THE FLATLEY DRYER

[Stanley]

I heard a retired couple talking about their married life yesterday in an R4 interview. One of the things they learned over the years was that the more they gave their children, the more they wanted. It became too easy. I've always said it's harder to rear kids if you are rich because they get used to getting everything they want. I had a friend and while we were at a steam rally and his kids were there I used to openly ask him for a tenner at the start of the day. At the end of the day I gave him the money back making sure his kids saw the transaction. He told me his kids asked him about this afterwards and perhaps learned a small lesson.

[Stanley]

Looking at the weather this morning my mind went back to walking to school in short trousers in weather like this dresses in a Burberry mackintosh and a school cap. Can you remember the smell of a school cloakroom full of wet clothing?
They tell me that the reason why so many kids go out without proper rain-wear is because if they do there's a good chance of it being stolen from wherever they hang it. Times have certainly changed....

[Whyperion]

One of the early, and most effective, draught eliminators was the Baxi Underfloor Draught system on open fires. Can anyone remember them? The air supply for the fire came from under the floorboards which, in a well built house, was ventilated by air bricks in the wall. So as the fire pulled air in it didn't have to be replaced directly into the room under the door!
I can still remember staying in a house where the owner had gone to enormous lengths to almost completely eliminate draughts. It worked and was very efficient. The only problem was that the house smelled like a ferret hutch but they had got used to it......

Sauages made of old curtains stiched around a filling of old stockings up against the gap under the door, with thick curtain hung down over the door too. Cosy in winter, and removable for breathing in the warmer weather.

[Stanley]

In the days before double glazing, if you could afford it you invested in very heavy lined curtains to hold back the worst of the draughts through the ill fitting window frames and the cold glass. This is the reason why many radiators are fitted under windows. Good in the days of draughts but not the best siting now we have efficient windows.

[Tizer]

Radiators sited under windows are one of my pet hates, especially when the curtains are long and hang over the radiator. Then they block part of the radiant heat, interfere with convection of hot air, and send the hot air up against the cold window.

[Stanley]

Exactly so Tiz, but of course that was seen as a good thing then.

[Stanley]

I was thinking this morning about the number of people who, spurred on by Xmas and 'pester power', are going to spend money they haven't got on presents they can't afford. One good thing about the shortages of my youth was that the temptation and the means to spend wasn't there. No such thing as easy credit. The nearest we got to that was Providential cheques and the 'Scotsmen' who came round selling suits on instalments. We had less, but we had less debt as well. My mind boggles at the amount that personal debt rises each month......

[Tizer]

There was a man on the radio talking about how his organisation plans to help the `ultra-poor' in under-developed countries. He said they would hand out money to those people on a temporary basis until they were `in a position to get credit'. Somehow I feel this is the wrong approach. It ends up putting money into the pockets of the lenders.

[Stanley]

I never fail to be amazed at how our 'market economy' allows stratospheric rates of interest to be charged on loans to the poor. I am convinced that the reason is that if the government really cracked down on this practice it would force people into the hands of the back street unlicensed lenders which would be even worse. If the flow of credit to the poor was cut off entirely we would have the streets full of homeless families... I applaud the work of the credit unions and they should be encouraged by the government.....

[Tripps]

There was a man on the radio talking about how his organisation plans to help the `ultra-poor' in under-developed countries. He said they would hand out money to those people on a temporary basis until they were `in a position to get credit'. Somehow I feel this is the wrong approach. It ends up putting money into the pockets of the lenders.

Perhaps this Lend With Care is worth a look?

I've been intending to give it a go for a while. Recommended by the Coop Bank. What could possibly go wrong? I would do it of course, on the same basis that I occasionally buy a few shares - never expect to see the cash again, and be grateful if anything at all emerges. I can think of a lot worse ways of spending a few quid.

Seems to be kosher - though I hope we don't learn eventually, that the chief executive is paying himself a fortune, and flying round the world on exes, to check up on it all.

[Stanley]

I have heard about this scheme and others like it and on the face of it I agree with you. It looks kosher and what's more a good idea.....

[Stanley]

I got a flash back to my army days when the POSB (Post Office Savings bank, always referred to as 'posby') was, if you so decided, part of the pay process. Some of us had 10/- deducted at source each week and by the time I was demobbed it was a useful little sum. Does it still exist?

[Tizer]

Tripps mentioning Lend with Care made me think of charities and that reminded me of a newspaper headline I've seen saying that one in five of Britain's biggest charities spend less than half of funds on good causes.

