HOUSEHOLD TIPS NOT FOUND IN WOMAN'S WEEKLY

[PanBiker]

That's because it is Redman's Stanley! Must have had a brain fart.

[Stanley]

Hee hee.... Nice to know I'm not the only one who has them! Don't let it spoil your day....
I remember when Redmans stopped trading and some of the managers took over, I doubted whether it would survive but it's still there and from the variety of stock in the window must be doing OK.

[Cathy]

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Have you got this pic Stanley?

[Stanley]

No I haven't Cathy, but I have it now! Any idea where it is? Looking at the adverts on the windows reminded me that Redmans made a speciality of dried goods like figs and apple rings. I think they still sold dried egg long after the war. My mother said it was better than fresh eggs for cake baking.....

[PanBiker]

The picture is also on Gus's Barlick & Barlickers Then and Now FB site.

It's Majestic buildings just to the left of the cinema entrance, you can just see the left hand side of the arch feature.

Looked at average RPI prices for butter, lard and prunes plus the dress code and bike and it's mid 1920's I reckon.

[Stanley]

Thanks for that Ian. I reckon you're right on the date. Has to be after 1914 of course because of the build date. here were good profits in retailing in those days when the town spent its money at home. Surprising how many retailers invested capital in the mills, some becoming major manufacturers.

[PanBiker]

Delivery boy on the left by the looks, when you think about it these lads would be as fit as the proverbial butchers dog with the amount of running around they would have to do on the bike.

[Stanley]

And those bikes were no lightweights! Then there was the weight of whatever they were carrying. Surprising how heavy a grocery order can be, I've delivered plenty of them and the weight played hell with the old Bedford van we had at Sough when I was 'Open All Hours'.

[Tizer]

Those Bedford vans were beautiful to behold...and with sliding doors too, whatever next? If I could have a classic car collection I wouldn't go for the Ferraris and Bentleys, it would be vehicles like that one. I'd also have a Jowett Javelin, Standard Vanguard, Austin A35 van...

What would other members put in their classic car collection? (If I get replies then maybe this should migrate to its own thread?)

[Stanley]

It was a good, trouble-free motor Tiz. Very heavily loaded and I went on some rough tracks. I once broke a half-shaft on Wendy's track.....



Father bought it second hand in 1955 and fitted it out as a mobile shop. Notice the old toy school desk in the background for the paperwork! I had forgotten that it had trafficators....

[Wendyf]

"I once broke a half-shaft on Wendy's track....."

You wouldn't break a fingernail on it now it's so smooth!

[Stanley]

It was just outside your gate on the track up to the road. It was a bit rough then! Jimmy Thompson came up from Kelbrook Garage and popped a new one in for me....

[Stanley]

One of the things I find difficult to understand these days is the seemingly insatiable appetite of the public for new sofas and mattresses. Have they never heard of loose covers and buying the best mattress available and living with the mythical infestation.... I say mythical, my mattress is over 40 years old, still comfortable and I have never found any evidence of livestock! Could it be that the mattress industry fosters this idea to boost sales? They say now that you should buy a new mattress every 8 years...... (By the way, mine is a Vi-Spring Elite. It cost £800 when new and today would knock you back £1752.)

[Stanley]

We have just come out of the heating season. Now is the time to look forward to next winter and do any heating maintenance that is necessary now. Don't leave it until the heating is needed again! When I worked for REW on big boiler maintenance it was a stock joke that as soon as the cold weather came we got panic calls to boilers that needed major repairs. You'd think professional maintenance engineers would have more sense.....

[Stanley]

I discovered the best way to clean the filters in my bagless vacuum cleaner the other day. Take them out in the yard and blow them out with high pressure air from my compressor! Did a lovely job but you have to hold your breath!

[Stanley]

I can't justify the expense but I look enviously at the small steam cleaners you can get nowadays. That hand held nozzle for nooks and crannies is brilliant!

[Tripps]

Don't fall for it Stanley. My lad bought one and says they are a waste of time.

[Stanley]

Noted David. I suppose I am thinking back to the industrial steam cleaners we used for cleaning the chassis of wagons. I remember when we had to do it for the annual test after the 1968 Transport Act came in and it was the first time we'd seen the colour of the paint on the underside of the vehicles!

[Stanley]

If you have the job of hydraulically testing a large boiler, remember that if you have a steam cleaner or power washer about your person, the pump on it, though low delivery, is capable of very high pressures. When you have filled the boiler with water and you're pumping in the last few gallons to get the pressure use the little pump. It's a lot easier than pumping with a hand pump which was the usual method. I have pressurised large boilers up to 650psi like this.

[Stanley]

I think my kitchen is getting slightly over-populated! I bought a slow cooker yesterday and have had to have a rearrangement to make room for it!

[rossylass]

I am in the process of chucking out flour which is at least four years past its sell by date. Don't usually take much notice of sell by dates but need a bit of room. I once had a cleaner who threw out some cans past their sell by date. I nearly fell in the dustbin getting them out! Load of old cobblers if you ask me! If it looks and smells alright it is alright!

[Stanley]

Quite right Rossy. How did we survive before the days of sell by dates? We used our heads.... (and our noses) I've done that all my life and am not going to change now!

[Tizer]

Back in the 1960s I had a summer job stocking warehouse shelves in one of the early Asda stores. We were allowed to take home cans that had lost their label or were damaged. Some people would rip the label off a can they wanted and then take it home. If you were honest and only took the genuine cast-offs you ran the risk of eating dog food!

[Stanley]

When I was tanking milk we had a regular run to a dairy up in Cumbria which was owned by one of the big food giants (The name always escapes me). As well as being a dairy it was a distribution centre for their foods. That's where I saw the machine they used to shake cases of tomato ketchup before dispatch and when I asked what it was and they told me I didn't believe them! They sold cases of tins for a £1 in the factory shop, they were full of cans without labels and that was an adventure! Vera used to love being surprised when she opened them.
My mate John Martinez, the wine merchant, once bought a cellar in Silsden that had been flooded and most of the labels had peeled off. We had fun with them! They were almost all good wines and we had some interesting tastings in the kitchen at the Vicarage in Ilkley!

[LizG]

! They sold cases of tins for a £1 in the factory shop, they were full of cans without labels and that was an adventure! Vera used to love being surprised when she opened them.

One trip we did was up to Cape York in QLD. Tough trip in a 4WD and one most people only do once. We packed everything in either the fridge or in milk crates. When we got back to civilization there were no labels on any of the cans. We had no idea what we were expecting for dinner. All good when you're young.