Web Page No 2370
13th
May 2017
Top Picture:
Washing Line
Second Picture: Wooden Ironing Board and Clothes Horse
Third Picture: Car ignition switch on dash board
Forth Picture: 1950s telephone
Another of those
I Remember When Pages
When we were young things were so much simpler. Something
small like a clothes
line full of laundry blowing in the summer breeze, which really doesn't mean
much now, but thinking back it signified the simplicity of the 50s and 60s.
Boys and girls holding hands in public then was an intimate gesture between a
couple. Wearing each other's ring around your neck meant a commitment. Doors
were left unlocked at night as it meant you trusted your neighbours. Keys left
above the car sun visor or even in the ignition of a car was a common thing in many small towns
without fear of your car being stolen. If it was stolen you walked to your
insurance agent who probably lived round the corner, there was no need to compare car insurance rates, you knew he would look out for
you.
Shops like Woolworth's were
popular. They had almost anything you could want to buy some even served
sandwiches, cokes, pies and so much more.
My mother hand washed all our clothes
and then hung it on the clothes line. I can still picture her wiping the
clothes line off with a wet rag to get rid the line of dirt and bird droppings.
The clothes would be hung with wooden clothes pegs, often bought at the door
from a travelling Gypsy lady, that clipped the clothes to the line. After she
hung the clothes up she would prop the line up with a line pole and the clothes
would just blow in the summer breeze. When the clothes were removed from the
clothes line, I still remember how fresh they smelled. I also remembered the
clothes being frozen on a cold winter day as they were taken from the line. I
had never seen a clothes drier until I visited a laundromat in Cosham. I also remember my mother using a lemonade
bottle with a stopper with holes in it which she would fill with water to sprinkle
the clothes before ironing. There weren’t any steam irons back then and she
used a wooden ironing board. These boards were really popular in the 30s, 40s,
and 50s but families continued to use them during the 60s. Many folks still use
them today. They are considered antiques now. She also used a wooden clothes
horse.
Most houses had only one bathroom, cars
had gear levers or column change, some had overdrive but very few had automatic
transmission Some had bench seats and the dip switch was a pedal on the floor:
hand signals were still a recognised part of the Highway Code and had to be
learnt. The ignition switch was always sited on the dashboard and the indicator
switch on the centre of the steering column or on the dashboard.
Milk came in glass milk bottles
delivered to your front door before you were even out of bed. The only person
that heard the milkman arrive was the dog. You left your empty bottles on the
front porch with a note inside the bottle telling the milkman what you wanted
that day.
We had a dress code at school. Boys hair
could not be over the ears and shirt tails had to be tucked in. Girls' skirts
could not be above mid knee but many a lass got away with it especially if she
had decent looking legs. The girls wore skirts, not trousers and no pupil was
allowed to wear jeans. The teachers also seemed to have a dress code. The male
teachers all wore collars and ties and either suits or a sports jacket. The
lady teachers were either in a dress or skirt and top (never trousers or jeans)
and very often for the younger teachers high heels and some subtle make-up. The
only teachers who deviated from this dress were the PE teachers who wore
tracksuits or sportswear during the lessons but still dressed conventionally
when not teaching their subject. No pupil came to school driving a motorbike, a
moped or a car, the bicycle reigned supreme. In fact, I cannot remember any of
my school colleagues being brought to school or taken home by car!
If you had a telephone at home, there
was only one in the house and it was normally in the hall and had a rotary dial
on it plus a little drawer underneath for notes and dialling codes. It was also
probably shared with a party line.
We always had our meals together as a
family, sitting around our dining room table, never in front of the fire, radio
or(when we eventually got one) the TV. Meals were family times. I still
remember those special Sunday dinners my mother and grandmother cooked, it was
always a roast and the delicious smell always filled the house!
That’s enough for today, that last bit
has made me hungry!
Keep in touch
Peter
On this day 13th May 1960-1965
On 13/05/1960 the number one single was Cathy's
Clown - Everly Brothers and the number one album was South
Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Wagon Train (ITV) 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 13/05/1961 the number one single was Blue
Moon - The Marcels 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 13/05/1962 the number one single was Wonderful
Land - The Shadows 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. The big news story of the day was Film star Emilio Estevez born
On 13/05/1963 the number one single was From
Me To You - The Beatles and the number one album was Please Please Me - The Beatles. The
top rated TV show was Labour 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 13/05/1964 the number one single was Don't Throw Your Love Away - Searchers and the number one album
was Rolling Stones - The Rolling Stones.
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 13/05/1964 the number one single was Don't Throw Your Love Away - Searchers and the number one album
was Rolling Stones - The Rolling Stones.
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 13/05/1965 the number one single was Ticket
to Ride - The Beatles and the number one album was Beatles For Sale - The Beatles. 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.
