a man in a peaked cap came round to empty the gas meter or read the leccy? Under the modern online billing whereby you read your own meter I got the request this morning for my readings. When i submitted them the computer immediately responded saying that 'these readings weren't what it expected' and could I please check them again. This immediately makes you feel insecure even though you know they are correct. The computer doesn’t know about my stove in the front room or my activities in the shed.... Still, it's all a great improvement in the service isn't it.....

[Tizer]

I mentioned on another topic how the average salary for an academic professor in the UK is now £76,000. Now I see in The Times a claim that the average weekly spend on `treats' in the UK is £62. Perhaps the average Brit is an academic professor these days! That's £3,224 a year, just on treats (and I bet that doesn't include the treats bought for pets).

[chinatyke]

I mentioned on another topic how the average salary for an academic professor in the UK is now £76,000. Now I see in The Times a claim that the average weekly spend on `treats' in the UK is £62. Perhaps the average Brit is an academic professor these days! That's £3,224 a year, just on treats (and I bet that doesn't include the treats bought for pets).

Aren't pets a treat or luxury in themselves? They are not necessary but something you choose to have and usually have a cost associated with their upkeep. People spend their money how they want. What I object to is the work-shy benefits class getting treats like flat screen televisions at the expense of the workers and taxpayers. If they choose not to work they should lead a deprived Spartan existence without treats.

[Stanley]

The 'undeserving poor' have always been with us...... I am reminded of the outcry against 'municipal socialism' in the late 19th century when, in order to improve public health, the worst slum areas were improved first.

[Stanley]

In a programme last night on the efficacy of modern cold cures the old fashioned Lemon and honey came out as by far the best and cheapest. I would only add that the addition of Whisky and Cinnamon with hot water makes it even better!

[Tizer]

Glycerin, Honey and Lemon linctus was a great favourite when I worked at Boots in the 1960s. Harmless but effective and soothing.

[Stanley]

We were very good at home remedies. Cottage gardens always had strange plants in them. Penny Royal as an abortificant was one popular plant. I caught part of a programme on a medical garden and one plant, Wormwood, was used in Saxon times even though it is poisonous in quantity. The curator said that York University were looking at it at the moment as a help in a modern disease... Can't remember what!
It was Malaria.... See THIS.

[Stanley]

Reading Maz's hilarious accounts of Febby's DIY mishaps should not blind us to the fact that he has a go at just about everything. This is a noble tradition and dates back to the times when, in a less complicated world, we had to be self reliant. Every house husband had tools, the complexity of which varied. Old households almost always had a cobbler's last, and if not, next door probably possessed one. It can get ridiculous in some people's eyes but I defend it on the grounds that it makes for a complete life.

[Stanley]

One of the things that strikes me often is the number of men whose 'hobby' in spare time and retirement was what they did during the day....



Johnny Pickles was a good example but he was one of many.

[Stanley]

One of the most ridiculed professions in the mills was the tackler or loom overlooker. Even Ernie Roberts, himself a tackler, described them as weavers with the brains taken out. In truth they were expert and (mostly) intelligent mechanics. Many of the small improvements in weaving technology (such as the weft fork and the weft stop motion) came from the tacklers. In Barlick I was told of one who built a working steam locomotive with no tools apart from a hand drill and the usual files. This same man decided to build a telescope. He sent off to a London firm for the lenses but when he got them he tested than and found they were defective so he sent them back. The firm offered him a job.

[plaques]

Dad was a tackler, not a great engineer but worked his way up from weaving, general mechanic, and on to tackling. He always said the weavers knew who were the best tacklers, their wages depended on him. A quick look at the 'waiting 'list for repairs told you all you needed to know about the tacklers performance.

[Stanley]

I agree P. A good weaver with a good tackler was a happy bunny......

[Tizer]

Heard on the radio the other day that young boys who trained up as piecers were known as `little piecers'. It makes sense but I'd never heard the term before.