Web Page No 2564

16th March 2019

Shopping in the 1960's

1st Picture. Typical Ironmongers

 2nd Picture. Cornet Cakes

 3rd Picture. Flit Gun

4th Picture. Sputnick One

There are always things from the past that come to mind in a quiet moment and all of a sudden, we find ourselves thinking, I have not seen one of those for years. This is a page all about them. I may have spoken about some of them before but it is worth looking at again.

Firstly, into the Bakers shop, in my case Campions or Smith and Vospers. When was the last time you saw a Crusty warm Cottage Loaf? Or a Viennese Loaf, or a real home-made Lardy Cake or even one of those cornet shaped cakes with marshmallow inside and sprinkles on the top. Now if anyone in the family was on a diet it would be the Energen Loaves or Rolls, that were bought. They were terrible things, thay had no substance and were just a mouthful of air.

So on to the Ironmongers, in Drayton that was Nappers or Lights. Fly papers, I can still see these hanging down with dead or dying flies on them, a cruel death!!! Whitewash, lead based putty, mothballs, Flit Guns, creosote and seed potatoes were all to be found in the same shop as were seeds, fertilizer and garden equipment. There were wicks for gas lamps and paraffin heaters and the old fashioned Rawlplugs which came as a powder and had to dampened and then packed into the hole with a special tamper before the screw could be fixed in. Wallpaper came untrimmed rolls and when Dad bought a roll the first thing he had to do after cutting the piece to length was to trim each edge, with a steady hand. Then there was always a frieze to go around the top and this too had to be trimmed, easy if it was straight, not so easy when it was a decorated leaf or flower pattern! No ready glued wallpaper in those days only cold water Polycel  and if the ceiling was to be painted  only white distemper or white wash could be bought.

As far as clothing went, school caps and berets, garters to keep our long socks up and satchels for our schoolbooks. Pencil cases, caps, berets, Cash’s name tapes and shoe bags. Sew on school badges, plimsoles and sports shorts and House colours we used to wear round our necks.

At home milk bottles were kept in a jug of water, on the floor of the larder to keep it fresh as we had no refrigerator. Meat and cheese were stored on a concrete or slate shelf, again in the larder. Not only did we not have a fridge but mum had no washing machine so it was a case of boiling the whites in a big bowl on the stove and then into the shed to use the mangle.

You were always outside on fine days whether riding your bike, playing hopscotch or jacks, skipping, calling for your friends or jumping from the highest point of the swing or attempting to master roller skates. Whatever you were doing it was always an adventure. We’d pretend to smoke our sweet cigarettes – complete with a pink tip – and scoff brown coconut ‘tobacco’ from a pouch. Plus we all looked forward to the arrival of the Corona lorry.

Garages sold Regent, Cleveland and National Benzole petrol as well as Esso, BP and Shell, plus Reddex upper cylinder lubricant, the order four gallons and four shots was often heard on the petrol station forecourt when I worked there on a Saturday.

You could spot many different makes of British motor bikes on the road as well. Royal Enfield, Triumph, BSA, Francis Barnett, Sun, James, AJS, Matchless, Velocette, DOT, Greaves, Vincent and the Triumph Bonneville to name just a few. The same went for cars Morris, Austin, Ford, Vauxhall, Hillman, Riley, Wolsey and Standard were just a few of the home makes.

We had all heard about the Civil Rights movement in the USA but were probably not involved until the next decade, However, we must all remember hearing the distant bleeps of Sputnik One as they were broadcast on the radio and TV.

We, most certainly lived through great times!

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On this day 16^th March 1960-1965.

On 16/03/1960 the number one single was Running Bear - Johnny Preston and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was The Larkins (ATV) and the box office smash was Psycho. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Burnley were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 16/03/1961 the number one single was Walk Right Back/Ebony Eyes - Everly Brothers and the number one album was GI Blues - Elvis Presley. The top rated TV show was No Hiding Place (AR) and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £13.25 and Tottenham Hotspur were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions

On 16/03/1962 the number one single was Rock-a-Hula Baby/Can't Help Falling In Love - Elvis Presley and the number one album was Blue Hawaii - Elvis Presley. 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 Ipswich Town were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions

On 16/03/1963 the number one single was Summer Holiday - Cliff Richard & the Shadows and the number one album was Summer Holiday - Cliff Richard & the Shadows. The top rated TV show was Conservative Party Political Broadcast (all channels) and the box office smash was The Great Escape. A pound of today's money was worth £12.64 and Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 16/03/1964 the number one single was Little Children - Billy J Kramer and the number one album was With the Beatles - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was Conservative Party Political Broadcast (all channels) and the box office smash was Dr Strangelove. A pound of today's money was worth £12.24 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 16/03/1965 the number one single was The Last Time - Rolling Stones and the number one album was Rolling Stones Number 2 - The Rolling Stones. 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 Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.