Just found it again on the Telegraph site: Charities
The True and Fair Foundation "..analysed the latest official annual report and accounts of the 5,543 charities which last year raise more than £500,000 every year. Its report - "A Hornets' Nest" published today - found that 1,020 charities, with together raised £6billion in the past 12 months from donors, spent less than 50 per cent on charitable activities."

[Tripps]

Good topic. There are also the outright criminal such as Fake Charities

I have complained in the past about collectors at Tesco who didn't look the part to me. Mid week, (most genuine ones are on a Saturday), emotive cause (usually vague beneficiary,and has the words children and cancer). The lady at Customer Service was sympathetic, but said she had seen a letter from the Charity, authorising the collector.
No doubt they had written and volunteered - and why would the charity say anything other than 'yes thanks'?

I read once that the RNLI had assets of £500 million. I found that hard to believe so looked it up. Yes it was wrong - they have assets of over £600 million.

[Tripps]

I got a flash back to my army days when the POSB (Post Office Savings bank, always referred to as 'posby') was, if you so decided, part of the pay process. Some of us had 10/- deducted at source each week and by the time I was demobbed it was a useful little sum. Does it still exist?

Your 10/= was probably in fact 10/6 since pay was per day, and deductions had to be divisible by seven. I saved 2 guineas a week for two and a half years in my 'Ain't half hot' days, and blew the lot on a 3 litre Austin Westminster when I came home. No idea what the mpg was - fuel was almost free in BAOR.

The word Posby was used as a slang word by RAF types to mean tight fisted.

[Stanley]

It could well have been David.
I have always said that charities ought to have to do what the old football pools had to do. Every advertisement had to show exactly what proportion of the pool was returned as prizes. If I remember rightly the admin charges ran at about 27%.
I was reminded yesterday of the old custom of sending letters to Santa up the chimney. On the old open fires if you lit one corner of the letter and let it go in the throat of the flue the draught whirled it away up the chimney. We were convinced it worked.... Denied to young kids these days because there are so few open fires and Elfin Safety would discourage it....

[Tripps]

I was reminded of letters to Santa up the chimney when a news item on TV last week showed a builder who had found such a note still intact and from about 70 years ago. They managed to trace the 'child' who had sent it, and had him on the follow up . His requests were very modest in contrast to the iPod age. He wanted a box of coloured chalks.

I don't remember setting fire to the note - how would Santa read it then? Just get it to go up the chimney, and all would be well.

[Tripps]

I'll put it on this thread as that's where it was first mentioned.

I said I'd been looking at Lend with Care website. Well last night I took the plunge, (sober, I may add), and made a loan to one of their candidates. I chose this lady - largely because she seemed a good cause, (in fact nearly all of them do), and she needed an amount to be fully funded, that I was prepared to lend.
So she will have her loan by Christmas, and I get a warm glow.

Happy Christmas and good luck with the new pigs - Bue thi Dieu.
I may even get the money back - but I'm not counting on it.

[Stanley]

David, on reflection you are right, we didn't deliberately set fire to them, some burned of their own violation [SIC]. I heard that report and it was what triggered my recollection. It was 'Devil up a spout' where we lit the paper before popping in the bottom of a cast iron down-spout and listened to the strange noise as it went up. Worked best on the four storey mill down-spouts.....

[Tripps]

Sorry - I can't help it - but if you can have your slag heaps, I can have SIC.

"The Latin adverb sic ("thus"; in full: sic erat scriptum, "thus was it written")[1] inserted after a quoted word or passage, indicates that the quoted matter has been transcribed exactly as found in the source text, complete with any erroneous or archaic spelling, surprising assertion, faulty reasoning, or other matter that might otherwise be taken as an error of transcription."

Don't get me going on 'begs the question'

[Tizer]

Tripps, I note you talking about the BAOR above and I think elsewhere you mentioned an airfield somewhere. Which lot were you with, Army or RAF? (Sorry, I can't help being nosey!)

[Tripps]

Army - but attached to RAF for quite a while.

Back row second from the left. Roman Holiday

[Stanley]

The bloke on the front row with the beard and the suit looks like the resident spook.....

[Tripps]

Possible but I doubt it. He was a brilliant German instructor, called Wegman. Bit of a sadist actually - he let you take anything you wanted into the exam, but that didn't make his tests any easier.

[Tizer]

A good photo to have, Tripps. I hope it holds happy memories!