PAGE NO. 2810 14th August 2021 Tins 1ST PICTURE: Oxo tin and seahorse

2nd PICTURE: National Dried Milk

3RD PICTURE John Bull Puncture Outfit

4TH PICTURE Colmans Mustard tin

5th PICTURE State Express 555

Tins There has always seemed to be tins with lids around or house for years. I am talking about used tine put another use. For example, my mother’s Callard and Bowser ting with the kittens on held no sweets, it was a button box. Likewise the Quality Street tin only held mothers sewing kit. Dad’s tobacco tins held nuts, bolts, screws and washers and mother always kept her mincer in a tin which was kept under the sink. This hiding hole also held Peak Freans tin that held the shoe and boot polish and brushes along with the tins of Kiwi shoe polish. I am sure most households had at least half a dozen National Dried Milk or Ostermilk tins dotted around the house in various locations. This is way before the introduction of plastic containers and I can hear my grandmother saying” don’t throw that tin away it has a nice tightfitting lid”. Tins were always useful in the craft world. Most of us will have made, in our younger years, will have covered a tin in wallpaper and decorated it as a gift to put fire spills in or as a “useful box” for someone. Most households had at least one Oxo tin be it large or small. I have one which my father’s friend, Charlie Cornelius, gave to me and inside laying on a cotton wool pad is the endoskeleton of a sea horse. Why he gave it to me I have no idea but I have had it for almost 70 years and to prove the point take a look at the first picture this week. Another selection of tins which were popular were those that the gift packs of loose tea came in. One tin that all cyclists remember was the light blue one that the John Bull Cycle Tyre Puncture Outfit. Another distinctive tin was an upright narrow tin with a yellow label and containing Colman’s mustard. Even some cigarettes came in tins “State Express” being one example especially at Christmas Player and Senior Service and of course most pipe rubbing tobacco came in tins, very handy for keeping nails and screws in afterwards. Who remembers Gibbs Dentifrice tooth paste in a tin, either a red or green one. It came in a round tin with a dome-like tin cover, and looked like a cylindrical cake of pink soap sitting on the base. You had to brush a wet toothbrush across it a few times to whip up a foam, rather as dad did with shaving cream. With this somewhat gritty pink foam you cleaned your teeth. I must have used it thousands of times as a child. It cost about 7.5d in the old money. It had flavour added, a sweet, slightly soapy, slightly sickly taste to it, and it was pink. Band Aid came in a tin as did Nescafe coffee and Vaseline , Megazones and Germoline. In the garage Castrol grease and oil came in the green and yellow tins. Christmas was the time for fancy tins when we gave our relatives tins of biscuits and each biscuit manufacturer endeavoured to produce eye catching and attractive tins. The quality of these tins must have been good because just look around home and I bet that you will find at least half a dozen 1950’ tins hidden away somewhere Stay in touch Peter gsseditor@gmail.com /b>