Web Page  No 2112

6^th December 2014

First Picture: Cornish Ware

 Second Picture: Gas Iron

 Third Picture: Traditional Clothes Horse

In the Kitchen

During a conversation the other evening Pam and I got to talking about the kitchens we had at home when we were kids. The first thing to come was the green and cream kitchen cabinet with the etched glass doors at the top and a drop down enamel surface as a work surface in the middle and ventilated doors to the cupboards underneath for storage. Actually we did not have one of these at home as our cabinet was built in by a previous home owner years before but Pam’s family did have one and so did the two of us when we moved into our very first home, a furnished flat in North End Avenue when we were first married, that was back in 1967.

The conversation soon led onto comparing the Cornish Ware that our mothers owned. Every home seemed to have these they were china storage jars with lids and decorated with stripes usually blue and white with the words of the contents on the side in black lettering. This was supplanted by the modern pottery Hornby wear for the storage of tea sugar and coffee etc. These items usually came in either green or tan with black leaf and branch design. They were a popular wedding present in the mid 1960’s so we all had almost a complete set of these! Other items from our first home included a complete set of Homepride Flour Grader men (large and small), a Horlicks mug complete with blue night cap top, various spice racks and in our case when we got married five different cheese boards.

Back to our life at home when we were young; we both discovered that our mothers owned enamel bread bins with lids that were lifted off from the top and with the word Bread written in shadow letters on the front. But this was not the only piece of enamel ware in the kitchen because lurking somewhere in the cupboards were enamel saucepans, pie dishes, metal plates and kitchen utensils all chipped with nasty flaked pieces of enamel around the edges.

Both of our grandmothers owned that terrifying piece of apparatus known as the gas iron. My grandmothers was green with a black wooden covered handle and once lit it coughed and spat the whole time she used it and it scared the living daylights out of me. My mother was more modern she had a Swan electric iron which she plugged into the bulb holder hanging from the ceiling, this had an adaptor in it so the iron could be used at the same time that the light bulb was turned on. Scares you to death now doesn’t it but it was normal practice then, you all must have seen it.

For the average housewife all kitchen tools, knives, strainers and mashers were all made by just one company, Prestige, they were attractive, colourful, affordable and mostly of poor quality, the knives never keeping their cutting edge for more than just a few days. But then she could always sharpen it on the Prestige knife sharpener which always seemed to strip off shards of metal from the knife every time it was used. For the home baker there was another name to look for, the Tala Range of kitchen utensils. This company specialized in cake tins and tray, piping bags and icing nozzles in fact most items required for home baking. Another weapon in the kitchen armoury was the rotary egg whisk which replaced the old traditional hand balloon whisk. Something else that my mother owned, but never used as far as I know was a strange glass tube like item with a plunger and whisk which was supposed to be a cream maker. I am sure she had no idea how it worked and neither did I, I still don’t.

Wash day in our house was always a time consuming period. My mother never, ever owned a washing machine which meant that any whites to be washed had to be place in a large galvanised pan, normally made by Beldray, which was then placed on the gas stove and filled with water and there it boiled away quite happily with a bar of Sunlight Soap in it until the clothes were deemed to be white enough. Once washed and rinsed it was then time to place all the washing in the now emptied pan and then to carry it out into the garden shed where the mangle lived, but I know I have spoken about these instruments of torture before so I will leave it there. Then it was time to peg out all the items onto the washing line and then to wait for the longed for drying wind. If the day was overcast it meant adopting the indoors drying methods which meant that every open fire in the home would be found with a wooden clothes horse (these made great tents to play in when out of use) placed in front of it with many various items laid out on it to dry.

There we go another wander down Memory Lane it really is amazing to think that most of the above happened over sixty years ago.

Take care

Stay in touch

Peter

DUSTYKEAT@aol.com

You Write:

Mary Writes:

 I can remember the field where the circus always was. It was long before a road went in and blocks of flats were built. Sometimes several carthorses were tethered in the large area. I did go there with my mother to see the circus and it was supposed to be a treat. My mother thought it would be a good idea for the 2 of us to go. I had just acquired a brother and it was a mother and 1st child bonding time. I was not 4 and when the circus band struck up the noise horrified me. My mother said I shouted that it would wake my baby brother up. He was safe at home with my grandparents.  At some stage my shoe came off and as we were on the raised area my mother had to get a member of staff to retrieve it. I don`t suppose I was very popular that day! We did go again over the years and enjoyed it. We always had the circus on TV for Christmas Day too. Times have changed and so have ideas on animal performances so there are only a few circuses in the UK.

News and Views:

On this day 6^th December 1960-1965

On 06/12/1960 the number one single was It's Now Or Never - Elvis Presley and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Armchair Theatre (ABC) and the box office smash was Psycho. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Tottenham Hotspur were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 06/12/1961 the number one single was Little Sister/His Latest Flame - Elvis Presley. The top rated TV show was "Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £13.25 and Ipswich Town were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the day was Sunday Night at the London Palladium (ATV)".

On 06/12/1962 the number one single was Lovesick Blues - Frank Ifield and the number one album was On Stage with the Black & White Minstrels - George Mitchell Minstrels. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Lawrence of Arabia. A pound of today's money was worth £12.89 and Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the day was Heavy smog kills 55 in London.

On 06/12/1963 the number one single was She Loves You - The Beatles and the number one album was Please Please Me - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Great Escape. A pound of today's money was worth £12.64 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 06 /12/1964 the number one single was Little Red Rooster - Rolling Stones and the number one album was A Hard Day's Night - Beatles. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Dr Strangelove. A pound of today's money was worth £12.24 and Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 06/12/1965 the number one single was The Carnival is Over - Seekers and the number one album was The Sound of Music Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Sound of Music. A pound of today's money was worth £11.69 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.